Kwame spent most of his teenage years in Takoradi (in Ghana). He received his B.S. and MEng degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University in 2006 and 2008 respectively and was actively involved in the Ghanaians at Cornell Society, as well as researching at the Cornell NanoScale Facility. Kwame is currently pursuing a PhD degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering with focus on Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology and Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) integration.

At his free time, he likes to play soccer, volleyball, ping-pong and listens to music. He is excited to make new friends, and looks forward to serving as a resource to Hans Bethe House. Please feel free to stop by his room for a discussion at any time.

Elizabeth is a second-year graduate student pursuing a master's degree in health administration and public policy in the College of Human Ecology.  She completed her undergraduate degree at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC, with a focus in international health and development.  Her current academic interests focus around disaster recovery and health in developing nations.  

Elizabeth has worked with several non-profit, governmental, and for-profit institutions, including the World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of State, the Singapore Ministry of Health, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.  She is a licensed emergency medical paramedic, speaks Spanish and Russian, and has traveled in Western Europe, South America, and much of Asia.  

In her free time, she enjoys swing dancing, traveling, cooking, working with Cornell's Block & Bridle Club, and exploring the Ithaca area.  Her door is always open to chat or catch the latest episode of True Blood or Desperate Housewives, so stop on by!

Luisa is a 2nd year Ph.D student in French literature in the department of Romance Studies. Her studies focus on twentieth century French Theatre and in particular the works of French playwright Paul Claudel. After having completed her Masters at l’Université d’Avignon in French Theater (Avignon, France) she is happy to discover upstate New York, Cornell and to claim Ithaca as her home.

Born in Bucaramanga, Colombia, Luisa left South America at the age of seven and moved to the United States with her family. At 15 she returned to Medellin, Colombia to attend boarding school. She has spent the subsequent years of her life living on three continents, and in three languages, Spanish, English and French.  

After having traveled extensively she is marked by the extremity of all things and how beauty and poverty can become entangled in the strangest ways and in such difficult places. She believes with a sense of urgency that Cornell offers students a unique opportunity (a time, a space) to grow as scholars but also as people so that we might work to better our local communities, wherever these may be.

Buck is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Microbiology with minors in Geochemistry and Genomics.  His research looks at the biogeochemical influences microorganisms have in soil and groundwater ecosystems.

He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2003 with a BS in Biochemistry followed by a MS in Chemistry in 2004.  Buck has undertaken scientific research in many different fields ranging from synthetic organic chemistry, protein X-ray crystallography, rheumatoid arthritis, premature aging and computer modeling.

At Cornell he has been a teaching assistant for introductory courses in microbiology and natural resources.  Buck also enjoys community teaching and has developed microbiology lectures that he has presented at local community centers.  He is involved with the local Ithaca Community Orchestra in which he has played Bassoon for three years. 

An Oregon native, Buck grew up in a small town on the rugged coast where he loves to go camping, hiking, motorcycling and white water rafting.  Buck has enjoyed his time at Cornell and Ithaca and is always looking for opportunities to explore and discover the North East.

Paula [read: Pow-la] was born and raised in Eastern Europe, in Timisoara, Romania. She came to the United States right after high school and obtained her B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Brown University. She joined Cornell University in 2005 to pursue a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, focusing on the architecture of microprocessors - yes, she's a geek and proud of it!
 
She is probably one of the few people who enjoys Ithaca winters (at least the first three out of the five winter months), but loves Ithaca summers even more.
 
To make up for talking to a computer all day (and making it do what she wants), Paula tries to play as much volleyball, squash, tennis, or anything that will take her outdoors. She loves dancing with her friends, skiing, camping, and having people over and stuffing them with as much food and dessert as possible (sorry, the Romanian genes!), so feel free to stop by her room any time.

Puifai departed Bangkok, Thailand, where she grew up, at the age of 15. She then spent the next couple of years in Durango, CO, and Portland, OR, to finish high school. She received a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, IL where she was actively involved with Kappa Phi Delta sorority and IIT Cross Country team. Puifai began her graduate study in Biomedical Engineering at Cornell in Fall 2007. Her research interest is on blood circulation in the brain of Polycythemic subjects.  

At her free time, Puifai is addicted to NBA and NFL games as well as CNN. She also likes to play classical guitar and poker (when she wins). Puifai enjoys cooking and often use food as a bribe to make friends. She is excited to be a Graduate Resident Fellow and look forward to meeting the residents.