Project Teams Staff
A dedicated team of professional staff provide support, guidance, and oversight for each team and the overall program.
Lauren Stulgis, Swanson Director of Student Project Teams
Lauren joined Cornell Engineering as the Swanson Director of Student Project Teams in August 2019. Preceding Cornell Engineering Lauren spent 13 years at Duke University in roles with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, the Pratt School of Engineering, and Nicholas School of the Environment. Prior to her career in higher education Lauren spent four years as an environmental consultant in Chicago. She earned her B.S. in earth and ocean sciences from Duke University in 2001, and an M.S. in oceanography from the University of Delaware in 2003. Lauren is a dedicated student advocate and a passionate proponent of experiential education. She is excited to support the unique learning and growth opportunities offered through Engineering Student Project Teams and is thrilled to be part of the Big Red Family.
Lauren lives in Ithaca with her husband, two children, and five pets. In her spare time she enjoys hiking and exploring the Finger Lakes region, practicing karate, listening to audio books, crafting, and cheering on her family in their many activities.
Contact Lauren: ls948@cornell.edu, 607-255-6366
Kate Reiter, Cunningham Assistant Director of Student Project Teams
Kate joined Student Project Teams in January 2022. Before joining the College of Engineering, she spent 3 years in career advising roles with Bowers CIS and Architecture, Art, and Planning. Prior to Cornell, Kate spent several years raising her family and previously served as the U.S. Director of Amigos de Jesus, where she managed an international service-learning program in Honduras, Central America. Preceding her education roles, she worked as a structural engineer for consulting firms in Seattle and Chicago. Kate earned her BEng in Civil Engineering from Villanova University and is currently working on her MEd in Learning, Cognition, and Development from Rutgers University Graduate School of Education. She is excited to help facilitate meaningful experiential learning opportunities for Cornell Engineering students.
Kate lives in Ithaca with her husband, Matt, and four children. In her spare time she enjoys reading, long walks with friends, and spending time with her extended family on Lake Ontario and Lake Michigan.
Contact Kate: kmr87@cornell.edu, 607-255-7531
Gibran El-Sulayman, Project Teams Assistant
Gibran joined Cornell Engineering in October 2016 and the Student Project Teams in August 2017. Prior to Cornell and higher education Gibran has over 15 years of industry experience as a chemist in the bioanalytical and polymer chemistry fields. He earned his B.A. in Chemistry from Oberlin College in 1998.
Gibran currently lives in Ithaca with his wife, Great Danes, parakeets, and a Russian tortoise. Gibran has moonlighted as a DJ for over 20 years, loves video games, and would tell you that he is a pretty good cook.
Contact Gibran: gae27@cornell.edu, 607-255-2754
Noah Hamm, Project Teams Safety and Operations Supervisor
Noah comes to Project Teams with a broad range of academic support experience at Cornell starting in 2003. He’s worked in ornithology, facility management, library science, and digital and traditional fabrication. Prior to Cornell, Noah lived in Eastern California and worked in land management and conservation biology. Noah earned his Bachelor of Science in Evolutionary Biology from Northland College and his Associate of Arts from Deep Springs College.
Noah lives in Caroline with his wife and two children in the off-grid, solar powered home that he built. He enjoys all kinds of word games and puzzles as well as outdoor adventures like hiking and biking.
Contact Noah: nhh5@cornell.edu
Sidhee Hande, Teaching Assistant
Sidhee is the TA for all 37 sections of ENGRG 3400. She is a Master of Engineering student in Computer Science student from Pune, India. Sidhee is very interested in the field of Natural Language Processing and is passionate about building products that create social impact and improve human lives. She enjoys learning new languages, bird-watching and writing, and has self-published a poetry book of her poems.
Contact Sidhee: eng_projteams_TA@cornell.edu
Student Employees
Our team of student employees provide support for operations in the Experiential Learning Lab and help with a wide variety of tasks to keep the program running smoothly.
Rachel Mead
Rachel is a senior mechanical engineering major from NJ. She is one of two chassis co-leads and the safety manager of the Cornell Electric Vehicle team. In her spare time, Rachel likes taking walks with friends and listening to music.
Thomas Zhao
Thomas is a senior civil engineering major from New York City. He is a Primary Team Lead for the Steel Bridge team and is interested in the structural and transportation aspects of civil engineering. Thomas also plays ultimate frisbee for the Cornell Buds and may out of town during the weekends for ultimate frisbee tournaments.
Miriam Levesque
Miriam is a senior mechanical engineering major from Westborough, MA. She is a member of the Cornell Baja Racing team and is interested in anything that moves (aka dynamic systems). She loves driving the Baja car out at the team's track.
Nick Thomas
Nick is a senior independent major from Wantage, NJ studying applied engineering physics and electrical engineering. He is the team lead for the FSAE team. In his free time, he enjoys fly fishing.
Harris Miller
Harris is a senior electrical engineering major from Long Island, NY. He is the low voltage and data lead of Cornell Racing FSAE and is interested in embedded systems and micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). In his free time, you can find Harris rock climbing or helping out at the Maker Labs in Phillips Hall.
Lexi Stoff
Lexi is a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering. She is from New York and is a member of Cornell FSAE Racing. Lexi is interested in automotive and aerospace engineering. In her free time, she enjoys watching football and baseball, hiking, and fashion.
Hannah Zolock
Hannah is a junior mechanical engineering major from Marlborough, MA. She is the monocoque lead for Cornell Racing FSAE. In her spare time, she likes watching movies and hiking.
Katie Sternkopf
Katie is a senior mechanical engineering major from Westchester, NY. She is a team lead of Cornell Baja Racing and enjoys playing the piano and guitar in her free time.
Sophia Lazara, Media Assistant
Sophia is a Junior studying Information Science from San Francisco, CA. She is particularly interested in math and design and enjoys spending her free time learning the ukulele and watching movies with friends.
Calvin Johnson
Calvin is a senior mechanical engineering student from Rochester, NY. He is a team lead for Cornell Baja Racing. In his spare time he enjoys hiking, canoeing, and listening to music.