SigmaCamp 2016: Counselors

This will be my 8th year as a SigmaCounselor. My favorite part of the camp is interacting with all of the campers and staff, and I also love that Sigma is a learning experience for campers and staff alike. Every year I learn so many new things from lectures, tournaments, workshops, and just from talking to other people.

In 2021, I graduated from the University Chicago, where I studied math and computer science, and I currently live in Chicago and work as a trader. At my job I get to work on interesting projects of my choosing and I constantly apply principles of calculus, statistics, probability, and my (sadly pretty weak) programming skills to my work. Outside of work, I like to do gymnastics and I also volunteer as a cheerleading coach for my former college team. I also enjoy playing soccer, volleyball, and tennis, though I’m not very good at any of them.

Anar is a neuroscientist. His background in physics and mathematics helps him solve computational problems arising in human brain at scales from a single neuron to the entire brain network. He also tries to predict what will happen to our brains as we age. In the past, he taught the Codes and Ciphers semilab. This year he will be teaching a semilab on games and how to play your best against the best possible opponent.

Lev goes to NYU, and he was a member of the Harvard Undergraduate Aeronautics Club. He has attended Sigma camp as a camper 3 times and was a counselor before. Lev was a member of his high school's competitive Roblox team, and he participated in Quiz Bowl, math teams, and Science Olympiad. Other than STEM, Lev enjoys tennis, sailing, and environmental advocacy. During his time at SigmaCamp, he ran a workshop that taught people how to fly quadcopters and build rocket engines. Lev was a teacher's assistant at School Nova assisting a 7th-grade math class. In his spare time, Lev likes to build multirotors and destroy the patriarchy.

I am delighted to return to Sigma for my seventh year on the SigmaStaff, and ninth year overall. My academic interest falls at the intersection of marine science and microbiology - I split my time between studying marine vesicles and determining the key bacterial taxa and their contributions to chemoautotrophic and heterotrophic processes in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific oxygen minimum zone. Otherwise, I spend time thinking about viral gene transfer in the oceans or the role oceans play in the global carbon cycle. If that sounds interesting, feel free to find me and we'll talk. In my 'copious' free time, I enjoy making detailed abstract drawings, dancing, or training for the next spartan race. I’ve picked up ballroom dancing (after 12 years of ballet), and I'm down to try anything artsy or active. Looking forward to meeting everyone this year!

I am currently a grad student studying quantum gravity and string theory, primarily based at Stanford University but also spending a lot of time at the University of Cambridge in the UK. My primary research interests are in how the fabric of spacetime emerges from strongly interacting chaotic quantum systems, and in the nature of black hole microstates within these systems. At Sigma this year I will teach two semilabs - one on Cosmology (the study of the history and eventual fate of our universe) and one on black holes and how we think about them from both a classical and a quantum perspective.

I am always very approachable, especially if you want to chat about physics or hear me rant about tennis :-)

My background is in physics and biophysics, but now I work as a project manager at Beyond Meat. I work closely with food scientists and research scientists, as well as teams outside of the R&D department, to make sure new projects are on track and meeting key targets. I develop processes to improve communication and make frequent and important tasks easier and more fool-proof. I think of myself as someone on a curling team — smoothing the ice in front of the stone, and calling out when course-corrections are needed. On the dance floor, I also practice improving communication and coordination processes. I enjoy blues, fusion, west coast swing, tango, and contra dancing. I also run a monthly contra dance, and I’m president of a local dance cooperative.

This will be my 8th year with Sigma, and whether I’ve met you before or we’re meeting for the first time, I’m looking forward to seeing you!

Andrey is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Oxford University and has been at SigmaCamp since the very beginning. He completed his PhD in Mathematics at MIT. Andrey am always open to chat about math, physics, or computer science! He greatly enjoy board games, puzzles, square dancing, and contra. Andrey's research is in quantum computing and quantum information theory. He am investigating how to reformulate the study of quantum error-correcting codes by using graphs.

Hello! I am currently getting a master's degree in Neurobiology and Behavior, working in a lab that studies how neurons talk to each other at a synaptic level in the brain. That said, my passion is for translational medical research, so ultimately, I hope to go to medical school. Outside of academics, I volunteer as an EMT in my community, love to ski, and can most often be found hiding away with a good book. At SigmaCamp, I do a variety of things, from taking photos of everyone to helping with the chamber concert. By far though, my favorite part is meeting all the campers, greeting old and new faces alike. I look forward to seeing you all soon!

My PhD work was related to making nanoscale optical structures and manipulating quantum states of individuals atoms, with the goal of contributing to the world-wide effort on making optical quantum computers -- I'm continuing along the same lines now as postdoc. When I go to Sigma, I like to bring with me various tech contraptions so we can take them apart. I don't know yet what we will breaking into this year. Together with Melissa Guidry, I teach the Optics semilab. This year, we will be using light to do measurements and computations, in particular, image processing using Fourier transforms.

I have come to Sigma Camp as a student since the very beginning, and have felt how fun and interesting this camp truly is. I love to discuss and hypothesis different crazy ideas, something like constructing a large scale Stirling engine that would run from the equator and down to Antarctica, thus producing the much needed energy for the human race. I would love to listen to other people's amazing ideas, even if they are as unrealistic as mine. I am currently pursuing my Bachelor degree in Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology. Outside of my studies, I love playing music, running, and sometime rock climbing!

It is going to be my first Sigma as Doctor Nikitina. Overall, it is actually my 10th season! For the last five years, my research has been connected with human stem cells. After spending a PhD growing beating heart tissue in a dish, I decided to pivot towards growing tiny brains in a dish, and it only got more exciting! Apart from growing human tissue in the lab I do biological data analysis, play guitar, sing and dance a lot!

I've been coming to Sigma since the beginning, and I'm really excited to be here for another year. I’m a grad student at MIT studying biological engineering. Outside of STEM, I'm interested in history, mineral water, and linguistics. I also really enjoy playing racket sports, my favorite being Wii Sports tennis, and I'm looking forward to organizing the ping pong tournament at Sigma again. I’m also looking forward to another season of swimming - I’m a big Silver Lake enthusiast. Can’t wait to see everyone this summer!

Hi! My name is Michelle, or Mishka for short. I've been at Sigma since its first year in 2012, first as a camper and later as a counselor. Very excited to be back for Sigma2022 and can't wait to meet everyone! I recently graduated Tufts University with a neuroscience degree and am now working in analytics and marketing at a health-tech startup. I'm really interested in artificial intelligence and the ways in which it applies to disciplines ranging from human psychology to philosophy to data science. I have various hobbies including music (my first love and the reason I run the Talent Show every year!), tennis, ballroom dance, learning languages, and cooking. Come talk to me about anything and everything. :)

This will be my fourth year as a Counselor at Sigma, and I couldn't be more excited to meet all of you! I study computer science, and I'm particularly interested in robotics, programming languages, and algorithm development. I speak Tamil, French, Korean, and a little Russian (though I'm still learning!). I’m an avid reader of both fiction and nonfiction; come talk to me for book recommendations! I also practice several combat sports, including boxing, wrestling, and Muay Thai. I enjoy debating (I am on my school's team), and greatly enjoy stimulating discussion. More than anything, though, I treasure getting to know you as a camper and connecting with you about your own interests and experiences. I can't wait to see you at Sigma!

Hello, I'm Nestor and I'm very excited to return to as a counselor! My primary work is as a professional ChatGPT impersonator, but on the side I'm a founder of a food robotics startup called Rito. I also love philosophy, iced lattes, and hot takes.

I am personally very interested in physics, technology, and entrepreneurship. I do everything from building burrito-making robots and creating levitating vehicles to shocking people to make them dance.

I love meeting new people and enjoy understanding how others think, and always appreciate interesting discussions on any topic, from questions of morality to cultural trends, so feel free to talk to me about anything!

I spent the last eight years trying to figure out how cells of the kidney make and move about their proteins. This year will be the first Sigma I attend since obtaining my PhD. Throughout its previous incarnations, Sigma has been a gateway into a different world, one where I could see and practice science I would not otherwise encounter, and meet other Sigmoids who would have things to say about the world that I would otherwise not consider. I bring what I can to the camp, thanks in large part to my continued hobby of making and discovering new music with a few talented friends, and my recently found appreciation for fiddling with analog circuits, which ties in nicely with the former. With a sedentary lifestyle of a scientist, I am quite fond of sports, and never turn down a good soccer match. I look forward to the Euro 2016 top goal reenactments at camp this year and, of course, I look forward to seeing all of my new and old Sigma brethren soon.