Student Councils

Lauren Brooks - Chemistry and Biochemistry

Lauren Brooks is a junior Biochemistry major and Bioinformatics and Computational Biology minor from Windham, NH. On campus she is the vice-president of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, a Community Advisor, a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and Order of Omega, the vice-president of her respective sorority and an undergraduate researcher in the Mattson Lab. In her free time, Lauren enjoys competing with the Women’s Club Soccer Team and traveling with her friends and family!

Kylie Hoar - Data Science and Bioinformatics & Computational Biology

Kylie Hoar is a junior Data Science and Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BCB) major from Westford, MA. On campus she is the president of the BCB Club, a Peer Learning Assistant for the Biology and Biotechnology Department, and a member of ODK, an academic and leadership honors society. Kylie also volunteers for a lab in the Biochemistry Department doing catalyst prediction. In her free time, Kylie enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, and relaxing at the beach.

Alana Lue Chee Lip - Biology & Biotechnology

Alana Lue Chee Lip is a senior from Trinidad and Tobago majoring in Biology and Biotechnology (BBT). On campus, she works as a peer learning assistant for the BBT department and as a Biology Ambassador. She also volunteers in the Shell Lab working to understand the roles of RNA regulatory proteins in mycobacteria. In her free time, you can often find Alana spending time with friends and watching terrible reality TV.  

Esther Mao - Data Science and Social Science & Policy Studies

Esther Mao is a sophomore pursuing a double major in Data Science and Policy Studies. On campus she is the Philanthropy Chair and VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for her sorority, Alpha Phi. She is also a member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the Photography Club. She is a true history geek and enjoys working out, exploring new foods, taking pictures with her film camera, and spending time with her family and friends. 

Robbie Oleynick - Humanities & Arts

Robbie Oleynick is a senior Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science major from Yardley, PA. He is involved with numerous extracurricular groups on campus, including Pep Band, Jazz Groups, Brass Ensemble, Hill House, VOX Musical Theatre, LNL, IEEE, HKN, ODK, TBP, and SAS. In his free time, he likes to tinker with electronics and create projects with embedded systems. When he’s not busy with a soldering iron or computer, he enjoys camping, kayaking, and cooking. He plans to pursue a master’s in ECE with a double major in CS and a minor in Music and Math.

Mira Plante - Computer Science and Cybersecurity

Mira Plante is a senior pursuing a BS in Computer Science and an MS in Cyber Security. They are a Student Assistant for the Computer Science department hosting office hours to review concepts and debug code, grading assignments, and monitoring class forums. They are heavily involved in the security community on campus, from bringing cyber to underrepresented groups through their executive board position with Women in Cyber Security to being a member of the CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service student cohort. Outside of school, you can find them competing in capture the flag security challenges, reading through a good history book, or hanging out with their lizards.

Michelle Sangillo - Physics

Michelle Sangillo is a senior Physics major from Candia, NH. On campus she is a Physics Peer Learning Assistant, president of the Society of Physics Students, and vice-president of Women and Gender Minorities in Physics. She also researches sea ice in the Alaskan Arctic with Dr. Maddie Smith at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In her free time Michelle loves to sail and cook. 

Natalie Tierney - Mathematical Sciences

Natalie Tierney is a senior at WPI from Chelmsford, MA majoring in mathematical sciences with minors in data science and computer science. During the academic year, she works as a Peer Learning Assistant within the mathematical sciences department. Natalie serves as the secretary and public relations chair for the Association of Women in Mathematics (AWM) chapter at WPI and is also a member of the women's club basketball team, women's ultimate frisbee team, and the WPI concert band. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with friends and family. 

Madelyn Veccia - Interactive Media & Game Development

Maddie Veccia is a senior perusing an Interactive Media and Game Design Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus in design. She also focuses on writing for games and does graphic design work professionally. She plans to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in Interactive Media and Game Design after her senior year. Outside of the classroom she writes and runs a weekly Dungeons and Dragons campaign for her friends. She is also active in the LGBTQIA+ community on campus as a proud transgender woman. 

A&S Graduate Student Advisory Council 2023 - 2024

Jezabel Aleyda Aponte Figueroa - Social Sciences & Policy Studies

Jezabel is a master’s student in Science and Technology for Innovation in Global Development. She is a Nicaraguan Civil Engineer graduated from the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA).  Jezabel's volunteering experience with NGOs, TECHO (Emergency Shelter Construction), World Vision (Disaster Relief), and Raleigh International (Climate Change Resilience) motivated her to pursue a career in Development. After graduating, she worked as a Consultant for the Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association, an NGO specializing in comprehensive water and sanitation solutions in Nicaragua and provided logistic support to the Nicaraguan Network of Water and Sanitation. Later she joined the Japan International Cooperation Agency as a Project Assistant for the Revision of Zoning Regulation in Managua, a project to support the local government's Direction of Urban Planning and Environment. 

Jake Bouchard - Physics

Jacob is a PhD candidate with Professor Doug Petkie in the Physics Department studying THz spectroscopy for various industrial purposes. Primary projects include a millimeter-wave based RADAR system for medical applications, full characterization of paper drying using THz, and imaging porosity in carbonate rocks. Within the lab, Jacob has enjoyed mentoring many undergraduate students carrying out independent research projects. He has participated in multiple NSF research marketability and value creation programs and enjoys working with industry partners to develop emerging technologies. Outside of the lab, he is involved in the New England chapter of Optica where he focuses on outreach and bridging the gap between students and industry. In his free time Jacob enjoys cooking, hiking, and exploring the forests of New England. 

Trusting Inekwe - Computer Science

Trusting is a graduate student pursuing a PhD in Computer Science at WPI. He holds a master’s degree in Computer Science from WPI and a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus. His research interests are centered around CS education in contextualized settings through the creation of interactive systems that intersect science, culture, craft & art, and programming with the goal of improving the livelihood of target groups and advancing STEM education. During his free time, he enjoys singing and playing musical instruments.

Abigail Lindner - Mathematics

Abigail Lindner is a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in Mathematics from nowhere in particular (but she'll tell you that she's from California). She is advised by Dr. Francesca Bernardi and is currently studying bacterial contamination of microfilters in biopharmaceutical contexts. Prior to joining WPI, she attended a small liberal arts college in Virginia, where she obtained a B.S. in Mathematics. When not studying, teaching, or figuring out what direction to take her research, Abigail can be found reading historical novels, writing little stories, trying new vegan recipes, and buying overpriced lattes.

Caroline Muirhead - Biology & Biotechnology

Caroline is a PhD candidate in the Biology and Biotechnology department. She works in the Srinivasan lab where she studies the brain using C. elegans, a small microscopic worm. Caroline’s project focuses on understanding how the brain processes competing sensory information. In other words, if you’re exposed to something good and bad at the same time, what does your brain do? Caroline is also an ASPIRE fellow and a member of the Genetics Society of America’s Early Career Leadership Program. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, doing any outdoor activity, and cooking.

Gabrielle Plainte - Neuroscience

Gabrielle is a master’s student in the Neuroscience Program. Hailing from Central Massachusetts, she completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at Worcester State University. At WPI, her main research interest is mental health, and working towards finding beneficial and novel treatments for different conditions. She is currently looking into identifying symptoms of a new possible psychiatric condition. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, traveling, creative writing, reading, and photography.

Maddie Rennie - Chemistry & Biochemistry

Madison is a third year PhD student in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. Madison works with the Scarlata group investigating how cells respond to extracellular signals; a large part of this research focuses on G-protein signaling and other conserved protein pathways. In parallel to her own research, she has been given the opportunity to take part in various mentorship and teaching opportunities on campus including training undergraduates in the Scarlata lab and teaching opportunities in undergraduate chemistry courses. She is very proud and grateful to be part of this community and cannot wait to continue to foster her professional career.  

Maceo Richards - Neuroscience

Maceo is a M.S. student studying Neuroscience at WPI. With a background in Bayesian statistics and deep learning, Maceo seeks to impact the computational neuroscience domain by developing novel neural decoding algorithms. In his M.S. thesis research, Maceo is aiding in developing an adaptation of the state-space model framework where both the latent state process and observation process are characterized by deep neural networks. This greatly improves the computational tractability of the state-space model framework for high-dimensional time series data analysis.

Marcela Vasconcellos - Data Science

Marcela is a Ph.D. candidate in Data Science at WPI. She holds a Master's in Industrial Engineering from the Federal University of Pernambuco, in Brazil. Marcela has worked in the supply chain industry, particularly on vehicle routing. During her Master's, she used Machine Learning models to address stochasticity in a retailer stock management optimization problem. She is currently working on refugee professional integration and using integer optimization to optimize many-to-many stable matching of refugees to job opportunities. Her current research interests are in applications of Operations Research combined with Machine Learning for social impact.

Sarah Weintraub - Bioinformatics & Computational Biology

Sarah is currently a Bioinformatics and Computational Biology PhD student, advised by Dr. Eric Young in Chemical Engineering. Her current research interests are systems biology, genetic engineering, and bioethics. Sarah is driven to contribute to the expansion of human potential. Starting at the University of Florida, she leveraged systems biology to further comparative metabolomics understanding in lilies. She then worked at NorthShore University Healthsystem and studied Schizophrenia using CRISPR tools in stem cells and neurons. As a Circular Economy and Data Analytics Engineering Research for Sustainability (CEDAR) Fellow, she is currently leveraging non-model yeast systems for climate change solutions. Sarah's curiosity has led her to try a variety of activities, including joining her collegiate crew team and becoming SCUBA certified. As a woman in STEM, supporting and developing her community continues to be her inspiration throughout her PhD and beyond as a pioneer in biotechnology.