Directory

One of the most promising models of synaptic plasticity shows that it depends on the precise timing of neuronal activation. These learning - related events are embedded on structures generating sustained oscillatory activity. The temporal and spatial interplay of both processes generates a rich and complex dynamics with fascinating emergent properties. Beyond its aesthetic charms, these phenomena are fundamental and ubiquitous in the developing and functioning brain. I plan to devote my next three years to a combined approach to the topic, alternating theoretical and experimental techniques: mathematical models and computational simulations from my original background in theoretical physics, and electrophysiology and optogenetics from my newly acquired skills in physiology.

I want to re-imagine and redesign organised learning as we know it (i.e. education systems). I am increasingly passionate about working with school and system leaders to challenge the status quo, inspire fresh thinking and leverage new solutions in order to radically improve learning. My PhD research focuses on the role international comparisons of school system performance can play for policy makers who are seeking to improve their country's performance. I have spent 3 months at the OECD in Paris as part of the PISA team and am now interviewing policy makers across five countries. I am also leading a network of emerging educational leaders across Australia and New Zealand who are seeking to develop innovative solutions to local learning challenges.

My interest in democratic transitions was first sparked by living in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a high school student. While studying at Brown University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, I focused on political violence, democratization, and post-war development. For the past four years, I have worked as a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, conducting research on trends in women's political participation and civic mobilization and working directly with policymakers who seek to support democratic governance around the world. My research in Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Nepal and elsewhere highlights the need to better understand patterns of resistance to women's political power in different political and institutional contexts, as well as women's response strategies. I hope to use my PhD research to shed light on these dynamics, to help ensure that increases in women's descriptive representation translate into meaningful political power.

Previous Education

Tufts University Comparative Politics/IR 2016
Brown University Political Science 2012

Links

https://carnegieendowment.org/experts/1268

I aim to improve the health and wellbeing of people affected by autism-spectrum conditions and developmental disabilities. I seek roles in research, treatment, and practice because none of these fields seems sufficient on its own to meet so many wants and needs. I appreciate my experience of relevant, exciting science at the Autism Research Centre and rigorous, globally oriented thinking at the Institute of Public Health. Feels great to receive best-possible preparation for meaningful future pursuits in medicine. Feels really great to gain insight and inspiration from affiliates of the generous Gates Cambridge Scholarship that will last for long!

Alex Bremner is Senior Lecturer in Architectural History at the University of Edinburgh. He researches the history and theory of Victorian architecture, specialising in British imperial and colonial architecture and urbanism. He has published widely on these subjects in a range of scholarly journals, including The Historical Journal, Architectural History, The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Modern Intellectual History, and The Journal of Historical Geography. His first book, Imperial Gothic: Religious Architecture and High Anglican Culture in the British Empire, c.1840-1870 (Yale UP, 2013) was a ground-breaking study on the significance of ecclesiastical architecture in the formation of colonial society and culture, winning the 2013 Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion from the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain.

Links

http://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/architecture-landscape-architecture/alex-bremner

An experimental physicist looking at the fundamental quantum mechanics of single quantum emitters in solid state systems (defects in diamond and SiC, InGaAs quantum dots). I teach courses in introductory mechanics and electromagnetism to undergraduates at the U.S. Naval Academy. I am also in the U.S. Navy Reserve where I serve as a Science and Technology liaison and an anti-submarine warfare watch officer.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge PhD 2013
University of Cambridge MA (Cantab) 2005
University of Cambridge BA (affiliated) Natural Science 2003

Links

http://www.usna.edu/Users/physics/brereton
http://quantumengineer.org
http://www.linkedin.com/in/peterbrereton

I am excited about being in Cambridge and I hope to sharpen my skills, to broaden my view, and to meet exciting people. I work on the automated analysis of software and related artifacts. In particular, I like to improve the quality of software systems. I tackle this problem by helping programmers to identify functionality that is spread over a system but could be bundled for improved understanding and maintainability. At Cambridge, I am looking forward to finding mutually inspiring discussions as well as collaboration with people from inside and outside my field.

Links

http://unbtc.ro
http://www.soi-hits.eu

I attended the University of South Carolina where I studied chemical engineering with minors in chemistry and mathematics. My PhD in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechology under Professor Markus Kraft studied inorganic nanoparticle growth in laminar flames using computational fluid dynamics and population balance modelling. Currently, I work for Siemens DISW developing multiphase computational fluid dynamics software for STAR-CCM+.

Previous Education

The University of South Carolina

While studying organismal biology, bioethics, and philosophy at McGill University, I became interested in how scientific knowledge informs and challenges philosophical ideas. Who has credibility in claiming scientific knowledge? What type of science can be claimed as legitimate and worthy of funding? I took a year off to work with a community service organization in Pittsburgh, PA, where I helped homeless clients apply for welfare benefits, Medicaid, and public housing lotteries. The question of resource allocation, of what our money should fund, suddenly appeared on a much larger scale than it had in my bioethics textbook, and propelled me to study critical social theory. I finished my undergraduate studies as a transfer student at The New School in New York City, where I had the opportunity to work as a research assistant for professors in the history and culture and media departments. At Cambridge, my work will focus on how scientific and medical research priorities are often influenced by financial and market forces; I’m interested in how, over time, those interests have shaped our research on and understanding of two processes in particular: reproduction and cognition. I’m excited to work with the Gates and Cambridge communities in examining the intersection of science, ethics, and economic systems to challenge hegemonic scientific ideas and pursue academic interventions needed for a more rigorous understanding of scientific and medical justice.

Previous Education

McGill University
University of Pittsburgh
The New School

I studied at Indiana University in Mathematics and English. At Cambridge, I completed Part III of the Math Tripos at Churchill College. Cambridge afforded me a wonderful experience that I still cherish. I now live and work in Chicago as a high school math teacher.

I was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and earned my B.A. in Media Studies and Public Policy from UC Berkeley. My MPhil dissertation examined how human rights and ethics employees working for “Big Tech” companies seek to institutionalize new norms by by accruing or leveraging different forms of capital. I now work as a responsible business consultant and researcher and am based in New York City.

I am currently serving as the Acting Administrator of the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. I previously served as an advisor on Capitol Hill as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration and practiced law in the private sector.

Previous Education

Western Michigan University BS Enviromental Studies, Science, Economics 2005