Members
Samer Abousaleh
Samer is a Civil Engineer as well as a premed student from Columbia, Maryland. His internships in hospitals and engineering firms has created this unusual combination of majors. With his free time he enjoys swimming and volunteering at hospitals. Upon graduating, Samer hopes to go to med school while working a job in a structural civil engineering company.
Nikhil Badami (Financial Liaison)
Nikhil is an Electrical Engineer from South Brunswick, New Jersey. In his free time he participates in cultural events hosted by the Indian Students Association and spends time at the Eppley Recreation Center. Upon graduation he hopes to work for a company with a focus on robotics or autonomous systems.
Nathaniel Foote (Co-Web Liaison)
Nathaniel is a Computer Science major and Statistics minor from Westminster, MD. After graduation, he hopes to work as a software engineer. He spent the previous summer as a software engineering intern for Northrop Grumman and will be returning there this coming summer. Outside of Gemstone, he plays trombone in the University of Maryland Marching Band, Pep Band, and University Jazz Band and works part time for University of Maryland Dining Services.
Adam Hurwitz (Team Liaison)
Adam is an
Aerospace Engineering major from Rockville, MD. He chose to join team MagNET
because of the opportunity to do hands-on work building a model. In addition to
Gemstone, Adam is a member of AIAA and
works part-time in the Department of Recreation Services.
Alex Johnson
Alexander is an Aerospace engineer from Columbia, MD who is passionate about what he does and loves things that go fast. In addition to Gemstone, Alex is a member of AIAA and intramural flag football, basketball, and wrestling. Upon graduating Alex hopes to work on the cutting edge of new space systems technology either at a private company such as Boeing, or even a government agency like NASA.
David Kessler
David is a Physics major from Potomac, Maryland. He is a Banneker-Key Scholar and has work experience with the American Physical Society.
Jose Lamas (Co-Web Liaison)
Jose is a Computer Science major from Lima, Peru. He enjoys a myriad of things, mainly programming, beatboxing, and conversing with friends and strangers alike. He is unsure of what he wants to outside of college but seeks a field in which at least a few of his interests and hobbies can coincide.
Jesse Lynch
Jesse is a Mechanical Engineering major from Gaithersburg, MD. Jesse proposed team MagNET because he wanted to be able to gain hands on experience. Jesse loves to work with his hands and would much rather fix things himself than let a shop take care of it; from cars to computers, he has built them from the ground up.
Robin McFaul
Robin is a Civil Engineering major with a minor in Project Management from Baltimore, MD. In her free time, Robin participates in the ASCE sponsored group competition known as Concrete Canoe. She chose to join team MagNET for the exciting, hands-on opportunities to build a model and the chance to make a difference in the field of science and technology. Upon graduating, Robin hopes to work for a company focusing on the structural aspect of civil engineering.
Thomas Ogden
Thomas is a Mechanical Engineering and Physics student at the University of Maryland College Park. Thomas is involved in the GEMSTONE and QUEST honors programs, works as a trip leader for the Maryland Adventure Program, and is a research assistant at the University’s Center for Research of Superconductors. In his free time, Thomas enjoys listening to and making music, exploring the outdoors and reading about the current technologies of the world. His interests lie in systems design and engineering, robotics design and engineering, quality product design, and research and development.
Shawn Rosofsky
Shawn is a double major in aerospace engineering and physics from Baltimore, MD. Besides this Gemstone project, Shawn has research experience from his work with Balloon Payload Program for the Space Systems Laboratory and Dr. Dan Lathrop’s Nonlinear Dynamics Laboratory. On campus he is involved with numerous activities including both the aerospace engineering and physics student groups and Terpski, the university’s skiing and snowboarding club. After he graduates, he wants to perform research that advances the state of world’s cutting edge technology or betters our understanding of physical sciences.
Noah Wichrowski
Noah is a Chemical Engineering and Mathematics double major from
California, Maryland. Noah has research experience with the Patuxent River
Naval Air Station and is interested in pursuing graduate education, possibly in
the field of thermodynamics. He spends his free time on campus at the
university’s Catholic Student Center or participating in events for the Pi Mu
Epsilon and Omega Chi Sigma honor societies.
Chungho (Patrick) Woo
Patrick is a mechanical engineering major from Woodstock, Maryland. He currently works as a research assistant at the Robotics Automation & Medical Systems (RAMS) Laboratory and enjoys participating in the Best Buddies program at the University of Maryland. He is excited to be on Team MagNET because of the hands-on experience the project provides and his interest in magnetism.
Our Mentor
Dr. Frank Coale
Dr. Frank J. Coale’s career-long contributions in research, Extension education, teaching and service have been keenly focused and have had a lasting impact on better management of our agricultural ecosystems. His work has resulted in positive changes in agricultural best management practices, environmental preservation, policy development and citizen understanding. He has provided significant and lasting leadership in his roles as an academic department chair and through service in numerous professional organizations. Dr. Coale has exhibited a steadfast commitment to understanding the relationships between agricultural production and the wellbeing of the surrounding ecosystem. He has excelled in transferring that understanding into implementable on-farm management practices and development of science-based public policies.
Dr. Frank Coale
Dr. Frank J. Coale’s career-long contributions in research, Extension education, teaching and service have been keenly focused and have had a lasting impact on better management of our agricultural ecosystems. His work has resulted in positive changes in agricultural best management practices, environmental preservation, policy development and citizen understanding. He has provided significant and lasting leadership in his roles as an academic department chair and through service in numerous professional organizations. Dr. Coale has exhibited a steadfast commitment to understanding the relationships between agricultural production and the wellbeing of the surrounding ecosystem. He has excelled in transferring that understanding into implementable on-farm management practices and development of science-based public policies.
Faculty Consultant
Dr. Mel Gomez
Dr. R.D. (Mel) Gomez is a Professor and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Education of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. He obtained his Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics from the Univ. of Maryland, M.S. degree from Wayne State University in Experimental Atomic Physics and B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines. He co-authored more than 100 scientific publications, including several book chapters and three US patents in the general area of nanotechnology.
Apart from research, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in quantum theory, electromagnetic theory, magnetism, electronic circuits and engineering design. As Associate Chair, he has implemented significant changes in the EE and CpE programs to modernize the curricula to better prepare students for jobs in the industry and graduate careers. He is a proponent of ‘hands-on’ education, and has spearheaded the development of several training laboratories in the department. He is also leading an effort to develop EE programs in Southern Maryland and at the Universities at Shady Grove.
Dr. Mel Gomez
Dr. R.D. (Mel) Gomez is a Professor and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Education of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. He obtained his Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics from the Univ. of Maryland, M.S. degree from Wayne State University in Experimental Atomic Physics and B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines. He co-authored more than 100 scientific publications, including several book chapters and three US patents in the general area of nanotechnology.
Apart from research, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in quantum theory, electromagnetic theory, magnetism, electronic circuits and engineering design. As Associate Chair, he has implemented significant changes in the EE and CpE programs to modernize the curricula to better prepare students for jobs in the industry and graduate careers. He is a proponent of ‘hands-on’ education, and has spearheaded the development of several training laboratories in the department. He is also leading an effort to develop EE programs in Southern Maryland and at the Universities at Shady Grove.