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Our Team
Our 2024-25 board and fellows are all undergraduates in engineering and technology majors at Yale. They help decide areas of focus and plan events each year. We are always happy to chat!
Use the menu below to help navigate between our team members.
Executive Leadership
Ava Canney
Co-President
Ava is a senior from Derry, Ireland, majoring in chemical engineering. Her research with the Kwabi Lab investigates light driven carbon capture from sea water. This summer she worked for the R&D team at Oxylus Energy working on optimizing electrolyzer systems for carbon conversion. She hopes to further pursue a career in clean energy with a specific focus on carbon conversion research to make industrial processes more sustainable. Outside of academics Ava enjoys working out, reading, listening to live Irish trad music, and spending time with her friends.
Abby Matsuyasu
Co-President
Abby is a junior from Newton, Massachusetts, majoring in biomedical engineering. She researches cardiac disease both through biomechanical modeling and genetic analysis, studying mutations that cause congenital heart defects. She hopes to pursue a PhD in biomolecular engineering before entering biotech industry. Some things Abby enjoys outside of the lab include running, hiking, movie nights with her 8 roommates, cool trees, playing would you rather, and listening to live music.
Amanda O'Donnell
Senior Advisor
Amanda is a senior from Chicago, Illinois majoring in biomedical engineering on the pre-med track. She competes on the Yale Varsity Fencing Team and is involved in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), volunteers at Yale New Haven Hospital, and conducts research on medical devices for spinal cord injury and stroke treatment. In the future, she hopes to become a biomedical engineer, physician, or combination of both. Some other things Amanda enjoys include running, trying new coffee shops, and hanging out with friends.
Kawthar Al Janabi
Senior Advisor
Kawthar Al Janabi is a senior from Martinez, California, majoring in Chemical Engineering. She conducts wastewater monitoring research in New Haven as part of the Peccia Lab. This past summer, she interned at L’Oréal as a Research & Innovation intern, and she hopes to pursue a career in industry after graduation. Outside of engineering, Kawthar is the director of The Good Show, Yale’s premier sketch comedy group, and she also performs with Yale Dabke.
Corporate Relations & Careers
Maddie Lam
Conference Chair
Maddie is a senior from Atlanta, GA and majoring in biomedical engineering in the BS/MS program. She worked this past summer at a medical device company and hopes to work in this industry after graduation. Outside of SWE, Maddie is a FOOT leader, on the club volleyball team, and enjoys running and hanging out with friends. She is super excited to be the conference chair for SWE and organize great events leading up to WE 25.
Yulin Zhen
Professional Development Co-Chair
YuLin is a junior from New York City, majoring in chemical engineering. She is developing and optimizing a more sustainable hydrodealkylation method using nitroarenes in an organic chemistry lab. YuLin is particularly interested in applying her work to industries like personal care and food science. Outside the classroom, she builds autonomous vehicles powered by chemical reactions, photographs for the Yale Daily News, and experiments with making cute ceramics in the pottery studio.
Ellie Tillman-Schwartz
Professional Development Co-Chair
Ellie is a sophomore from Weston, Massachusetts, majoring in biomedical engineering. She hopes to pursue the 4-year combined BS/MS degree in BME before entering the surgical robotics industry. Through the Yale Wiznia lab, she contributes to the development of the Patient Controlled Dispenser and Deactivator (PCDD), a device intended to safely regulate patient-controlled medication dispensing and neutralization. Some things Ellie enjoys outside of academics include reading, playing cello, hiking, cooking/baking, and live music concerts.
Irene Zheng
Professional Development Fellow
Irene is a junior from Bloomington, Minnesota, majoring in Applied Math. Her academic interest lies in developing computational models for cognitive features. On campus, you can find Irene hammocking in the Morse courtyard, grabbing an iced chai from MOTW, or on meaningless walks with her friends!
Community & Social Impact
Aria Wang
Mentorship Chair
Aria is a junior in Applied Physics, trekking to Yale from Pasadena, CA. She works in a quantum materials lab designing and building an instrument to study magnetic inhomogeneities in superconductors. Aria is planning to pursue a PhD in Applied Physics with a focus on clean energy technologies, whether that means material science or plasma physics. She loves running, watching movies and shows with friends or family, reading, and writing ruminative, protracted pieces about her own life.
Amadie Gajanaike
Community Develop Co-Chair
Amadie is a senior from Colombo, Sri Lanka, majoring in electrical engineering. She researches the RF link for Yale's Quantum Laser Around The Sound, and organizes advocacy events for the campus UNICEF chapter. When Amadie's not in the Branford pottery studio, she's probably at Uni-Home Life or hunting down her next Thai iced tea.
Sofia (Sofi) Martinez Lozoya
Community Development Co-Chair
Sofi is a junior from Ypsilanti, Michigan, majoring in biomedical engineering. This summer, she did a Clinical Immersion and Medical Device Design fellowship, where she shadowed physiatrists at the Yale Intensive Rehab Unit in Millford, CT, and worked with a therapy device meant to rehabilitate stroke patients with one-sided weakness in their hands. She hopes to pursue a PhD in biomechanics or medical device design, before entering a career in academia. Some things Sofi loves to do outside of the lab include baking birthday cakes for her friends, exploring food and cafe joints up East Rock, playing with her dog Suki - she's back home :( , and hanging out her suitemates.
Makena Senzon
Community Development Fellow (External)
Makena is a sophomore from Jupiter, Florida, majoring in chemical engineering. She loves connecting chemE to environmental issues, and she is currently researching water pollution and low-cost filters. Beyond engineering, Makena is passionate about writing and storytelling. Hence, she hopes to pursue a career that involves scientific journalism, communication, or education. When she is not writing or conducting experiments, she may be found working at a garden, thinking about her next outdoor adventure, or reading books across genres.
Ella Arroyo
Community Development Fellow (Internal)
Ella is a sophomore in Branford College from Skaneateles, New York, majoring in environmental engineering. She is focusing on freshwater quality through watershed monitoring and desalination efforts, and has interests in air quality preservation. Some of her hobbies include running, watching movies, knitting, playing board games, and going to concerts. She's looking forward to seeing her SWE friends this year!
Operations & Publicity
Ruby Lee
Treasurer
Ruby is a junior from Seoul, Korea, double-majoring in biomedical engineering and economics. She enjoys looking into how biotech and healthcare companies are financed in the real world. In her free time, she loves to catchup with friends over walks to east rock, make spontaneous trips to New York, and mindlessly browse on WSO.
Maria Drabkin
Treasury Fellow
Maria is a sophomore from Cleveland, Ohio, majoring in mechanical engineering. She has been involved in the YUAA as a researcher in SPRC and as the incoming structures subteam lead in Project Liquid. In addition to aerospace, Maria has found an interest in biomedical engineering. This summer, she interned at Medtronic as a mechanical engineering R&D intern conducting exploratory testing with a hernia mesh fixation device. Outside of engineering, Maria loves to paint, play the flute, play tennis, and bake with her friends!
Teresa Nguyen
Media Co-Chair
Teresa is a junior from Orange County, California, majoring in mechanical engineering with certificates in computer science and data science. She has a strong interest in robotics and software engineering within the healthcare space. She has previously worked on software for surgical robotics at Medtronic and is now developing robotic simulations and machine learning pipelines for soft robotic suits at the Faboratory. She hopes to pursue both industry and academia, though which comes first will depend on the job market :,). In her free time, she enjoys climbing, reading whodunit novels, designing scrapbooks and websites, watching whatever anime is trending for the season, and playing with her fur babies (dogs!).
Sundeep Kaur
Media Co-Chair
Sundeep is a junior from Queens, New York, majoring in chemical engineering. She serves as the battery lead for ChemE Car, where she designs batteries for cars powered by chemical energy sources, and she conducts research on redox flow batteries in the Kwabi Lab. She hopes to further explore different applications of chemical engineering before deciding between pursuing a PhD or joining industry. Some things Sundeep enjoys outside of academics include reading, curating Spotify playlists, going on boba runs with friends, and taking photos around campus.
Lauren Scott
Media Fellow
Lauren is a sophomore from Miami, Florida, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. She plans to combine her love for engineering with design and explore the intersection of architecture and engineering, or delve into the world of product design. Lauren is an active member of Yaledancers and loves to volunteer with DEMOS. Lauren also enjoys cooking and exploring/rating new restaurants, interior design, and lying in the sun in JE's courtyard.
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