Team:Columbia-Cooper-NYC/Team

Advisors:

• Advisor 1: Mentor for all
• Advisor 2: Our favorite
• Grad Student 1: Our leader

Undergrads:

When he’s not obsessively watching American Idol videos or playing tunes on his guitar, Aakash Mansukhani studies chemical engineering at Columbia University. As a rising sophomore, Aakash hopes that participating in IGEM will help him learn more about how principles from chemical engineering and synthetic biology can be combined to program bacteria. In his free time, Aakash loves to sing and reinvent pop songs by putting his own acoustic spin on them.

Team member 1

Akachi is a rising Sophomore at Columbia University. Her potential major is Chemical Engineering. She was interested in IGEM because she wanted to learn about the many ways she can apply what she is being taught in school to real world problems. Akachi also enjoys watching soap operas.

Pnina is a rising sophomore at The Cooper Union. She is currently in the BSE track there (with a possibility of switching to mechanical engineering), and hopes to specialize in biomedical engineering. IGEM seemed like a great opportunity to get some real hands-on experience in study of biology and problem-solving combined.

Naimun is a rising Sophomore at Columbia University. He began the year as a Physics major and changed to Biomedical Engineering followed up by a change to Electrical Engineering to Applied Physics and finally, to Chemical Engineering. IGEM seemed like an opportunity for him to learn more about some of the applications of engineering and its consequences. Naimun loves reading about theoretical physics and hopes to die in a black hole one day.

Sara just finished her third year as a Chemical Engineer at Columbia University. She is interested in pharmaceuticals and protein engineering. IGEM was particularly appealing, because she wanted a chance to pursue a fun application of synthetic biology. Sara also enjoys super hero movies.

Roshan is a rising sophomore majoring in chemical engineering at Columbia University. He is interested in working in alternative energy. He joined the IGEM team because it was a great opportunity to apply engineering principles to solve real world problems while gaining invaluable hands-on experience.

Nicholas Mannarino is a rising sophomore at The Cooper Union. He is studying chemical engineering, with a hope to specialize in biomedical engineering and biotechnology. He joined IGEM because it seemed like a great way to spend a summer getting acquainted with a field he is interested in. In his spare time, Nicholas enjoys playing the guitar and long-distance running.

Anna Mai is a rising junior majoring in chemical engineering at Columbia University, with a minor in environmental engineering. She joined IGEM because it presented an interesting medium for interacting with engineers around the world and providing hands on experience in the highly applicable field of synthetic biology. In her spare time she enjoys playing ultimate Frisbee, building paper crafts, and serenading her neighbors (not well).

Ud Okorafor is a rising senior at Columbia University. He is majoring in chemical engineering and has interests in protein engineering and pharmaceuticals. He joined IGEM because he enjoyed the research he had done previously on genetic engineering of E. coli. In his spare time, he enjoys playing various sports, reading science fiction books, and watching movies.

Saimon is a rising sophomore at The Cooper Union. He is studying Chemical Engineering and intends to minor in Mathematics. He joined IGEM because it gives him the opportunity to apply engineering and creativity to biology. In his spare time, Saimon enjoys listening to alternative rock and watching science fiction television shows.

Kirsten Nicassio just finished her freshman year at The Cooper Union. She is majoring in chemical engineering, with an intended math minor. She joined IGEM because of interest in the field of biomedical engineering. In her spare time, Kirsten enjoys reading, knitting, and swimming.

Despite being from the bustling streets of New York City, Marjana was born to live in the wild. This nature lover and rising sophomore intends to major in Environmental Biology at Columbia University. In the past, Marjana's research has scaled a size spectrum ranging from immense invasive species to minuscule endangered species. As part of the Columbia-Cooper iGEM team, she is excited about her newest and smallest challenge yet, microorganisms.

Jackie Song is a rising sophomore studying mechanical engineering at The Cooper Union. She joined iGEM out of curiosity about the processes and techniques used in synthetic biology. Jackie enjoys playing the flute and meshing gears.

Team member 13

Peter Liu is a rising senior at The Cooper Union majoring in Chemical Engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering. He joined the igem team this year to further his knowledge and lab skills in the field of synthetic and microbiology.

Team member 13