NAVIGATORS
One-on-one support
Personal support
Navigators are graduate students with extensive training in mental health first-aid, diversity/equity/inclusion sensitivity, and bystander intervention. They provide one-on-one support to EECS graduate students in the areas of mental, physical, and relationship health.
ARCHITECTS
Community building
Combating isolation
Architects are students who represent MIT’s diverse graduate student body and focus on organizing community-building diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellness events.
meet our team
MADELEINE LAITZ
Navigator - Chair
I am a PhD student in EECS. I was born and raised in upstate New York, where I attended the University of Rochester for a B.S. in ChemE. I received an MRes in Chemistry from Imperial College London as a US-UK Fulbright Scholar, and now work with Vladimir Bulovic here at MIT investigating strong light-matter interactions in semiconducting microcavities. I have served as an EECS REFS for three years, and as the Violence Prevention and Response Graduate Community Fellow working on supporting LGBTQIA students at MIT. In my free time, I enjoy kicking back with a classic (Seinfeld, Arrested Development, Friends), playing the violin, and cycling.
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Email: mlaitz@mit.edu
SPENCER WEIKUN ZHU
Navigator
I am a PhD student co-advised by Farnaz Niroui and Will Tisdale (ChemE), where I am developing a generalized technique to precisely position and integrate materials in the sub-100 nm scale for fabrication of mass-produced, arbitrarily-shaped, defect-free nanodevices with superior electronics and optical properties. I was born and raised in Dalian, China, and spent my college years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I dedicated my time to developing helping skills as well as transforming the experience of Chinese students and communities on campus. In my free time, I enjoy various hobbies such as photography, meditation, and wine tasting.
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Email: weikun@mit.edu
DOGA DOGAN
Navigator
I am a PhD student in CSAIL. My research focuses on human-computer interaction and personal fabrication tools. I received my B.S. in EE from Bogazici University in Istanbul, where I served as chairman of the IEEE Student Branch and campus representative of the Clinton Global Initiative University program. Currently, I'm on the organization committee of the 2019 and 2020 ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology. At MIT, I am a member of the EECS Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a board member of the European Club, and an officer at the Sidney-Pacific graduate dorm.
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Email: doga@mit.edu
ELLA WASSWEILER
Architect - Chair
I'm a fourth year PhD student in EECS. Originally, I'm from St. Paul, Minnesota and did my undergrad at the University of Iowa (Go Hawks!). Currently, I work on vacuum deposited perovskites with Prof. Vladimir Bulovic. Outside of the lab, I enjoy traveling, soccer, Star Wars, and my hooligan cat.
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Email: ellawass@mit.edu
VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND RESPONSE
TICHA SETHAPAKDI
Architect
I am a PhD student in CSAIL, working with Prof. Stefanie Mueller. Prior to MIT, I received my BFA in Art and MS in CS at Carnegie Mellon. My research focuses on applying my interdisciplinary background to make systems that support novel creative processes. In my free time, I love drawing, playing music, cooking, and taking pictures of my cooking.
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Email: ticha@mit.edu
FLORIAN KOEHLER
Architect
I am part of the Bioelectronics group at MIT working at the interface between neuroscience and technology. Prior to my PhD, I received my B.S. in EECS from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and finished my M.S. in Neuroengineering at the Technical University Munich in 2018. In my free time I like to discover unknown parts of Boston, hit the gym or explore the great outdoors.
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Email: koehlerf@mit.edu
TAN ZHI XUAN
Architect
I'm a PhD student in the Probabilistic Computing and Computational Cognitive Science groups at MIT, working on Bayesian approaches to inferring human values for the purposes of beneficial AI. Having studied both critical social theory and Asian philosophy in college, I think a lot about how alternative epistemologies can inform the development of AI in ways that are just and wise. Outside of research, I love music and dance, and also spend way too much time optimizing my daily fashion choices.
Email: xuan@mit.edu
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