Tsion Behailu, Software Engineer, Google

Tsion Behailu received her B.A. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley in May 2015. During her time at Berkeley, Tsion  worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Law and Policy Planning and a software engineering intern at Groupon. She also helped to co-found Tequity, an organization that promotes inclusion in the technology industry for underrepresented students. She served as an L&S Computer Science representative on the Undergraduate Study Committee in her final year to provide input on departmental decisions with the Computer Science Department faculty & staff. Her research endeavors included developing Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) to increase Smallholder Farmers’ Access to Markets and Knowledge with funding from CREU. In her final year, she was named one of the “Top 100 Student Entrepreneurs” by the Dublin Web Summit in Dublin, Ireland. For her efforts in her undergraduate years, she was awarded the Eugene Lawler Prize by the UC Berkeley EECS Department. 

Gary S. May, Dean, College of Engineering; Professor Systems and Controls, Microelectronics/Microsystems

Gary S. May is the dean of the College of Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, ranked number 4 in U.S. News & World Report's annual list of the best American graduate engineering programs. From May 2005-June 2011, he served as the Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and previous to that, he was the executive assistant to Georgia Tech President G. Wayne Clough from 2002-2005.

Dr. May is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. He received the B.E.E. degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1985 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987 and 1991, respectively.

Dr. Mark L. McKelvin, Jr., Engineering Specialist, Model-based Systems and Software Engineering, Aerospace Corporation

Prior to this recent move to the Aerospace Corporation, Dr. McKelvin was the technical lead for the development and infusion of model-based engineering methodologies and tools to support space systems at the California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Lab. He is also a part-time Lecturer in the System Architecting and Engineering Program at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering. His interests are in the application of modeling, analysis, and design of engineered systems, including cyber-physical, embedded, and software systems. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley under the guidance of Professor Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli. He was also an active member and former President of the Black Graduate Engineering and Science Students Association (BGESS).

Grace D. O'Connell, Professor and Co-director of the Berkeley Biomechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley

Professor Grace D. O’Connell is co-director of the Berkeley Biomechanics Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of California, Berkeley. Before joining UC Berkeley, Dr. O’Connell conducted postdoctoral research in cartilage tissue engineering with Dr. Clark Hung at the University of Columbia. Dr. O’Connell received her PhD in Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, where her research focused on intervertebral disc biomechanics with age, degeneration, and injury. Currently, Dr. O’Connell’s research interests are focused on the mechanobiology of soft tissues in the musculoskeletal system. Particularly, Dr. O’Connell’s research group is evaluating the effects of injury and repair on cartilage and intervertebral disc mechanobiology.

Omotayo "Tayo" Olukoya, Software Engineer, Twitter

Omotayo "Tayo" Olukoya earned his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley. While at Berkeley, Tayo was a participant in inaugural Transfer Pre-Engineering program (T-PREP) for community college transfer students. At Berkeley Tayo participated in research and interned for both Goldman Sachs and Twitter. Tayo has won several prestigious scholarships such as the Bright Minds Scholarship sponsored by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (1 of only 10 throughout California) and the SanDisk Scholarship for Berkeley EECS Students. Tayo was selected as the student speaker for SanDisk's Computing Lab ribbon cutting ceremony at UC Berkeley. He currently works as a Software Engineer at Twitter, tackling problems such as abuse, spam and fake accounts on the platform. His area of specialty includes system design, application development and algorithms.

Debbie G. Senesky, Assistant Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics Department, Stanford University.

Debbie Senesky received the B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California in 2001.  She received the M.S. degree and Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004 and 2007, respectively. She was a Design Engineer in 2007 for GE Sensing (formerly known as NovaSensor). She was a researcher specialist in 2008 at the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC) developing silicon carbide (SiC) sensing technology for extreme harsh environments.  Her research interests include the development of micro- and nano-scale sensors, wide bandgap electronics and ceramic materials for operation within extreme harsh environments.   In recognition of her research, she has received the Early Faculty Career Award from NASA in 2012.