Meet the CEAS Peer Mentors

Leanne Airhienbuwa

Leanne is a junior at Stony Brook, majoring in Biomedical Engineering, with a specialization in Molecular and Cellular BME. They got involved as the Secretary for AEMB BME Honor Society, a Lead Peer Mentor for the Simons STEM Scholars Program, and as a member of the Black and Latinx Student Success Council. They researched in Dr. Wei Yin's BME Lab at Stony Brook, at the University of Minnesota and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. They like to journal!

Riley Askenazi

Riley is a junior at Stony Brook, majoring in Applied Mathematics and Statistics and minoring in Creative Writing. They got involved as the VP of Administration for RHA, the President and Founder of the Spoken Word Poetry Club, a member of NRHH,  an Office Assistant in the Mendelsohn Area Office, and are a former mentee. This year, they have joined the Detecting Evolution & Development in 3D Surfaces VIP Team and plan to make more time to work on different mediums of writing, along with hoping to also publish some of their work.

Erin Cahill

Erin is a junior at Stony Brook, double majoring in Civil Engineering and Applied Mathematics and Statistics. She got involved as the Senior Structural Captain for the ASCE Steel Bridge Team, is on the Stony Brook Women’s Club Soccer Team, and is a former mentee. She is doing research on load bearing, tubular morphing structures with Professor Celli and is a Kennel Assistant for Paws of War. She does an 85 mile bike ride each year for The Ride for Missing and Exploited Children.

Mary Calandra

Mary is a graduate student at Stony Brook, pursuing a Master of Science in Chemical and Molecular Engineering. She got involved as a captain for the Chem-E-Car in AIChE and as a member of the Running Club. She has interned at FM Global, Wolfspeed, and Estee Lauder. She is an expert Subway Surfer.

Samuel Camulaire

Samuel is a sophomore at Stony Brook, majoring in Civil Engineering. He got involved as the Treasurer and Videographer for BASIC, the Membership Chair for NSBE, and as a USG AV Technician. He is a member of CSTEP, Chi Alpha Ministries, and was a Field Intern at FC Consulting Engineers. He raps, produces music, and releases music on all streaming platforms under the stage name SamTheSon.

Anusree Chakraborty

Anusree is a sophomore at Stony Brook, majoring in Biomedical Engineering. She got involved with the Bioengineering Education, Application and Research (BEAR) VIP Team, did research in Physics, Engineering, and Biology (PEB) at Yale, and is working with a grad student involved at the Imaging Informatics for Precision Medicine Lab (IMAGINE) Lab at Stony Brook. She can speak 5 languages (Bengali, English, Hindi, French, and Urdu).

Abigail Huang

Abigail is a sophomore at Stony Brook, majoring in Computer Science. She got involved as a member of the Tech Businesses in Development (TBD) VIP team, with the Break Through Tech AI Fellowship, Girls Who Code Work Prep, and is a former mentee. She’s been crocheting for one year.

Hua Huang

Hua is a junior at Stony Brook, majoring in Computer Engineering. He got involved with SBU iGEM, who won a gold medal at the Paris Jamboree in Summer 2024 and as the Service Chair for Theta Tau. He does research onso100 robotic arms using imitation learning with Professor Purwar (MEC) at SBU. He needs his soup boiling hot.

Leo Jiang

Leo is a sophomore at Stony Brook, majoring in Chemical and Molecular Engineering. He got involved as a former mentee and does research on nanoscale catalysis with Professor Frenkel (CME). He interned at Kohler, enjoys playing chess, and his Chinese name (Jiāng Yún Tiān) in English is the combination of "river", "cloud", and "sky". 

Nolan Kyi

Nolan is a sophomore at Stony Brook, double majoring in Applied Mathematics and Statistics and Economics. He got involved as the Secretary of the Running Club, Assistant Treasurer for LLS, and is a member of the Organization of Actuarial Students, Quant Club, and Pokemon Go Club. He is a former mentee and in 2024, he ran at least one mile every day of the year.

Leah Landron

Leah is a sophomore at Stony Brook, majoring in Chemical and Molecular Engineering with a specialization in Sustainable Materials and a minor in Chemistry. She got involved as a Dynamic Dance Showcase Coordinator and Tap Teacher, member of AIChE, French Cub, and Art Club. She was a Compounding Intern at Estée Lauder and researches chemical upcycling of fabric for catalysis with Professor Kim (CME). She plays viola, ukulele, guitar, and is working on teaching herself piano.

Tiffany Leong

Tiffany is a sophomore at Stony Brook, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. She got involved as the Treasurer for the Robotics Team, the Event Coordinator for SASE, and is a former mentee. She is a member of the Wear-AI-able Futures VIP Team and interned at a startup AI company called Pulp. She loves collecting stickers for scrapbooking and has three different organizers to sort them all.

Xiang Liu

Xiang is a junior at Stony Brook, majoring in Computer Science. He got involved as a RA in Benedict North and is a former mentee. He is doing research in Artificial Intelligence at the AI4Science Lab and on robot learning in the Learning & Intelligence Lab. He likes to read about biographies of great people and play violin. 

Spiros Manolas

Spiros is a junior at Stony Brook, double majoring in Applied Mathematics and Statistics and Mathematics. He got involved as the Treasurer for SIAM, PR Chair for AIAA, and as a Simons STEM Scholars Cohort Rep. He researched computational topology optimization for the SBU MEC department, computational physics at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Computational Mathematics for Data Science at Emory University. He used to play the xylophone!

Samantha Margulies

Samantha is a junior at Stony Brook, double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics and Statistics. She got involved as the Treasurer of SAE Stony Brook Motorsports and is a member of the WISE Honors Program. She interned at Copper Hill Development and did research at Brookhaven National Lab. She is a first degree black belt in martial arts.

Franchesca Jayden Miguel

Franchesca is a junior at Stony Brook, majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a specialization in Biomechanics and Biomaterials. She got involved as a PR for BMES, a member of the Bioengineering Education, Application and Research (BEAR) VIP Team, and is a former mentee. She had a YouTube channel when she was six years old and still enjoys making and editing videos with family/friends. 

Stephanie Ngu

Stephanie is a junior at Stony Brook, double majoring in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics and Statistics. She got involved as a freshman committee member of WiCS, a member of the Bioengineering Education, Application and Research (BEAR) VIP Team, of SBCS, and is a former mentee. Her go-to order at a cafe is an iced matcha latte.

Melania Petriccione

Melania is a sophomore at Stony Brook, majoring in Chemical and Molecular Engineering with a minor in Italian. She got involved as PR for AIChE, Treasurer of the Club Swim Team, plays flute in Wolfie’s Big Band, and is a former mentee. She studied abroad in Florence, Italy over the summer. She loves to read (especially fantasy novels) and her dream is to one day have a personal library built into her home.

Maya Pulawska

Maya is a junior at Stony Brook, double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics and Statistics. She got involved as a member of AIAA, SWE, and as a DoIT Client Support Technician. She has worked as a Summer Camp Counselor and Lifeguard. She has backpacked in 2 national parks and on the Appalachian Trail 4 times.

Diana Russo

Diana is a junior at Stony Brook, majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Bioengineering. She got involved as a member of SAE Stony Brook Motorsports, the Bioengineering Education, Application and Research (BEAR) VIP Team, and is a former mentee. She was a SOAR Research Intern with Professor Sunar, interned at Bloomberg Philanthropies Intern, and was an ArgoPrep Tutor. She has been on Kingda Ka (the tallest roller coaster in the US) 3 times in a row.  

Jillian is a sophomore at Stony Brook, majoring in Information Systems with a minor in Communication and Innovation. She got involved as a member of WiCS, TCG Club, and is a former mentee. She is a member of the Tech Businesses in Development (TBD) VIP Team, working on the Sprout Project. She managed a huge esports club with multiple varsity and junior varsity teams, but never competed as a starting member on any of the teams.

Lucas Tom-Wong

Lucas is a senior at Stony Brook, majoring in Civil Engineering. He got involved as the former Steel Bridge Project Manager and President of ASCE, and is a former mentee. He interned at Forte Construction, GMSLLP- Engineers and Architects, GCCOM Construction Company, and does research in Autonomous Driving. He enjoys playing board games.

Saraf Wasima

Saraf is a sophomore at Stony Brook, majoring in Biomedical Engineering. She got involved as a member of BMES, LLS, and is a former mentee. She works as a Recreation Assistant at a local rehab/nursing home, volunteers at LIJ, and is an Office Assistant in the Asian and Asian American Studies department at SBU. She is a self taught henna artist.

Paris Yang

Preston Yeung

Preston is a sophomore at Stony Brook, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He got involved as PR for ASME, a DoIT Campus Residences IT Technician, and as a member of AIAA, SAE Stony Brook Motorsports, and Wolfie RedRacing. He researched in a Materials Science and Engineering Lab at the National Institute of Standards and Technology at Maryland, NASA L'Space MCA Academy. He played club and high school soccer and was a lifeguard.

Marko Zimic

Marko is a senior at Stony Brook, majoring in Chemical and Molecular Engineering on the pre-med track with minors in Chemistry and Materials Science. He got involved with the Pre-Med Society, Music in Medicine, and the Linguistics Club. He is a former mentee, worked as a medical assistant in an endocrinologist’s office, and does polymer physics research with Professor Koga (CME). He can play 6 instruments.