Counselors 2023
Check back later for a more complete list.
Alexander Suponya
Undergraduate at Rutgers UniversityHi everyone! I am a rising senior studying biomedical engineering and computer science at Rutgers. This year, alongside my studies, I am doing a co-op in viral gene therapy research and a summer internship in molecular dynamics and machine learning. I'm a huge fan of all things linguistics — an often overlooked scientific field! I play piano and guitar and hope to learn some songs on the bayan (a type of accordion) before Sigma. I also enjoy rock climbing. If you want to sing any songs together at camp, let me know so I can learn it while you're busy enjoying Sigma. I can't wait to meet all of you!
Alexey Tatarinov
StudentHi! I've been at SigmaCamp since 2019, and a counselor since last year. My primary interests are in electrical engineering, control theory, and data driven algorithms. I've recently done research involving energy minimal architectures and picosatellites, where I've gotten to learn more about the embedded world, something I'm excited to discuss at Sigma. I have participated in a variety of robotics, computer science and mathematics competitions, and love anything if it's about solving problems! Outside of academics, I fold origami, do rock climbing, hiking, biking, and skiing; just about anything involving nature! I can't wait to see you all this summer!
Anatoly Zavyalov
Undergraduate, University of TorontoI’m studying mathematics, computer science and physics at the University of Toronto, and I've been at SigmaCamp since 2022. I’ve done research in theoretical computer science and astronomy, and I am absolutely in love with automata theory, combinatorics, and discrete math. Outside of academics, I’ve been playing piano for more than a decade, and I get a huge kick out of solving programming problems. I’m also really into game development; I’ve been making games as a hobby for years now. Come talk to me about literally anything, I’m really looking forward to seeing all of you at Sigma this year!
Andrey Boris Khesin
Graduate Student, MITI have been at SigmaCamp since the very beginning. I am working on my PhD in Math at MIT. I am always open to chat about math, physics, or computer science! I greatly enjoy board games, puzzles, square dancing, and contra. I try to find time to play guitar, so if you want to jam together, let me know! My research is in quantum computing and quantum information theory. I am investigating how to efficiently present quantum error correcting codes in an understandable manner.
Anna Rosner
High School StudentHello! I'm incredibly excited to be attending my fifth Sigma! I love designing, making, and occasionally breaking robots and exploring any tangentially related field from modular robotics to my unreasonable excitement for spreadsheets. If that sounds like your cup of tea (or if you just want to discuss tea), come say hi! When not staring at a computer screen, you can probably find me singing, playing the viola, or making deeply terrible puns. I can't wait to see everyone at Sigma 2023!
Boris Barron
Graduate Student, Cornell UniversityHello everyone! I'm Boris and this will be my second time at Sigma. I tend to have very broad interests (biophysics, mechanical engineering, laser physics, evolution, etc.) and currently work on modelling racial segregation, basketball, and high-entropy alloys. I would say my interests can be summarized in that I am interested in the 'best' way to solve a problem. I have lived in 4 countries (Israel, Canada, England, USA) and have competed at a note-worthy level in ballroom dancing while dabbling in running, taekwondo, ballet, swimming, and dragon boat. Happy to talk, discuss, or argue about anything!
Boyan Litchev
High School StudentHello! As a camper, I've been to Sigma for 5 years, and I'm excited to come to my 6th year at Sigma as a JC! Academically, I'm mainly interested in cryptography, and I also spend a lot of time doing non-geometrical math. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, biking, reading, and sharing my love of math with everyone around me. I look forwards to meeting everyone this summer and finding even more people with which to share my interests!
Daniil Lukin
Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford UniversityMy 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.
David Bershadsky
Undergraduate at Princeton UniversityHello! I am exited to com back for another great year of Sigma!. I am studying Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University. Outside of my major I take interest in Material Science and Biology. Apart from STEM, I play the violin, like to enjoy bad movies and building janky contraptions. I can't wait to see everyone at the next Sigma Camp.
Deniz Erdag
Undergraduate at Princeton UniversityHello! I'm so excited to start working as a counselor for Sigma Camp this summer! I'm studying Physics with an applied math certificate at Princeton and so far have worked on DMRadio (building a dark matter direct detection experiment) and am now looking to get more theoretical experience. I love talking about physics but I also enjoy reading, music (piano/flute), dance (ballet/ballroom/contemp), and archery! Feel free to come talk to me about anything!
Giuseppina Than
Undergraduate, Stony Brook UniversityHello! I'm so excited to come back for another amazing week of Sigma! I am studying Biomedical Engineering and Applied Math at Stony Brook University. Biology is one of my favorite subjects, and I've done research projects on gene expression and variant nucleosomes. Beyond STEM, I perform and stage manage for a theater club, expose high school student to STEM through origami, and read (Lord of the Rings is the best!). Come talk to me about anything - I'm always interested in learning something new!
Gleb Aminov
Graduate student at Stony Brook UniversityThis is going to be my second year at SigmaCamp as a counselor and I'm excited to join this wonderful community! I'm studying theoretical physics at YITP in Stony Brook. My research interests include mathematical physics, black-hole perturbation theory, and phenomenological string theory. I practice a very hands-on approach and like to use programming as a way to tackle some hard mathematical problems. In my spare time, I like to stay active (strength training, BJJ) and sometimes cook. I did play different musical instruments in the past, including cello and drums (hopefully I will do it again in the future).
Iana Podobedov
Undergraduate at Columbia UniversityHi everyone! My name is Iana, and I’ve been with Sigma since the very beginning — first as a junior camper, then as a camper for six years, and now as a counselor. My main academic interests lie within mechanical engineering and computer science, especially within robotics. In my free time, I enjoy embroidering and sewing, thrifting, taking very long walks, and listening to any music (I'd love to hear any recommendations!) I can't wait to meet you all this summer!
Iris Brook
Undergraduate at Tulane UniversityHello! I am Iris and I am a current senior at Tulane University in New Orleans. I am majoring in business management and computer science as well as minoring in math. I am really interested in business analytics and in the business side of the tech industry, specifically how we can make product development and production more efficient. I am highly involved in STEM tutoring for girls and how to better encourage more women to pursue their STEM careers. Outside of academics, I love music, dance, art, and baking. I am excited to help make this week unforgettable for all of you!
Ivan Lvovsky
High School StudentHi! After attending Sigma as a camper for five years, I am excited to return as a junior counselor. It is mostly thanks to Sigma that I enjoy and am interested in STEM, particularly math and chemistry. Aside from that, I am also very interested in mixed martial arts and have been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for six years. I have also played the cello for seven years and the bass guitar for three. I am most thankful for Sigma for all the friendships that I have made over the years, so I am excited to reunite with old friends and meet new ones!
Joel Brook
Undergraduate at Northeastern UniversityHey! I attended Sigma as a camper for 5 years before returning as a counselor. This will mark my second year as a counselor. I'm interested in math, and engineering and I am planning on studying computer science at Northeastern University this upcoming fall. Outside of school, I am a captain on my school's fencing team, I play various video and card games, and have recently picked up chess. I can't wait to see you all at Sigma this summer!
Katya Donetski
Undergraduate at Cornell UniversityHi—thanks for reading my bio! I’ve come to Sigma for 8 years now: 5 as a camper and 3 (and counting) as a counselor! Having been on both sides, I can confidently say that although Sigma is only one week of your summer, it’s definitely the best one. There’s nothing quite like it. I am pursuing a Biomedical Engineering degree at Cornell University, with a concentration in either drug delivery, imaging, or biomechanics. In previous years, I’ve taught a workshop on Brain-Computer Interfaces, where we explore the brain via a computational lens and even demonstrate a form of “mind control.” There’s so much we don’t know about the human brain, and therefore so much to learn! Aside from that, I enjoy piano, skiing (recently picked up snowboarding), and *learning* electric guitar. I can’t wait to meet all of you at Sigma 2023!
Lev Bershadsky
Graduate Student, NYULev goes to NYU and was a member of the Harvard Undergraduate Aeronautics club. He has attended Sigma camp as a camper 3 times and was 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 Sigma he ran a workshop that taught people how to fly quadcopters and build rocket engines. Lev was teacher's assistant at School Nova where he assisted a 7th grade math class. In his spare time Lev likes to build multirotors and destroy the patriarchy.
Luigia Than
Graduate Student, New York UniversityHello, I'm super excited to be back for another year as a counselor at Sigma! I'm a grad student at NYU studying electrical engineering, currently doing research in virtual reality. In undergrad, I was part of a team designing wearable medical devices, and I also worked on an art display to highlight collaboration between the art and engineering schools. In my spare time I enjoy making art (digital, traditional, and textile!) and playing board/card/tabletop games. I'm excited to get to know all of you this summer!
Matvey Borodin
High School StudentHi everyone! This will be my sixth year at Sigma and I am stoked to be back for another year. My main academic interest is research in math (mostly algebra). I love anything pure math related so if you ever feel an intense urge to either a) have your mind blown by something you never knew you cared about or b) blow my mind with something you find incredibly awesome, seek me out! That doesn't only apply to math by the way, I'm totally here to nerd off about any cool STEM topic with discussions about absurd hypothetical scenarios encouraged. Other than math, I also possess some expertise in computer science, chemistry, tennis, and violin in no particular order. I love traveling, hiking, board games and overly long fantasy novels.
Maya Smith
High School StudentI am excited to attend my fifth year at Sigma. I love physics and math, and my favorite part of math is whatever I happen to have last learned about. Apart from STEM, I love to debate and am a regular participant in my school's theater productions. The languages I know best are English, Russian, Python, and Spanish, in that order. I am looking forward to meeting all of you at SigmaCamp and learning new things!
Melissa Guidry
Graduate Student, Stanford UniversityMy scientific research is on quantum photonics. I engineer optical circuits to study the quantum mechanics of light. One device that I often engineer is a “microring”, a micron-scale ring-shaped optical cavity: once light enters the ring, it can travel around thousands of times before it exits, going around in tight circles with a circumference close to that of a human hair. This intense optical confinement enables interesting physics: for example, we can convert one color of light to many other colors, often entangling the new colors of light in the process. Some researchers are trying to use this phenomenon to build chip-scale quantum computers. Outside of the lab, I like to read. My favorite books I’ve read recently were The Red and the Black (Stendhal) and The Portrait of a Lady (Henry James).
Misha Zorya
Graduate From Rutgers UniversityMy Name is Misha Zorya, I have recently graduated Rutgers University with a Dual Major in Actuarial Science and Mathematics. I have been attending Sigma since the beginning and I am excited to attend this year aswell. In my spare time I enjoy creating and maintaining terrariums and aquariums, playing card/board games/video games, and also assisting in the development of a video game. I look forward to seeing all of you in the summer!
Nikita Podobedov
Graduate Student, MITI'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!
Polya Zavyalova
Graduate student, University of TorontoHi! I am a PhD student at the University of Toronto in the department of electrical and computer engineering and I've been at Sigma since 2019. My research lies in the field of laser fabrication of sensing devices in optical fibers for astronomical applications. I am also interested in biology and chemistry and I am looking forward to discussing everyone’s science-related (and otherwise!) interests and ideas. Outside academics, I enjoy reading, yoga, bouldering, baking, and embroidery.
Sofiya Filippova
Undergraduate at Boston UniversityHello everyone! I am an undergraduate at Boston University studying mechanical engineering with a concentration in energy technologies and sustainability. I am passionate about developing clean technology and currently work on several projects doing just that! Outside of academics, I love to rock climb, ski, and generally spend time outdoors. I am also a big reader and love making and viewing art. But that’s enough about me, I want to learn about your passions! Find me at camp to talk to about anything and everything. I am so excited to return to Sigma for another summer and help make this an unforgettable week for all the incoming campers, as my counselors once did for me!
Sophie Strey
High School StudentHi everyone, I've been at Sigma since 2014 so that would be *approximately* 9 years! With regard to academics, I'm interested in discrete math and cosmology but in my free time I love to learn about architecture, philosophy, and espionage. Besides for that, I enjoy writing science fiction stories, carpentry, and astrophotography. I have an adverse reaction to psychology and am an enthusiastically mediocre hair cutter (my family can attest to that). I'm excited to be coming back as a junior counselor and look forward to meeting you all this summer!
Stasya Selizhuk
High School StudentHello! I’ve been a camper at Sigma for three years and am excited to return this year as a Junior Counselor! My main interests are biology and engineering, but I also enjoy psychology, linguistics, and logic puzzles. In my free time I enjoy art, fencing, and unicycling. I can’t wait to meet everyone this summer!
Valentin Skoutnev
Postdoc at Columbia UniversityI obtained my PhD in 2022 in plasma physics and now I spend my “work” days as postdoc thinking about astrophysical fluid dynamics of planets, stars and compact objects, though I am broadly fascinated by emergent phenomenon. I love that finding out the governing equations is only the beginning. Back on our home planet, I enjoy hiking, improv comedy, and playing soccer under reasonable gravitational and thermodynamic conditions. This is my first time at Sigma and I am very excited to meet everyone!