The Team

---

Arun Chakravorty

Most avid Cornell iGEM followers will recognize the baby-faced Arun from all the way back in 2013 when he took Boston by storm with his red polo shirts and dazzling good looks. Now, two full years later, Arun has emerged from his cocoon of boyhood as (suspense) a similar-looking child with gelled hair! Those all-nighters Arun spends in lab can’t be for the iGEM team: he must be working on some miracle anti-aging cream because while the rest of us are losing our hair, his continues to grow in lush. It’s a good thing Arun has remained dedicated to the team, however; at this rate, the Cornell iGEM team in 100 years will still be consulting Arun. Maybe then he’ll be having his first shave.

Casey Zhang

If Casey were a Pokemon, she would be Jigglypuff. Found in the lush green plains between Route 115 and Ithaca, Casey’s charm is super effective against any foe. Her special abilities include captivating bystanders with her huge round eyes, and lulling the manliest of men to sleep with her gentle lullaby. Her friendly nature makes her the ideal Wetlab team member. After a tragic accident covered the floors of Weill in blue loading dye, legend has it that she spent countless nights scrubbing the mile long hall with a single paper towel. Casey draws her positivity from her diet consisting of baked goods and bibimbap burritos. On one unfortunate occasion, she was poisoned with a Jalapeno pepper hidden deep within an enchilada. Witnesses say that she swelled to a round pink ball and to this day she maintains a deep-seated aversion to anything spicy. Although this remains her sole weakness, Casey’s copious strengths allow her to lead a team of less evolved Igglybuffs, all of whom would be nowhere without her.

Gargi Ratnaparkhi

See George.

George Danias

See Gargi.

Grace Chuang

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That miniprepped in the AM for me.
While she is a bubbling spirit in the lab and a friend in our hearts, Grace is not a force to be reckoned with. Whether it’s an adamant army of ants raiding her kitchen or plasmids refusing to cooperate, Chief Chuang is always ready to take on any challenge. An active member of CRU and close friends with Bill Nye the science dude, Grace is basically a manifestation of the positivity and friendliness exuded by a playful breeze on an Ithacan summer’s day. Her loyalty, however, isn’t fickle like the winds of the Northeast; rather, she finds herself at all hours tirelessly working in the lab, often jamming to numerous sick beats, until we have to physically kidnap her and dose her with Starbucks to bring her back to the real world. She co-leads the Policy and Practices subteam and is ready to cure the world’s diseases. A master of photography, you can find this kind soul wandering through gardens and Farmer’s Markets, trying to catch the sunlight in just the right way, before she captures an image only surpassed by a Van Gogh.

Grace Livermore

Grace Livermore is a powder blue tang. Outsiders regard her for her pleasant, unassuming countenance, but we Cornell iGEMers know that this fireball can zip, dart, and dive amongst the coral towers faster than most other fish. Among the reefs she patented her optimistic motto, “Just keep swimming”, and she’s still a little bitter that tedious blue tang with the naïve clownfish friend stole it. Naturally an intellectual (she’s been feeding on brain coral her entire life), Grace is an integral part of our policy and practices subteam. She cares very deeply about her fishy friends and wants to help develop programs to mitigate the harmful effects of bacterial cold water disease. Grace is a true team player—she cares about the salmon she’s saving, even though they aren’t nearly as tangy as her.

Hao Yan

How does one describe Hao? He is an enigma, never here nor there but always present. You’ll often see a shadow in the lab space and wonder, “Is that Hao?” But when you go closer, he’s not there. How did he leave? Through the door? Is that how? Hao is incredibly smart and knowledgable in all things biology, one of the best additions to our wetlab team. He is also very friendly and always willing to give a helping hand. Unknown to most of the team, Hao is also a full-time astronaut gymnast and performs in the outer atmosphere every other weekend. He volunteers at a shelter for underprivileged bears and cooks delicious tortillas. How does he have time for all these hobbies while still being captain of the Yellow Submarine? We don’t know. How, Hao? How?

Jane Liao

Our ever loving sweet Jane has a subtle yet undeniable charm. On a blue sky, lazy Saturday afternoon, you can see her strolling down campus with her BB sidekick on the lookout for birds and squirrels terrorizing sidewalks. After saving the day and bringing smiles to countless passerby, you can find her tinkering away diligently at CUiGEM. Not just cloning, but Corning-bots that run and twirl and...wait, did it just pass gas? Ahem, well, where did Jane come from? How did she end up at CUiGEM? Rumors have it that she was a young duckling with amazing wit and intelligence, but nobody noticed it. One day, she was zipping through the rapids of Canada when she saw something fishy glimmering in the water. A rainbow trout was stuck under a rock. Using her bill as a lever, she saved the rainbow fish and in return, was given a wishing scale. Jane turned herself into a girl. Finally, everyone would not see her as a quack. She established a tech company tech for saving lost ducklings and became an international idol. But one day, she looked into the water and saw her rainbow friend again. The trouts were in trouble, and this time, it was more crushing than a little rock. Jane embarked on an adventure to CUiGEM in search for a solution. Or so rumors say.

Jonlin Chen

The annals of modern history have largely been written by illustrious American leaders, from George Washington to Ronald Reagan. In 2015, Jonlin Chen joined those venerated ranks. As team leader for this year's competition season, she has addressed the multifarious setbacks associated with modern lab work with an admirable aplomb. However, iGEM is only the beginning. Having been born in the giddy years immediately following the much-celebrated demise of the USSR, Jonlin has watched the rise of new threats to American dominance with concern and hostility.With destabilizing challenges to American primacy more pernicious than ever before, she is biding her time, waiting for the moment to seize the ultimate mantle of power. When Jonlin assumes her rightful place at the top of Executive Branch, fires of liberation will envelop the globe. There can be only one.

Kevin Hui

Kevin Hui is a snowflake clownfish. He’s always quick to crack a joke, and his unique sense of humor is always good for a laugh. A very amiable fish, he was the perfect choice for the Cornell iGEM team’s social chair. Kevin created new team events and put his own clowny twist on some Cornell iGEM classics to make sure the entire team enjoyed their time outside of the lab. Kevin resides in a sea anemone (obviously), so he’s immune from the harmful effects of BCWD. He was the perfect choice to lead the crusade against Flavobacterium, and he worked this year to characterize the effects of ecnB proteins on that nasty bacteria. We thank Kevin for his sacrifice. It takes a lot of effort to wage two simultaneous battles: one against a deadly bacteria, the other against our team’s desire to never leave lab.

Michelle Zhang

The smell of smoke accompanies the light crackle of flames welcomes you into the lab. You look down. Ashes cover the singed earth, burnt protocol sheets tumbling across the barren ground. You look back up. The lab benches have been blackened with soot, with only rectangular patch untouched – the place where a macbook once sat. A small fire is still burning on the farthest chair, and a pen has been left slightly melted on the table top. In the corner, the local pyromaniac cowers and whimpers. Who, or what, could have done this? Her name is Michelle Zhang, and she isn’t here to play games. Don’t let her INFJ disposition fool you - 50% human, 50% goddess, and 73% multitasking unicorn, she’s so awesome her genetic make-up can’t be confined to 100%. So inhumanely efficient and on top of her game, she blazes through work so fast it catches fire. She leaves scorch marks in the sidewalk as she sprints between Weill and Riley-Robb. She lifts 50lb jugs of LB every morning to maintain her towering build, and runs a distance equivalent to two trips around the moon in her daily lab to lab commute. Her meals consist of deviously efficient jars of pasta, shaken together with tomato sauce and the blood of her enemies. Michelle’s here to get work done and make bad puns, and she’s all out of work.

Neema Patel

import java.awt.List;
public class Neema {
private String year,subteam;
private List languages;
private int MagicNumber;
public boolean csld; // Can she legally drink?

public Neema() {
year = ""Class of 2016"";
subteam = ""Dry Lab"";
languages.add(""English""); // hello
languages.add(""Gujarati""); // હેલો
languages.add(""French""); // Bonjour
MagicNumber = Integer.MAX_VALUE; // Neema's leg length
csld = true;
}

public boolean doesNeemaHaveCoffeeWithHer(){
if (HaveCSClass == true || LookEnergetic == true){
return true;
}
else if (HaveCSClass == true || AlmostFallAsleep == true) {
return false;
}
else if (NeedToMeetSomebodyAtLabspace){
return false;
}
else{
return null;
System.out.println(""Depends on how I feel today!"");
}
}
}

Olya Spassibojko

"Shall I compare her to a winter’s day?
But what would be the point? There’s naught to say.
The two are as apart as night and day.
Unlike the frigid winter’s waning sun
her warmth is genuine; her outlook fun.
With passion does she love the work we’ve done.

And she gives shelter to small furry things,
unlike the cold that drives them all away.
And she knows all the joy good cloning brings –
a veteran and expert nowadays.
And she loves Anberlin (and what they sing
is nothing like what winter winds will play).

And only she knows how to say her name:
I mean Spassibojko? How am I supposed to put that in meter, let alone rhyme it?
"

Reed Geisler

See Alan.

Rishabh Singh

"Captain's Log
Entry #421-1
Sector: 2814
Coordinates: 42.4433° N, 76.5000° W

Many moons ago, my crew and I were ordered by high command to hunt and capture a mythical
creature named ""Rishabh"", though they say his true name of power remains lost to the eons. For
decades, we studied his patterns, learned his ways. Rishabh, despite an eternity of wisdom, had
devolved into a creature of habit, frequenting a small nearby establishment named ""Taco Bell"". The
creature also displayed a certain affinity towards ""rap"" music, though our research team had yet to
deciphering its meaning. When the time had come, our scouts tracked his last known location to Ithaca,
where he had blended into the student populace; more specifically, the Cornell iGEM team. Tracking
down Rishabh's lair was mere child's play; our crew commanded the best hunters in the known
quadrant. And so we infiltrated and laid in wait, hoping to find the perfect moment to strike.
But so was he.
In my hubris, I underestimated the might of the ancient powers, at the cost of my crew's lives. One by
one, we were slaughtered. I am the sole survivor. Even now, I am being hunted. My days left are
numbered. It is coming for me. He is coming for me. If anyone receives this message, please send he"

Ritvik Sarkar

What is the Ritvik? I'm glad you asked. Ritvik used to be our team's secret secret nonlethal weapon, until a series of not completely unrelated explosions and earthquakes alerted national media to its existence. Ritvik is the original prototype for our project, with its 20 micron filter hair outperforming all competition. We are still struggling to develop a successor that has even half the ability to make wet things into dry things. Capable of building models to ensure our team's success as well as other smaller ventures such as hostile takeover of midwestern states, Ritvik is an essential component of our team. Without its capabilities as a replacement pump system, we would be incapable of surmounting the one foot of head that stalls our team's inevitable victory.

Sachiye Koide

A legend has been foretold. When joy and fortune met, when they sought to sew together their ideals, they encoded their essence into their perfect set of nucleotides, and their story gave birth to this girl of the highest caliber. As she emits her radiant demeanor, all hints of evil contaminants shall be vanquished from her LB. As she exudes her joyous energy, all traces of negative emotions shall simply dissipate. Yes, her mere presence will be the sun that illuminates the darkness and fills the void that threatens to swallow the Cornell iGEM lab. Be it her unique tastes in music, or her peerless and impeccable cloning techniques, or her complete calmness in the presence of dangerous flying insects, she will imbue us with hope and strength to obliterate the peptidoglycan fortresses that stand against our mission. However, all of this conceal her true talent as a visionary and creator. With those animations so dynamic, so vibrant, she will surely lead us to victory. She is Sachiye Koide, and may her legend be forever carved into iGEM history.

Saie Ganoo

Can anyone say no to Saie? Hailing from Tennessee, with a subtle Southern drawl, Saie appears to be cute and collected, but beware: even though she may be slightly on the short side, she’s full of spunk. At night, she lives a double life, staying up until 3AM befriending often clueless high schoolers as a residential advisor and sending cool emails with lots of random pictures off the internet. By day, you can find her snapchatting in wet lab, jamming out to the best of the best (aka High School Musical and the Jonas Brothers. No shame. You can admit that you like them too; she won’t judge.), all while casually inserting genes into plasmids with success. She co-leads the policy and practices subteam as well, determined to save every salmon in upstate New York. So how does she do it all? She may be busy, but don’t fear. She’ll always be there to comfort you with Netflix on those days where you want to stay in bed for 10 hours. Armed with a Starbucks Frappuccino in hand, Saie has no fear in tackling on whatever the world hands her, and she will do it with a smile.

Tara Chari

package CUiGEM;

public class Tara extends CS2110Crew {

private String location;
private int amtOfHate;
private String year;
private boolean hatesGnomes;
static int hrsInDuffield;

public Tara() {
hrsInDuffield = 0;
amtOfHate = 0;
hatesGnomes = false;
}

public String WhereInTheWorldIsTaraChari() {
if ( hella && avocados ) { location = "California"; }
if ( problemSets && hillsOnHillsOnHills ) { location = "Ithaca"; }
return location;
}

public void TrappedInDuffieldForever() {
if ( psetDue ) { hrsInDuffield += 3; }
if ( prelimSoon ) { hrsInDuffield += 6; }
while ( finalsWeek ) { hrsInDuffied = Integer.MAX_VALUE; }
}

public void gnomeStatus() {
if ( tookCS2110ThisSummer ) { hatesGnomes = true; }
}

public void HowMuchDoesTaraHateTheSightOfWeillToday() {
if ( has20MiniprepsWaitingForHer ) { amtOfHate = 9; }
if ( cravingGrilledCheese ) { amtOfHate = -3; }
if ( sequencingCameBackRight ) { amtOfHate = -100}
if ( constructsDueTomorrow ) { amtOfHate = 10000; }
}

}

Wenjia You

public class Wenjia {

private String hometown;
String yr;
private String bedtime;

boolean isSnowing = false;

private int hrsWatchingKDramas; // per week

static int stress = 0;

public Wenjia(){
hometown = "Nanjing";
yr = "Sophmore";
bedtime = "1 am";

hrsWatchingKDramas = 5;
}

public void addClass(Class newClass){

if(newClass.type.equals("CS")){
bedtime = "4 am";
stress += 3;

hrsWatchingKDramas++;
}
else{
stress += 1;
}
}

public void findWenjia(){

if(isSnowing && stress < 4){
System.out.println("Gone skiing");
}
else if(isSnowing){
System.out.println("Watching K Dramas or TBBT");
}
else if(stress < 5 && !isSnowing){
System.out.println("Barbecuing and picnicking ");
}
else{
System.out.println("Somehow managing to get all my work done in an infinitesimally small amount of time!");
}

}

}

Yi Fan Chen

This man has been ingrained with Confuscious virtues since the day he was born. He works hard, hardly ever plays, gets barely any pay, yet never complains about the hardship to his bosses. In fact, he does not even regard his daily tribulations as difficulties. He merely sees them as challenges that builds character. (Hell, he evens cooks his meal, and he cooks it better than my mom does, whats up with that?) He knows that one day the mountains will be moved, the foes will be vanquished, and the sea departs to make way for him toward that stockpile of Nobel prices that is his birthright. And so he waits. He pipets. He autoclaves. He transforms. He only sleeps during the few hours of incubation. When he sleeps, he dreams:"when that day comes, I am going to give 10% of every one of my Nobel Price money to my buddy_____" (Yeah he better, because that buddy of his does not have a pension plan).