Hometown: San Diego, CA

Clubs/Activities/Extracurricular Involvement

Founder and President of RPI Brazilian Jiu Jitsu; Rock climbing team member; Teacher at the piano club

Internship/Research Experience

Research experience with NASA: I am a published author of 5 papers, engineered bioreactors to send to the ISS, grow human livers from stem cells to send to space, get to work with astronauts; Biomedical Engineering work for Medline Industries making artificial hearts at Angiodynamics NAMIC R&D.

Why did you choose to attend RPI?

The main reason I chose RPI was the research accessibility. As a biomedical engineering student, research is quite prevalent in everything we do. I saw the most opportunity for an undergraduate like myself to get involved with world-class research at this institution. In my freshmen year, despite having zero qualifications to do so, I got the opportunity to do research for NASA simply by sending an email to a professor on campus. I don't know many places where an email can get you the opportunity to engineer bioreactors to send to space, but I do know RPI is one of the few.

What is your favorite RPI memory?

There was a day when an ice storm went through the north east, and everything from the bushes to the buildings got covered. Those following days were genuinely one of the most beautiful examples of nature I've ever experienced. It really felt like a winter wonderland! 

What is your favorite thing to do in Troy?

I've always liked to hang out with my friends - at restaurants, the farmers' market, the bowling alley, etc. - and Troy has a lot of fun places to go and just spend time with people! Dinosaur BBQ and Bard and Baker come to mind. Dinosaur BBQ has great food, and Bard and Baker has many different board games you can play while you eat - it is quite a unique place. Also, Manory's has some of the best breakfast I've ever had!