Directory

Originally from Kherson, Ukraine, I grew up in Montreal, Canada. I hold a B.Sc. in International Studies from Université de Montréal and am currently completing my M.Sc. in Political Science at the same university. My scholarly passion lies in comparative politics, particularly nationalism and memory studies, exemplified by my current research on Russian historical myths about Ukraine. I am also interested in nation-building, everyday nationalism, and de facto states in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus. At the University of Cambridge, during my PhD in Slavonic Studies, I aim to explore the interaction between memory politics from above and civil society in the context of post-colonial democratization, using the case of Ukraine to investigate how 'ordinary people' contribute to the construction of official memory politics.Truly believing that education is the key to a better world, I have held multiple research, teaching and tutoring positions and also got involved with different human rights and cultural protection organisations in Ukraine. Making sure that the general audience understands my home country better, I often pen thought-provoking op-eds and give interviews in Canadian media.

Previous Education

Universite de Montreal Political Science 2024
Universite de Montreal International Studies 2022

My Electrical Engineering PhD will focus on tactile feedback devices for ‘smart surface’ applications. Utilizing the piezoelectric nature of Zinc Oxide nanowires, a surface can both sense and give feedback to touch. My research will focus on the fabrication of the devices and the human factors between different types of interactions and the surfaces. The applications for such devices range widely from electronic Braille to heart monitors to dynamic mobile phone interfaces. My 2nd year PhD will be spent under Prof. Akinwande at MIT (US) as a visiting student. My research will be on the same topic but the focus will be on building the devices on flexible substrates.

As a child, I was found taking photos next to my train track creations, being enthralled by my father’s construction projects, and fiddling with computers. As I got older I never lost the adrenaline rush from the magic done with my own two hands. I would be an engineer, and the type became clear through my spinal fusion surgery at twelve–biomedical engineering. Through the guidance of incredible mentors, I have conducted neuroscience research at Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical School, as well as regenerative medicine at my undergraduate institution, University at Buffalo. At the University of Cambridge I will combine neuroscience and biomedical engineering to create a device that involves flexible electronics and tissue to restore sensory perception after peripheral nerve injuries; a treatment we hope to adapt for after strokes, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury. Additionally, coming from a small rural town, I will continue to advocate for educational equity gaining a global perspective on the disparities within the system. Afterwards, I plan to go to medical school working towards creating innovative solutions to the world’s most devastating healthcare issues, and starting my own biotechnology company.

Previous Education

University at Buffalo Biomedical Engineering 2024
Schenectady Community College Science 2022

My work explores the emergence of an alternative geography of trade, focusing on giants Brazil and India and the capacity of large developing nations to realize south-south economic integration. This Southerner hails from Atlanta, trade terminus, pecan and hip-hop hub. Experience spans work in international agencies, public schools, radio journalism, international legal research and municipal administration. I hope through my doctorate studies to illuminate trends in economic development.

Through my PhD on the conceptualisation of 'cultural heritage' in 19th century France, Germany and Britain I wish to contribute to an understanding of one of the key concepts of modern societies shaping both national identity and intercultural relations.

As an undergraduate in cello and literature at Northwestern, I studied new approaches to concert programming and integrated theories of literary translation into performance practice. I later worked as a teaching artist, designing educational workshops and community concerts throughout the Chicagoland area. I saw firsthand the powerful experiences listeners of many ages and backgrounds can have when engaging with unfamiliar types of music. I love to play and study modern and contemporary repertoire, but this music tends to be particularly challenging for audiences. At Cambridge, my research will focus on helping listeners to grapple with these less familiar musical languages. I will combine methods in music analysis and cognitive psychology to explore stylistic translations - pieces of music that bridge the gaps between musical styles and lead the ear from more familiar sound worlds to less familiar ones. I will draw on the literature on analogy and structure mapping in education to investigate how music learning relates to learning in other domains. I hope to deepen ties between music researchers and concert practitioners, developing new ways of presenting the extraordinary music written in the last 100 years.

Previous Education

The University of Sheffield Psychology of Music 2019
Northwestern University Cello Performance and Comparative Literature 2016

First and foremost, I’m a Hellenophile – that is, I’m fascinated by the archaeology, art and history of Ancient Greece. Whilst in Cambridge I will study the material remains of Greek settlements in the Black Sea area. I’m particularly interested in the nature of the relations between the Greeks and the indigenous peoples inhabiting this region.

Links

http://www.jakubszamalek.pl
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakub-szamalek-039aba51
http://www.sztukaantyku.blog.pl

My curiosity for physics began in a high school classroom in California with a simple question: how can I describe the natural world? The quest to answer this has led me first to Switzerland to complete a BSc in Physics at ETH Zurich, and then to Cambridge for an MPhil in Scientific Computing with the support of the DeepMind Scholarship. Along the way, I’ve leveraged the power of computational physics, which is a vital tool for understanding physical phenomena that are otherwise difficult or even impossible to study. During my PhD, I will focus on the design of nuclear fusion reactors. Using high power computing to generate state of the art numerical simulations will enable me to explore both the stability of the plasma within the reactor as well as to optimise the design of the reactor itself. Through this project I will join the global and interdisciplinary effort to accelerate the path towards harnessing the power of nuclear fusion and providing a clean and economic energy source.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Scientific Computing 2024
ETH Zurich Physics 2023

Bart M.J. Szewczyk (SHEF-chick) is an Associate-in-Law at Columbia Law School. Previously, he was a senior associate at WilmerHale and an adjunct professor of international law at George Washington University Law School. He is a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations, member of the Executive Council at the American Society of International Law and fellow at the Truman National Security Project. Bart clerked for President (then Vice-President) Peter Tomka and Judge Christopher Greenwood at the International Court of Justice and for Judge Leonard Garth at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was a visiting fellow at the EU Institute for Security Studies and a consultant in the UN Office of Strategic Planning. He has published in the American Journal of International Law, Harvard International Law Journal, Columbia Journal of European Law, Polish Yearbook of International Law, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, and International Herald Tribune.

As a member of Hungary's burgeoning green movement, I've sought to contribute to ecological groups' insistent (many times desperate) efforts to demonstrate environmentalism's ability to provide politically viable and morally acceptable solutions to the banes of modern societies. As an academic I will strive to make evident that there is much more to environmentalism than its politics - in that it seeks to address some of the most fundamental problems of our modern culture and Weltanschaung.

During my undergraduate studies in Munich I discovered organic electronics to be a promising field. Specifically, very cheap, flexible and disposable organic solar cells could lead to a new and sustainable energy source. In my PhD in Cambridge I plan to explore the physics behind singlet exciton fission in organic materials and its use in photovoltaics to reach efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit. The final goal is to obtain an understanding of the physics behind singlet exciton fission and the dynamics of the resulting triplet excitons. Most importantly, I want to use this insight to design new systems with lower losses in excitonic energy transport and to exploit the potential of singlet fission for the efficiency to go beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit. Considering the cheap production costs, higher efficiencies can make organic solar cells attractive for large-scale use. In my PhD I would like to contribute to such a sustainable energy source.

In college my research culminated in a philosophical and historiographical investigation of the teleology at work in evolutionary theory. Recently I've become more interested in a different branch of my discipline – the philosophy of psychiatry and psychology, particularly contemporary clinical treatment and diagnostic practices.

I have always been inspired by the focus, tenacity and courage of wildlife. As a wildlife lawyer, I endeavour to apply that same conviction in my research into the ways in which law and policy affect wildlife, the communities that come into contact with them and the outcomes of conservation projects. While studying Law and International Studies at the University of New South Wales, I developed an appreciation of the profound and dramatic impact that the law can have on a person’s life. This principle similarly applies to animals, as I witnessed firsthand while working in Namibia, researching human-wildlife conflict, the illegal wildlife trade and endangered species conservation. As growing populations and environmental changes bring humans and wildlife into more frequent contact, proactive conservation strategies are an increasingly important factor in protecting the lives of both wildlife and the people who coexist with them. At Cambridge, I intend to research the ways in which interdisciplinary conservation approaches can deliver more effective solutions to key environmental challenges. I look forward to developing the skills to design and manage conservation projects in the future, as well as bridging the gap between conservation and the law, in theory and in practice. It is an incredible opportunity and privilege to join the Gates Cambridge community and I look forward to researching this important area to improve the lives of humans and wildlife around the world.

Previous Education

University of Copenhagen
University of New South Wales

I am currently on the MB PhD course aspiring to become a Physician-Scientist.Studying medicine at Cambridge and doing my part II in pharmacology allowed to discover my passion for the science that medicine is built on, especially the science of cellular signalling. My PhD would be about the interactions between calcium signals and cAMP signals in vascular smooth muscle cells mediated by the inflammatory mediators Histamine and Prostaglandin E2 respectively. The topic especially appeals to me because it has implications both for further understanding of vascular biology/pathology and also for further understanding of calcium and cAMP interactions, which are crucially important for many physiological processes. On completion of the MB PhD course , I hope to return to Palestine and help in the development of the field of medical research there, and I hope that my contributions into medical research will one day cause major advancements in clinical practice. As a physician scientist, I also hope to have a role in the field of health policy in my country.I am very pleased to be joining the Gates family , not only because the scholarship will allow me to pursue my PhD but also because I will be joining a community of like minded people with the common goal of improving the world and the lives of others.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge