Michael Jiang
INFORMATION MANAGER
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING, 2012
Michael Jiang is a junior mechanical engineer and will be pursuing a master of engineering in biomedical engineering. After being an instrumental member of the HVAC development team of the Cornell Solar Decathlon Silo House, he helped lead the effort to organize the Cornell Chapter of Education Africa and now serves as the information manager. While on the Cornell Automotive X-Prize, he also developed transmission system and optimized component placement. He has dedicated his time to teaching after school science classes to local elementary schools. He has also presented his research on embryonic cardiac development at the local science center and various research symposiums on campus. Aside from project teams and academics, Michael also served as the house manger of his fraternity and is currently serving as the Vice-President.
Karen (Chi-Chi) Lin
MATERIAL PROCUREMENT LIAISON
ARCHITECTURE, 2013
Chi-Chi Lin got involved with CUSD after visiting the Silo House in Syracuse. She works with both projects as a logistics officer and the graphics and branding subteam leader. Extremely interested in vernacular building systems, she designed, built, and led a team to build a waterfront pavilion in Bangladesh for Panigram Resort. Besides design, she also enjoys traveling and running marathons. You can visit her website at chi2lin.com
Daniel Lu
TEAM LEADER
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, 2012
Daniel Lu is a civil engineering major at Cornell. Additionally he is pursuing a concentration in architecture. He loves buildings and CUSD's interdisciplinary approach to designing and constructing real structures. In the very little spare time he has, he does photography and practices wushu (Chinese martial arts).
Jesse McElwain
CUSD LIAISON AND PUBLICITY DIRECTOR
ARCHITECTURE, 2013
Jesse McElwain is a third-year student in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning. His involvement with Cornell University Sustainable Design began with the design and production of pamphlets for the 2009 Solar Decathlon house. Now a Team Leader for both the Schoolhouse: South Africa project and the Sustainable Research Facility project, Jesse stays involved with both CUSD projects. In addition, he remains devoted to CUSD, and serves as Publicity & Outreach Director to ensure the organization itself is maintained. A member of several student groups across campus, he is active in public speaking and has been invited to give presentations and participate in panel discussions on various topics.
Joe Beaudette
BUILDING AND STRUCTURE
Joseph Beaudette is a senior in the Civil and Environmental Engineering where his interests lie in structural engineering and sustainable design. Joe enjoys getting outdoors throughout the year by leading courses for Cornell Outdoor Education. He is a member of the Cornell Tree Climbing Institute and has recently traveled to California to climb giant sequoias in a calaboration with the University of California, Berkeley.
Carly Dean
BUILDING AND STRUCTURE
ARCHITECTURE, 2014
Carly Dean is a second-year Architecture student in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. A majority of Carly's childhood was spent in Germany, inspiring her interest in the fusion between historic and contemporary design. This interest has evolved to include preservation, sustainability, and social architecture. At Cornell, Carly is involved in cross-disciplinary groups in order to incorporate graphic design, civil engineering, and landscape architecture in to her degree. Besides CUSD, Carly is a member of D+E|E+D (Design, Engineering, Education, and Development), a manager of a gallery space for student artwork on campus, and enjoys competing in triathlons.
Lexi Quint
CITY AND REGION
URBAN REGIONAL STUDIES, 2013
Lexi Quint is a second year Urban and Regional Studies major with an international development focus. He was originally exposed to the field through the yearly Millennium Development Goal strategy design workshop, Design Science Lab, hosted by the Buckminster-Fuller Institute and Big Picture Small World. After coming to Cornell, Lexi become a core member of Design, Engineering, Education and Development (D+E|E+D), a student run organization focusing on urban renewal project in Ithaca, New York. After his first year, he spent the summer as a full time research intern at the Regional Plan Association (RPA) in New York City, evaluating the up-coming political redistricting process and researching alternative methods for this process.
Eric Rutgers
SITE AND LOCALE
ARCHITECTURE, 2011
Eric believes that well-designed architecture makes the world a safer and happier place to live. By the time he is happily retired, he will have helped build a habitat on the Moon.
Alex Simpson
LANDSCAPE COORDINATOR
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, 2013
A sophomore in Environmental Engineering, Alex is excited to be participating in her first project with Cornell University Sustainable Design. When she isn't studying or working on the project's water systems, she enjoys playing in Cornell's Big Red Marching Band and exploring the outdoors.
Carina Steinhoff
BUSINESS TEAM
HOTEL ADMINISTRATION, 2011
Carina Steinhoff was born in a tiny German town of only 5,000 people and has spent the last ten years in the United States. She is a senior in the School of Hotel Administration with a Minor in Real Estate and a Green Associate Accreditation from LEED. Carina loves traveling and cannot wait to go to Cosmo City and help realize this amazing project!
Jeremy Blum
WEBMASTER
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING, 2012
Jeremy was a Team Leader on the 2009 Cornell University Solar Decathlon Silo House, and is one of the founders of Cornell University Sustainable Design (CUSD). In addition to leading CUSD's Sustainability Research Facility Project, Jeremy is also an avid blogger, promoter of engineering education for kids, robot builder, and researcher in Cornell's Computational Synthesis Lab. You can visit his blog at jeremyblum.com.
Carol Chiu
GRAPHIC AND WEB DESIGNER
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING, 2012
Carol is excited to be able to apply her knowledge in engineering to her interest in architecture and sustainable building design. She enjoys the multidisciplinary and collaborative nature of the Sustainable Research Facility Team, and is a member of the Modular Design and Graphics Subteams. She also enjoys playing taiko (japanese drums) with Yamatai and learning new languages in her free time. She is looking forward to coming back to CUSD next fall after studying abroad in Berlin this Spring. She hopes to pursue architecture in her graduate studies.
Kai Keane
VIDEOGRAPHER
UNDECIDED, 2014
Kai Keane was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, until the age of 10. When he moved to Ithaca, he started making films primarily for school homework and family. Working with a local video production company known as "PhotoSynthesis" for over two years, Kai has learned a bit of the trade of being a video documentarist. He now applies this skill at CUSD to create intriguing and informative video work for the team.
Brian Lee
MARKETING AND PUBLICITY
PSYCHOLOGY, 2014
Brian is a second-year student at Swarthmore College. His interest in developmental cognitive neuroscience, sustainability, and social justice led him to become involved with the CUSD team. In Cosmo City, he will help coordinate outreach, marketing, and publicity endeavors.
Elaine Li
GRAPHIC AND WEB DESIGNER
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, GRAD STUDENT
Elaine is a master student in the M.Eng program with focus in Mechanical and Systems Engineering. She graduated from Purdue University in 2010 with a B.A. in Mechanical Engineering and came to Cornell to gain more experience in engineering design process and optimization. Her interests in structural design and systems control had led her to participate in SRF for her M.Eng project. Apart from engineering, Elaine works as a freelance graphic designer and is also part of the website/branding sub-team.
Shuping Liu
WEB DESIGNER, LOGISTICS
ARCHITECTURE, 2014
Shuping was born in Syracuse, New York, only an hour away from Cornell University, where he now studies Architecture. For the last 12 years, he has been living halfway around the world in Taipei, Taiwan. Shu enjoys designing websites, building bikes, and recently started playing ice hockey. You can see his work at shupingliu.com.
Samuel Sinensky
WEB ADMIN
COMPUTER SCIENCE, 2012
Sam was member of the 2009 Silo House team where he worked to build energy monitoring software and prepare the house for the competition. He is now a Team Leader for the Sustainability Research Facility and helped restructure the organization into Cornell University Sustainable Design
Jason Wright
WEB DESIGNER, LOGISTICS
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING, 2012
Jason Wright is a third year student studying electrical and computer engineering, with research interests in computer vision, statistics, and sustainable design. Jason has also worked in software design for Assured Systems, Inc. and at the Harvard Public Forum Institute. At Cornell, Jason is a member of the policy debate team, frequently seen traveling around the country to various debate tournaments or compiling an exorbitant amount of research in preparation. Jason also enjoys running, tennis, volleyball, and playing piano.
Christine Chung
PUBLICITY, BUSINESS
APPLIED ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT, INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT, 2012
A junior double major in AEM and IARD, Christine has always been interested in developmental economics and corporate social responsibility. Education is the key to eradicating poverty and, for her, it must be a joint effort between the public and private sectors. She joined SSA because the project's vision and entrepreneurial and collaborative spirit appealed to her.
Alex Cote
SITE & LOCALE
DESIGN AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS, 2013
Alex is a sophomore and recent transfer to the College of Human Ecology for Design and Environmental Analysis. She currently works as a substitute teacher at the Cornell Child Care Center and she hopes to someday design playgrounds and children's spaces. These, plus her love of travel, make CUSD's Schoolhouse South Africa project a perfect opportunity to explore her interests while helping others. Outside of academia, Alex loves photography, the outdoors, and getting lost in beautiful places. To follow Alex's adventures, visit her blog Playground Bound.
Mercedes Cuvi
CITY AND REGION
ARCHITECTURE, 2013
Robert Dicker
BUSINESS TEAM
BIOLOGY, 2012
Mary Bray Erickson
BUILDING & STRUCTURE
ARCHITECTURE, 2014
Mary Bray Erickson is a second year architect. She was born and raised in North Carolina; this fueled her interest in and appreciation for historic and colonial architecture. She hopes to fuse the modern and traditional to create a unique design style. She also has a strong passion for working with children and is extremely excited about the South African Schoolhouse project. She also enjoys traveling, playing water sports, and painting.
Ben Fleury
PUBLICITY, BUSINESS
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, 2013
Ben Fleury is a sophomore engineer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Having grown up in the offices of Tulane's environmental and evolutionary biology, Ben has always been very environmentally conscious. This has manifested itself in his interest in improving the field of sustainable energy through the development and improvement of the materials involved.
Andrew Fu
BUILDING & STRUCTURE
ARCHITECTURE, 2014
Andrew Fu is a sophomore architecture student from Seattle. He is passionate about design and is excited to have the opportunity to build a school with the rest of the CUSD team this summer. Some of his other interests include photography, screen printing, and piano. He likes to consume large quantities of popsicles on a regular basis. You can find his work online at www.andrew-fu.com
Stephanie Gitto
LOGISTICS & PUBLICITY
ARCHITECTURE, 2014
Stephanie is currently a second year architecture student where her interests lie somewhere between theatre set design and low-tech sustainability. When not busy designing a creche, Stephanie enjoys hiking, puppies, and running half-marathons. She is very excited to be joining the team and seeing this project through to the end!
Stephanie Glass
BUSINESS
APPLIED ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT, 2012
I am a junior business major from Philadelphia and am concentrating in finance and strategy. I became interested in CUSD because of its innovative approach to sustainable design in developing countries. In addition to my involvement with CUSD, I am VP of the Society for Women in Business, VP of the Dyson Undergraduate Council, and a Leadership Certificate candidate in the BOLD program within the Dyson School. I am interested in sustainable business and finance and hope to pursue a career combining both of my passions.
Mikhail Grinwald
LOGISTICS & PUBLICITY
ARCHITECTURE, 2013
Mikhail is a third-year architecture student in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning. After a yearlong independent study investigating ecologically sustainable practices of indigenous traditions, he traveled to Iceland to document the Icelandic turf house as an architectural type both highly responsive to its regional condition and with the potential to inform simple attitudes towards low-impact development throughout the post-industrial world. Mikhail joined CUSD in the spring of 2011, excited by the organization's interdisciplinary approach to realizing social and environmental sustainability through innovative architecture and design.
Wendy Gu
BUILDING AND STRUCTURE
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, 2014
I love charity/volunteer work and I am really enthusiastic about our cause. I love playing beachvolleyball and making oragami.
Peter Gudonis
BUILDING & STRUCTURE
ARCHITECTURE, 2014
Peter is a 2nd year architecture student with a strong interest in sustainable and socially conscious construction. He enjoys sports, music, traveling and has even been to all seven continents.
Yenny Hsieh
SITE & LOCALE
ARCHITECTURE, 2014
Wei-Yen (Yenny) Hsieh is rising third year architecture student from Winchester, Massachusetts. Wei-Yen got involved with CUSD to continue her strong interest in Schoolhouse South Africa, after investing the past semester conceptualizing the ECD Center design with her fellow students and professors. She is very excited to travel to South Africa this summer to help with the construction process! Aside from architecture, Wei-Yen is an avid tennis player who loves being active and is always up for an adventure.
Alexandrea Klimoski
BUSINESS
DESIGN AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS, 2012
Alex is a junior majoring in Design and Environmental Analysis, with a focus in human factors and ergonomics. She is interested in behavioral psychology and the ways in which the built environment can maximize human performance and potential.
Yoonjee Koh
CITY AND REGION
ARCHITECTURE, 2013
Currently a third-year architecture major in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, Yoonjee is a member of the City and Region Team for Education Africa. She plays violin in the Cornell Symphony Orchestra, likes to go for short walks with friends away from the hot, humid Rand Hall computer lab, and enjoys daydreaming. Yoonjee looks forward to the space that will be created in South Africa, and hopes to be of some aid to the community.
Tiffany Kuo
BUILDING AND STRUCTURE
BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, 2012
Junior in BEE with a concentration in biomedical engineering. Wanted to look more into the environmental side of bioengineering, not just the medical side, so joined CUSD.
Jocelyn Kuo
BUILDING AND STRUCTURE
BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, 2012
I am a junior majoring in Biological Engineering. I became interested in sustainability as, while it is an important method of application for biological and environmental engineering, it is also a frontier concept that seems to permeate both politics and the market.
Jacqueline Liu
BUILDING AND STRUCTURE
ARCHITECTURE, 2013
Jacqueline Liu is a third year Architecture student and is part of the Building & Materials Subteam. She joined CUSD Education Africa in Fall 2010 and hopes in the future to design buildings in the service of communities in need.
Anthony Longo
PUBLICITY, BUSINESS
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 2013
Anthony is a Biology (Animal Physiology) major in the College of Arts and Sciences. He also minors in the beautiful Italian language. Anthony is excited by the prospect of improving the lives of children on another continent, which is why he joined SSA. Often he can be found at the Vet School, where he studies electrophysiology and renal function. Hoping to become a physician, Anthony spends his breaks working or volunteering as a hospital intern with a focus on cardiology. He enjoys playing the drums in the Big Red Marching Band and exploring the Cornell Plantations!
Thomas Shouler
BUILDING & STRUCTURE
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, 2011
Thomas Shouler is a senior studying Civil Engineering. His academic interests are primarily concerned with structural engineering and architecture. Outside the classroom, he is a three-season varsity athlete on Cornell's Cross Country and Track & Field teams.
Lily Simon
LOGISTICS & PUBLICITY
ARCHITECTURE, 2014
Lily is a second year architecture student from Newton, MA. Lily's father is an inventor, fueling her interest for architecture, design, and art. She is currently most interested in sustainable design. Recently, Lily has been an assistant for a local collage artist, and she also enjoys painting, running, and working with children. Lily can't wait for the summer in South Africa!
Tito Soto
BUILDING AND STRUCTURE
ARCHITECTURE, 2014
Roberto (Tito) Soto is currently a sophomore majoring in architecture in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. He developed a research publication, "Inorganic Heat Isolation Panels: A Green Engineering Design" which was submitted to international research competitions. In addition, as part of the Minority Organization of Art, Architecture and Planning, he traveled to Diggi, India in January 2010 and developed a system of documentation and a masterplan for the town's restoration with a cross-disciplinary group of students. He has been working for Professor Alex Mergold and AAP Dean, Kent Kleinman for the upcoming TATA NANO Exhibition at the Johnson Museum.
Elliot Sperling
CITY AND REGION
URBAN AND REGIONAL STUDIES, 2014
Elliot Sperling has a strong interest in transportation planning and urban design. Elliot decided to join CUSD because of his interest in sustainability and implementing that through design whether it involves a structure or the environment that surrounds it. As part of the CUSD Schoolhouse South Africa project he hopes to pursue his interests and be part of the research this semester to help the project advance. Outside of CUSD Elliot is a member of OURS and a volunteer at Dilmun Hill. Elliot enjoys running, cross country skiing, tennis, and enjoying the outdoors.
Jose Tijerina
BUILDING & STRUCTURE
ARCHITECTURE, 2013
Jose Tijerina is an architecture student from San Diego, California. He has lived in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Jose loves architecture, and finds sustainable design particularly interesting as it allows for a more scientific side of architecture while being responsable and beautiful.
Maria Villarraga
CITY AND REGION
ARCHITECTURE, 2014
My name is Maria Villarraga and I am 21 years old. I moved from Bogota, Colombia to the United States a couple years ago due to the political struggle going on . I moved to Miami, Florida and recently transferred from Miami Dade College to Cornell University' Architecture program.
Shu Wang
SITE AND LOCALE
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 2014
Shu Wang was born and raised in the town of Waterloo, Ontario in Canada, and has a passion for science, research, and their humanitarian application.
Dr. Jeremy Foster
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
PROFESSOR
Jeremy Foster is trained as an architect and landscape architect, and holds a PhD. in Human Geography. He has practiced architecture in South Africa, and landscape architecture in the US. Jeremy has taught at Cornell in Landscape Architecture, Architecture, and City & Regional Planning.
His recent design studios have addressed the interpretation of contested natural/cultural landscapes; questions of context, locale and place-identity;and the social, infrastructural and ecological change in urban contexts. His book "Washed with Sun: Landscape & the Making of White South Africa" recently came out from University of Pittsburgh Press.
Dr. Kifle Gebremedhin
BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, PROFESSOR
Dr. Gebremedhin is a professor in the Biological and Environmental Engineering Department. Gebremedhin received his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering (structures) and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Agricultural and Environmental Engineering (structures & environment) from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville. He developed two computer-software packages for the analysis and design of two-dimensional and three-dimensional structural systems which have won ASAE Blue Ribbon Awards and IBM software development recognitions. Professor Gebremedhin has published over 135-refereed journal articles and research technical publications.
Deborah Terhune
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LIAISON
Deborah A. Terhune has successfully worked in South Africa for more than 20 years after starting her own company, Development Consulting CC. Her dynamic personality and passion for development led her to found a non-profit organization, Growing Up Africa (www.growingupafrica.org), which focuses on early childhood education, building and equipping preschools in rural communities and initiating eco-classrooms in preschools. She has contributed to CUSD as a special adviser and friend, bringing her invaluable experience in fund raising and marketing strategies, as well as South African construction projects.
