2020 ConnecTech Fellows
Meet the 2020 ConnecTech Fellows!
Brandon Araki G
Brandon is a PhD student in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from California. He is working on projects related to robotics, autonomous driving, and Bayesian inference. He enjoys running and reading about history, and is excited to learn more about Israel.
Simon Ganeles '22
Simon is studying Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science. He spent two gap years in Jerusalem prior to coming to MIT, and has returned to Israel this past summer and winter. In his free time Simon enjoys cooking, exercising, watching Brooklyn 99, and innovating. He looks forward to meeting new people and hearing new perspectives on Israel and the world!
Jesse Gordon G
Jesse is a 4th year PhD student in Chemistry originally from Montreal. His research focuses on using biochemical tools and fluorescence microscopy to study bacterial chemoreceptors. Outside of lab Jesse enjoys playing music, cooking and staying fit.
Josh Gruenstein '21
Josh is studying electrical engineering and computer science. He enjoys teaching, robots, and teaching robots. Josh grew up in New York City, forever cursing him with the knowledge of what a real bagel tastes like.
Lior Hirschfeld '21
Lior is studying Computer Science, Mathematics, and Literature. Outside of class, he serves as an Arts Editor for The Tech and studies how machine learning can be applied to drug discovery. In his free time, Lior loves to read (especially fantasy), ski, and play strategy games.
Anna Rose Osofsky '21
Anna Rose is studying mathematics and music. She spent a gap year in Jerusalem before coming to MIT and loves learning Tanach (Hebrew Bible), especially in Israel. She also enjoys playing piano, teaching, running, frisbee, and playing with dogs.
John San Soucie G
John is a mechanical engineering Ph.D. student in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Applied Ocean Science and Engineering. His research is in robotics for scientific ocean exploration. John is from Dallas, Texas, and spent his undergraduate years in Philadelphia. Outside of the lab, John spends his time performing music with several groups at MIT.
Gila Schein '22
Gila is studying electrical engineering and computer science. She is originally from Woodmere, New York. She spent a gap year in Jerusalem before coming to MIT and taught at five schools near Haifa as part of the Global Teaching Labs Program last January! Outside of classes, Gila enjoys drawing and spending time with family and friends.
Sage Simhon '21
Sage is a junior at MIT studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She can’t wait to go back to Israel after doing bioinformatics research there last summer through MIT MISTI. She is currently very interested in quantum computing, and in her free time she loves to dance and run.
Sarah Wertheimer '22
Sarah is studying computer science and economics. She is originally from Brookline, MA and spent a gap year in Migdal Oz before coming to MIT. She is currently the president of MIT Hillel, and she enjoys ice skating, reading, and hanging out with friends. She's excited to meet and build relationships with Israeli peers through the fellowship.