PEWS is excited to announce our 2023-2024 graduate student interns and fellows who will be contributing their talents and expertise throughout this year. We welcome Sushma Vangaveeti as our Web & Social Media Coordinator, Hans Naake and Emily Pietrantone as our Sustainability Fellows, and Tausi Haruna and Zach Peck as Science Fair Interns.
Sushma Vangaveeti
Sushma is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Information Technology at UC. She is from India, where she achieved the distinction of securing a silver medal during her undergraduate studies. Sushma is also a content creator, she runs a YouTube channel where she shares vlogs covering a diverse range of subjects. Her enthusiasm for content creation, and interest in social media management, inspired her to join the PEWS team as a Web and Social Media Coordinator assisting with editing and publishing PEWS News posts and managing social media accounts.
Inspired by the mission of PEWS and the impact of science on society, Sushma envisions a future where she can contribute to making science more accessible to underserved communities. Following the completion of her Master’s degree, she hope to disseminate scientific knowledge to those with limited access to it.
Hans Naake
Hans Naake is beginning his second year as a master’s student in the UC Department of Geoscience. His research involves investigating and developing the utility of a compound produced by diatoms as a proxy or recorder of past climate. He received his B.S. in Geoscience form the university of Cincinnati in 2019.
As a lifelong enjoyer of the outdoors, Hans’s interest in natural science began developing at a young age. Trips with family and friends to various national and state parks, such as the Grand Canyon and Glacier National Park, sparked a passion for environmental protection. After graduating with his B.S. and working in the construction industry for a few years, he began to learn the importance of communication to effectively promote sustainability and environmental protection. This interest in promoting scientific communication led him to become involved with PEWS as a sustainability intern. Along with his research, he volunteers with a group called Science Harvest which brings science demonstrations to local farmers markets to help foster interest in earth science to kids and adults alike.
Emily Pietrantone
Emily Pietrantone will be joining PEWS this year as a Sustainability Fellow. She is in her final year of school at UC after pursuing the combined ‘5+1’ Bachelors of Urban Planning and Masters of Community Planning. Emily is originally from the Cleveland area and moved to Cincinnati for school. She hopes to use the knowledge gained in and out of the classroom to push sustainable initiatives forward on campus.
Tausi Haruna
Ms. Tausi Haruna is a Doctoral student in Nursing at UC in the College of Nursing. She worked as a registered nurse and a lecturer at the Hubert Kairuki Memorial University in Tanzania. She completed her Master’s training in Bioethics at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania. She has also served on the Institutional Review Ethics Committee for four years. Her research interests in Women’s Health and Ethics have allowed her to work in HIV clinics and community outreach. Her PhD dissertation focuses on the Health Decision-Making Autonomy in Maternal Health among Tanzanian Women. Connecting science to the community is paramount as a scholar and nurse leader. At PEWS, Tausi’s goal is to engage in research initiatives and module development on health.
Zach Peck
Zach Peck is a Ph.D. student in the Philosophy Department at UC working at the intersection of social ontology, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence. Prior to joining UC, Zach earned Bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy, History, and Psychology from East Tennessee State University, a Master’s degree in Neurophilosophy from Georgia State University, and a Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Georgia. His philosophical research aims to articulate the variety of ways in which collective intentionality is changed in the age of AI.
Over the next academic year, Zach will be working with Dr. Melissa Jacquart and Tausi Haruna to develop a program that introduces the philosophy of science into the traditional grade school science fair. In particular, the hope is to encourage bringing philosophical style questioning into such spaces.
