Ambassador Biographies
Current Ambassadors
Sunny Dasgupta
MBA - Global Social & Sustainable Enterprises
College: College of Business
Department: Global Social & Sustainable Enterprises
Advisor: Shelby Sack
sunnydg@gmail.com
Sunny is an MBA candidate (Dec, 2020) at the College of Business with seven years of operations and technology experience. His areas of interest include investment risk management, financial analysis, and business intelligence, along with a passion for education and corporate advisory work. After completing his Bachelors in Bioinformatics, He started his career with Larsen & Toubro InfoTech as a software engineer before moving into operations management at AIAI. He has consulted for four start-up companies involved in educational tech, healthcare, medicine and HR software. He is currently working on projects to democratize access to senior long-term care and mental health services.
Emma McKay
MBA - Global Social & Sustainable Enterprises
College: College of Business
Department: Global Social & Sustainable Enterprises
Advisor: Shelby Sack
Emma.McKay@colostate.edu
Emma is in the beginning stage of her program’s venture project, for which she’ll present (and hopefully implement) a viable social enterprise business plan. She’s currently researching the biggest production loss challenges facing small scale farmers in developing countries, and how those challenges could be solved through business. Emma recently returned from serving as an economic development Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, and in her free time she’ll be found in the mountains, and traveling the world whenever possible.
Benjamin McKenney
Master's student
College: Walter Scott, Jr. College or Engineering
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Thomas Bradley
benmcken@rams.colostate.edu
Ben is a mechanical engineering graduate student at Colorado State University researching hybrid and autonomous vehicles. His passions are focused around automobiles, additive manufacturing, sustainable energy, wearable tech, compliant mechanisms, robotics, IP, and product development. Ben plans to get a master’s in engineering and business administration to help him in industry.
Catherine (Kate) McMahon
Doctoral Candidate
College: College of Natural Sciences
Department: Chemistry
Advisor: Chuck Henry
Catherine.McMahon@colostate.edu
Kate’s research focuses on using paper-based devices for detection of heavy metals in the environment and in consumer products. Her main project is developing a sensor array for heavy metal detection in water that is easy to use, inexpensive, and widely applicable. She is working on developing other paper sensors for heavy metal monitoring using different detection modes,such as fluorescence. Kate is a member of the Graduate Women in Science seminar committee which plans events that highlight women in science and how science applies to other disciplines. During her free time, Kate can be found listening to live music, exploring with her dog Duffy, and catching up with friends and family.
Alyssa Melvin
Doctoral Candidate
College: College of Natural Sciences
Department: Chemistry
Advisor: Melissa Reynolds
Alyssa.Melvin@colostate.edu
Alyssa’s research involves fabricating a biosensor which incorporates metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) into various aspects of the biosensor design to address deficiencies of blood-contacting glucose biosensors. Currently, she is developing a MOF composite membrane to reduce blood clotting on the sensor surface. She is an ASCSU senator representing graduate students and a Science Olympiad coach at Preston Middle School.
Ruth Menger
Doctoral Candidate
College: College of Natural Sciences
Department: Chemistry
Advisor: Chuck Henry and Thomas Borch
Ruth.Menger@colostate.edu
Ruth’s research focuses on developing paper-based devices to detect various analytes in the environment. Her current project is a sensor array for heavy metal detection in water. This easy-to-use, inexpensive device can be used in multiple applications, including measuring water quality levels in rivers and monitoring remediation effectiveness downstream from abandoned mines. She is also an officer with Graduate Women in Science where she helps plan events to support women in science, like networking events, panels, seminars, and training. In her free time, Ruth can be found outside, either on mountains, on rock, or on the slopes.
Abhishek Muralidharan
Master of Computer Information Systems
College: College of Business
Department: Computer Information Systems
Advisor: Sandy Dahlberg
Abhishek.Muralidharan@colostate.edu
Abhishek is a Computer Information Science Graduate Student at Colorado State University. He has worked on multiple Product Development and Machine Learning projects and has developed Standalone Web Applications. His passions are focused on Game Development, UX Design, Algorithm Optimization, and Blockchain coding. In his free time, Abhishek can be found playing chess, reading books, and watching dog videos.
Previous Ambassadors
College of Agricultural Sciences
Scott Fulbright
Cohort Years: 2012-2013, 2013-2014
Department of Bioagricultural Sciences & Pest Management
Advisor: Ken Reardon
Angelique Giraud
Cohort Year: 2018-2019
Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics
Advisor: Greg Graff
College of Business
Sumanth Belwadi
Cohort Year: 2107-2018
Program: Professional MBA
College of Health & Human Sciences
Alistair Cook
Cohort Year: 2015-2016
Department of Education
Advisor: Michael De Miranda
Sarah Hibbs-Shipp
Cohort Years: 2015-2016, 2016-2017
Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition
Advisor: Laura Bellows
College of Liberal Arts
Annabelle Berklund
Cohort Years: 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-2016
Department of Economics
Advisor: Greg Graff
College of Natural Sciences
Michael Barich
Cohort Years: 2014-2015, 2015-2016
Department of Chemistry
Advisor: Amber Krummel
Virginia Bruce
Cohort Years: 2014-2015, 2015-2016
Department of Chemistry
Advisor: Brian McNaughton
Michael Friedman
Cohort Years: 2015-2016, 2016-2017
Department of Biology
Advisor: Daniel Bush
Chern-Hooi Lim
Cohort Year: 2017-2018
Department of Chemistry
Lab Group/Post-Doc Advisor: Garrett Miyake
David Markman
Cohort Year: 2017-2018
Department of Biology
Advisor: Michael Antolin
Trung Nguyen
Cohort Year: 2017-2018
Department of Biology
Advisor: Keith Paustian
Duncan Ryan
Cohort Years: 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-2016
Department of Physics
Advisor: Martin Gelfand
Matt Saxton
Cohort Year: 2018-2019
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Advisor: Tim Stasevich
Eric Tauchman
Cohort Years: 2013-2014. 2014-2015, 2015-2016
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Advisor: Jennifer DeLuca
College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Megan Aanstoos
Cohort Years: 2014-2015, 2015-20106, 2016-2017
Department of Clinical Sciences
Advisor: Nicole Ehrhart
Nathan Byers
Cohort Year: 2016-2017
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Advisor: Susan Tsunoda
Aimee Colbath
Cohort Year: 2016-20107
Department of Clinical Sciences
Advisor: Steven Dow
Kelly Kirkley
Cohort Year: 2017-2018
Laboratory: Animal Reproduction & Biotechnology Laboratory
Post-Doctoral Advisors: Colin Clay, Christianne Magee
Lindsey Linke
Cohort Years: 2014-2015, 2015-2016
Department of Clinical Sciences
Advisor: Mo Salman
Aaron Magnuson
Cohort Year: 2018-2019
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology
Advisor: Glenn Telling, Prion Research Center
Miles McKenna
Cohort Years: 2014-2015, 2015-20106, 2016-2017
Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences
Advisor: Susan Bailey
Jingyi Nie
Cohort Year: 2013-2014
Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences
Advisor: Jack Nickoloff
Walter Scott, Jr., College of Engineering
Jeremy Chignell
Cohort Year: 2012-2013
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Advisor: Ken Reardon
Nasim Esmaeilirad
Cohort Years: 2013-2014, 2014-2015
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Ken Carlson
Esteban Hincapie
Cohort Year: 2012-2013
Department of Mecanical Engineering
Advisor: Anthony Marchese
Jackson Lewis
Cohort Year: 2015-2016
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Advisor: Travis Bailey
Jasan Prapas
Cohort Year: 2012-2013
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Bryan Wilson
Jeremy Primus
Cohort Year: 2018-2019
Department of Biology & School of Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: Graham Peers
Michael Somers
Cohort Year: 2016-2017
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jason Quinn
Warner College of Natural Resources
Noelle Juengling
Cohort Year: 2016-2017
Program: Tourism Management