Planning Committee

Tech Day Planning Committee


	Loren Salisbury - Executive Director After attending Tech Day as a high school senior, Loren knew that the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering was the place for her. She is now a senior in Civil Engineering with a concentration in construction. Loren is honored to be leading the Planning Committee for Tech Day 2012 – which will be the best Tech Day yet! Loren has one last thing to say: GO BLUE!

	Jenette Kuo - Finance Director Jenette is a currently a junior in Industrial and Operations Engineering. In addition to being on the Tech Day planning committee, she is also a SLC Study Group Leader and a part of the Engineering Global Leadership Honors Program and the Society of Women Engineers. If she’s lucky enough to have some free time, Jenette likes to read books, watch movies, and hang out with friends.

	Loren Lee - Director Lo is a junior in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Farmington Hills, Michigan. This is the fifth year Lo has been involved with Tech Day (including attending two consecutive years in high school). Aside from Tech Day, Lo is passionate about social justice. As a Program in Intergroup Relations facilitator, Calc 2 and 3 supplemental instruction leader and Tech Day Executive Board member, Lo doesn’t have much free time although she does enjoy listening to music, sleeping and hanging out with friends. GO BLUE!!

	Chandramouli Nagarajan - Director Chandra is an international student and a junior in the College of Engineering. He is interested in various types of engineering, and is trying to focus on Mechanical and Computer Science. Chandra is on Residence Staff at one of the residence halls on campus and spends a lot of his time in his hall trying to build an inclusive community. He is a big cricket and soccer fan and has a new found interest in racquetball. GO BLUE!

	Sasikanth Sudabattula - Internal Director Currently a Senior, Sasi is majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a Biochemical concentration. Tech Day 2012 would be Sasi’s 5th Tech Day! He really wants to study abroad in Germany/South Korea/Japan. He enjoys listening to K-Pop (even though he doesn’t understand it)! He loves tennis and enjoys volleyball, table tennis, and badminton.

	Arjun Mahajan - External Director Arjun is a senior majoring in Chemical Engineering with an interest in Material Science. He did not attend Tech Day as a high school student, but he has been on the Planning Committee for 2 years now. In his free time, he likes to go on hiking trips and play an insane amount of tennis. In the future he hopes to live somewhere very warm.

	Zac Costello - Group Leader Zac is a Junior in Industrial and Operations Engineering from Shelby Township, Michigan. This is his fifth year being a part of Tech Day, whether it be as a prospective student or volunteer, and his second year on the Group Leaders Committee. He enjoys playing tennis and golf, as well as poker and Euchre. He currently works for the U of M Transportation Research Institute, and hopes to continue his career in the automotive human factors field.

	Rossen Pomakov - Group Leader Rossen is a sophomore in Electrical Engineering, hailing from Buffalo, New York and the country of Bulgaria before that. He loves UMich and is looking forward to his first year as an official Tech Day Group Leader. Rossen DJs during the summer and loves almost every kind music, in all 3 of his fluent languages.

	Brett Herwat - Group Leader Brett is a junior in Industrial and Operations Engineering from Hanover, Michigan. This is his second year as a volunteer for Tech Day and first year on the planning committee. He enjoys ice skating and is a certified ice hockey official through USA Hockey. Brett also enjoys cooking, golf, and Tech Day!

	Timothy Vandall - Group Leader Timothy is a junior in Chemical Engineering. He grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but has lived in Alabama and Colorado as well. Timothy loves soccer, basketball and all sports.

	Erica Mertz - Food and Hospitality Erica Mertz is a junior from Evanston, Illinois, majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is involved in several student groups on campus, including BLUELab (Better living using engineering), working on a project that builds biosand filters to make clean water available for people in Jamaica. She also enjoys working at the Michigan Lawyer’s Club Cafeteria, with a lot of her Pi Beta Phi sorority sisters. She is excited to start an internship with construction company Barton Malow this summer, even though this means she will not have time to train for the Chicago Marathon which she and her friends have done in the past.

	Patrick Korth - Food and Hospitality Patrick is a sophomore in Computer Science Engineering from Okemos, Michigan. This is his first year on the Food and Hospitality Committee. In his free time, Patrick enjoys billiards, running, and developing videogames. He looks forward to the opportunities that his time at UM Engineering holds.

	Shannon Pawloski - Food and Hospitality Shannon is a junior in Computer Science Engineering. This is her first year on the Tech Day committee, and she is super excited to inspire future Wolverines! In her free time she likes to swim, run, read, and hang out with friends. She also spends a lot of time involved with Tau Beta Pi, the Society of Women Engineers, and Relay for Life.

	Elizabeth Marks - Exhibits Liz is a junior in Electrical Engineering from Muskegon, Michigan, and she is part of the Exhibits Committee. She is also involved in M-Heal (Michigan Health Engineered for All Lives), and she is on a project team that has designed and is working on implementing a low cost, battery powered surgical lamp for developing countries. Liz usually spends her summers working at a summer camp, but this year she has an internship with Texas Instruments.

	Elisa Gunawan - Exhibits Elisa is a senior in Industrial and Operations Engineering. She is an international student who originally comes from Jakarta, Indonesia. Pushed by a desire to utilize her time in University of Michigan wisely, Elisa has been involved in a broad range of activities – research, study abroad, volunteering, as well as holding various positions in multiple student organizations. Elisa’s hobbies include pleasure reading and playing badminton. After serving as a registration volunteer in Tech Day 2010 and 2011, she is proud to be a part of the Exhibits Committee of Tech Day 2012.

	Vera Lo - Exhibits Vera is currently a junior in Industrial and Operations Engineering from Hong Kong. This is her first year involved with Tech Day, and she is extremely excited to contribute to the success of the event. Apart from being on the Tech Day Planning Committee, she is involved with the Michigan Engineering Consulting Club and is part of the Engineering Global Leadership Honors Program. During her free time, she enjoys running and spending time with friends.

	Erika Jansen - Public Relations Erika is a junior studying Computer Science and Engineering. In addition to being on the Tech Day Public Relations committee, she is a member of the Michigan Triathlon Club team and is involved with K-Grams and the Society of Women Engineers. She also enjoys playing soccer, watching movies with friends and going to football games (and other Michigan sports) in her free time.

	Alison Christiansen - Public Relations Alison is a junior from Troy, Michigan, majoring in Computer Science and Engineering. Other than the Public Relations Committee, she is a part of MPowered Entrepreneurship and CSE Scholars. She likes hanging out with her friends, watching musicals, reading, and drinking coffee.

	Stephen Lee - Public Relations Stephen is a Senior in Industrial Operations Engineering. He is looking forward to his first Tech Day and is excited to contribute to the annual event. He enjoys being outdoors, football Saturdays, singing in the shower, and has a passion for music.

	Michael Haines - Webmaster Michael Haines is a fourth-year graduate student who left Massachusetts to specialize in high-power lasers. With a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, he thrives on homework and being in bed from 10:00 to 10:00. He is an active member of the Knights of Columbus who participates in several student organizations, including Eta Kappa Nu and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. His most adventurous exploits, however, are his culinary experiments.

	Jonathan Pevarnek - Webmaster Jonathan Pevarnek is a junior studying computer science engineering. This is his third year participating in Tech Day and his second year being on the webmaster committee. Other than Tech Day, he is extremely involved in the Circle K club at the university.

	David Chen - Webmaster David Chen is a junior studying Computer Science and Actuarial Mathematics. In addition to Tech Day, he is also the webmaster of Malaysian Students Association at the University of Michigan. He doesn't always have free time, but when he does he spend them browsing Hacker News and Techmeme.

	Jeremy Ross - Design Competition Jeremy Ross is a sophomore considering Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering. To help determine his major, Jeremy participates in multiple student organizations including the Michigan Rocket Engineering Association. While his hometown is Alpena, Michigan, he enjoys travelling, and hopes to study abroad to help complete his minor in German. When not busy with school, he enjoys both playing and watching sports, and can be found at the Big House supporting the Wolverines throughout the fall.

	Hannah Cheriyan - Design Competition Hannah is a sophomore majoring in Biomedical Engineering. She wrastles sheep in the mornings for her Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) project, designs centrifuge prototypes as part of the Art/Publicity and Prototyping division of the Tech Arb startup Centricycle, and helps plan leadership-building workshops as part of the UM Engineering Council (UMEC) … when she’s not working with the Tech Day Planning Committee, of course! In her free time, Hannah enjoys reading, creative writing, and singing.

	Jared DeFrain - Design Competition Jared is a sophomore studying Computer Engineering at the University of Michigan. In his free time he watches his favorite TV shows, House and Law and Order. In the summer he enjoys boating and tubing on Lake Michigan.

	Meghan Karriger - Design Competition Meghan is a senior in Aerospace Engineering from Petoskey, MI. Aside from being on the Tech Day Planning Committee, she is also on the Executive Board for Sigma Gamma Tau (the honors aerospace engineering society) and for the University of Michigan’s student chapter of AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) and is an active member of the Michigan Rocket Engineering Association. In her free time she loves hanging out with friends, reading anything and everything, watching movies, and playing flute. Meghan also loves traveling and would one day like to travel the world.

	Chris O'Neil - Overnight Committee Chris is a sophomore from Akron, Ohio majoring in Computer Science Engineering. He is involved in MPowered as well as Tech day, and he attended Tech Day as a prospective student. He is the Overnight Program Assistant on the Tech Day Planning Committee. Chris enjoys playing IM sports and working out. He is very excited what his future at U of M has to offer.

	Mark Costello - Overnight Committee and Advisor Mark Costello is a master’s student studying pharmaceutical engineering having just completed his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. Mark considers himself a Tech Day veteran with Tech Day 2012 being his sixth Tech Day he’s been a part of (including when he attended in high school). Outside of Tech Day Mark likes to be active by playing basketball, Frisbee and hitting the gym for a workout. In the future, Mark hopes to hold a position in the biotechnology industry so he can fulfill his lifelong of dream of owning an Audi R8.