People
MESCIT would not be possible without our fantastic and dedicated team of coordinators and tutors.
The MESCIT program was founded by Dr. Irene Shivaei and Dr. Gurtina Besla in 2017
Current Leadership Team
Amber Laughing
Program Administrator
Contact: amberlaughing@arizona.edu
Gurtina Besla
Program PI
Associate Professor (Astronomy, UA)
Everett Schlawin
Program Co-PI
Research Faculty (Astronomy, UA)
Aaron Goldtooth
Graduate Student Coordinator (Astronomy, UA)
Paul Rogozenski
Graduate Student Coordinator (Physics, UA)
Joe Adamo
Graduate Student Coordinator (Astronomy, UA)
Previous Leadership Team Members
Irene Shivaei
Program PI / Founder
Ryan Keenan
Graduate Student Coordinator (Astronomy UA)
Vanessa Rivera
Graduate Student Coordinator (Astronomy UA)
Current Tutors
Ashley Tittelbaugh (Returning)
Gabriella Newcomb (Returning)
Isaiah Hackett
Shambhavi Srivastava
Lucas Mellinger
Ben Reynoso (Returning)
Vaibhav Joshi (VJ)
Daisy O'Sullivan
Collins Maiyo
Past MESCIT Teams
2022 MESCIT team participating in a training program on the importance of cultural responsiveness when working with Native American scholars, led by Dr. Doug Clauschee (right).
2022-2023
Coordinators:
Ruben Cu:k Ba'ak (Aug - Dec 2022)
Amber Laughing (Feb 2022 - Present)
Paul Rogozenski (Graduate Student of Astronomy, UA)
Joe Adamo (Graduate Student of Astronomy, UA)
Ryan Keenan (Graduate Student of Astronomy, UA)
Everett Schlawin (Research Faculty of Astronomy, UA)
Irene Shivaei (Research Faculty of Astronomy, UA)
Gurtina Besla (Associate Professor of Astronomy, UA)
Tutors:
Aaron Goldtooth (UA alum, Math, Physics, and Astronomy)
Binh Nguyen (UA undergraduate, Astronomy and Physics)
Gabriella Newcomb (UA undergraduate, Astronomy and Physics)
Beverly Perez (UA undergraduate, Computer Science)
Ruben Reynoso (UA undergraduate, Statistics and Data Science)
Ashley Tittelbaugh (UA undergraduate, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
2021-2022
Coordinators:
Saray Argumedo (Graduate Student, College of Education, UA)
Vanessa Salazar-Rivera (Graduate Student of Astronomy, UA)
Ryan Keenan (Graduate Student of Astronomy, UA)
Everett Schlawin (Research Faculty of Astronomy, UA)
Irene Shivaei (Postdoctoral Researcher of Astronomy, UA)
Tutors:
Grace Chmielinski (UA undergraduate, Statistics and Data Science) -- Fall semester
Sebastian Diaz (UA undergraduate, Biomedical Engineering)
Aaron Goldtooth (UA undergraduate, Math, Physics, and Astronomy)
Hannah McCollum (UA undergraduate, Chemical Engineering)
Tintin Nguyen (UA undergraduate, Astronomy, Physics, Mathematics)
Beverly Perez (UA undergraduate, Computer Science)
Olivia Pitcl (UA undergraduate, Physics and Optical Engineering)
Sartaj Rauf (UA undergraduate, Computer Engineering)
Shambhavi Singh (UA undergraduate, Electrical and Computer Engineering) -- Fall semester
Ashley Tittelbaugh (UA undergraduate, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
2020-2021
Coordinators:
Ryan Keenan (Graduate Student of Astronomy, UA)
Noah Salazar-Rivera (Graduate Student of Astronomy, UA)
Everett Schlawin (Research Faculty of Astronomy, UA)
Irene Shivaei (Postdoctoral Researcher of Astronomy, UA)
Tutors:
Leo Bia (UA undergraduate, Mathematics and Civil Engineering.)
Ibrahim Bokhari (UA undergraduate, Physics & Astronomy)
Grace Chmielinski (UA undergraduate, Statistics and Data Science)
Aaron Goldtooth (UA undergraduate, Math, Physics, and Astronomy)
Samuel Nagy (UA undergraduate, Physics and Optical Engineering)
Beverly Perez (UA undergraduate, Computer Science)
Olivia Pitcl (UA undergraguate, Physics and Optical Engineering)
2019 - 2020
Coordinators:
Ryan Keenan (Graduate Student of Astronomy, UA)
Everett Schlawin (Postdoctoral Researcher of Astronomy, UA)
Irene Shivaei (Postdoctoral Researcher of Astronomy, UA)
Tutors:
Ibrahim Bokhari (UA undergraduate, Physics & Astronomy)
Grace Chmielinski (UA undergraduate, Statistics and Data Science)
Eva Huie (UA undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics)
Joseph Moullet (UA undergraduate, Astronomy & Physics)
Easter Niyongabo (UA undergraduate, Biochemistry)
Beverly Perez (UA undergraduate, Computer Science)
Carlos Urrea-De La Puerta (UA undergraduate, Biomedical engineering and Math
The MESCIT Team at one of the weekly tutors meeting, along with one of the program's donors, Larry Allen (right).
2018 - 2019
Coordinators:
Ryan Keenan (Graduate Student of Astronomy, UA)
Everett Schlawin (Postdoctoral Researcher of Astronomy, UA)
Irene Shivaei (Postdoctoral Researcher of Astronomy, UA)
Tutors:
Mark Dalthorp (UA undergraduate, Mathematics major)
Javier Frausto (UA undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering major)
Jason Fukumoto (UA undergraduate, Computer Science major)
Eva Huie (UA undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics major)
Megan Irby (UA undergraduate, Math and Biology major)
Blake Laclaire (UA undergraduate, Mathematics major)
Madison Uli (UA undergraduate, Applied Math and Biochemistry major)
2017 - 2018
Coordinators:
Everett Schlawin (Postdoctoral Researcher of Astronomy, UA)
Irene Shivaei (Postdoctoral Researcher of Astronomy, UA)
Tutors:
Jordan Gotwalt (UA undergraduate, Nuerocience and Cognitive Science major, Math minor)
Megan Irby (UA undergraduate, Math and Biology major)
Alexis Tinoco (UA undergraduate, Math and Computer Science major)
Madison Uli (UA undergraduate, Applied Math and Biochemistry major)