I'm honored to be a recipient of the 2024 Award for Outstanding Teaching Assistant. As someone who owes so much to my own mentors for their support and inspiration, I try to follow their example when teaching. From medicine to field studies to laboratory science, biology is a broad enough field that every student can find something to be passionate about, and I delight in helping them find it. 

I am honored to receive the 2024 Outstanding TA Award. One of the most rewarding experiences of my time as a Teaching Assistant came unexpectedly two years after I taught Intro to Cellular and Molecular Biology. I learned that two of my former students, now part of the PharmD Class of 2027, recognized me as their TA through my wife's Instagram and shared how my teaching influenced their academic journey. This moment truly underscored the lasting impact of teaching and the privilege of being part of my students' paths toward success. 

What I enjoy most about being a TA is how much it has challenged me to deepen my own understanding of the material. Explaining concepts in new and creative ways to help my students succeed has pushed me to think about chemistry from perspectives I hadn't considered before. I've also really enjoyed building relationships with my students. I get to help them through experiments and learn chemistry, and as they get more comfortable, I'm able to provide support for challenges outside of class as well. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to guide them not just as students, but as individuals, and to see them grow more confident and capable over the semester. 

I feel incredibly honored to receive the 2024 Outstanding TA Award. This recognition means a lot to me, as it stands as the biggest achievement in my PhD journey at Temple University so far. Serving as a Teaching Assistant has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my academic career. I've thoroughly enjoyed helping students navigate challenging concepts and witnessing those "aha" moments when things click for them. I am deeply grateful to Professor Slobodan Vucetic and Professor Stephen MacNeil for the opportunity to serve as their TA for the C/S5526 Machine Learning and C/S4496 Projects in Data Science courses. Collaborating with them, as well as with the students, has been a highlight of my time in the program and has allowed me to grow both as an educator and a learner. Thank you to the Computer and Information Sciences department and CST for this recognition.

For me, one of the most rewarding parts of being a teaching assistant in mathematics at Temple is working with students from diverse backgrounds and majors, brought together by the universal need for math across fields like computer science, chemistry, biology, physics and economics. It's deeply fulfilling to see their excitement when they understand difficult ideas and realize how these concepts can help them in their careers. Watching their confidence and problem-solving skills grow over time is a truly enjoyable experience. 

Being a TA was both exciting and nerve-wracking. Preparing for sessions often deepened my understanding of familiar topics. The best part was seeing students’ joy when they grasped challenging concepts or got answers to their questions. I loved discussing physics and exploring its real-world applications with students, often during lab sessions where we observed phenomena firsthand. It was rewarding to build a shared foundation for understanding physics. Teaching also pushed me to find new ways to explain complex ideas, enhancing both my communication skills and understanding. Being a TA has been a mutually enriching experience, helping both me and my students grow in our appreciation of physics.

I am honored to receive the 2024 Outstanding RA Award after four enriching years of research in Dr. Shi's lab, where I had the opportunity to engage in impactful projects at the intersection of bioinformatics and genomics. One of the most rewarding aspects of this role was the opportunity to develop innovative methods and conduct in-depth analyses on large-scale genomics datasets, uncovering insights into the functional impact of structural variations (SVs) on human 3D genome organization and gene regulation in human health and disease. With the lab's support, I had the privilege of presenting our findings to global audiences at national and international conferences. Collaborating with a dynamic and supportive team not only honed my technical expertise but also deepened my passion for advancing research with the potential to transform human health. 

As a Research Assistant (RA) in the Borguet lab at Temple University, I have led innovative research in nonlinear optical spectroscopy and microscopy for interfacial studies. My work focuses on developing advanced techniques, including second harmonic generation (SHG) and vibrational sum-frequency generation (vSFG), to explore the unique properties of interfaces. I designed and implemented a multi-modal nonlinear optical spectroscopy setup capable of probing interfaces across a broad frequency range, from the mid-infrared (MIR) to the near-infrared (NIR). This interdisciplinary approach has enabled studies of diverse systems, with applications spanning optics, nanotechnology, and atmospheric chemistry. This recognition underscores the collective achievements of the Borguet lab and the Chemistry Department at Temple. I remain committed to advancing interfacial science and driving future breakthroughs in light­-based techniques and nano-structured materials. 

Research has always been a passion of mine because it satisfies two fundamental aspects of my personality: an innate curiosity and a drive to challenge myself. At its core, research allows me to explore the unknown, ask compelling questions, and uncover meaningful answers. This process feeds my curiosity, giving me the opportunity to delve deeply into subjects that spark my interest and make sense of complex phenomena. Moreover, research consistently pushes me out of my comfort zone. It demands perseverance, critical thinking, and creativity to tackle intricate problems and overcome setbacks. These challenges are not only intellectually stimulating but also personally rewarding. They foster growth and fuel my motivation to keep striving for new insights and innovative solutions. In essence, research is more than an academic pursuit for me-it's a journey of discovery and self­improvement that keeps me engaged and inspired.

I am honored to receive the Outstanding Research Assistant Award for 2024. Working as a researcher in mathematical analysis has been a great experience, and I am grateful to my academic advisor, Professor Irina Mitrea, for her continued support and guidance. I also appreciate the support from the University Fellowship provided by Temple University, which was an important ingredient in my academic growth. 

My research lives in the world of low-dimensional topology and geometry which studies the structure and geometry of 2, 3 and 4-dimensional manifolds. One can build a 3-manifold by "thickening" a 2-dimensional surface and describing a function to "glue" the two ends together. My research uses topological data of this "gluing map" to yield geometric information about the constructed 3-manifold. I was born and raised here in Philly, and I never imagined that I would become a doctor in mathematics! Conducting mathematics research is a social endeavor. I'm very thankful for the opportunity to travel to deliver and attend research talks, to collaborate with other mathematicians and for the support I've received from my advisor, my friends, colleagues and collaborators. 

I started my research in nuclear physics in my undergrad with a professor who had received his Ph.D. from Temple. In doing so, I have learned of different ways of studying nucleon structure, such as lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (LQCD). Upon arriving to Temple, I started research with Dr. Constantinou in understanding pion, kaon, and proton structure. Hadrons such as the pion, kaon, and proton are made up of quarks and gluons, which are called partons. It is known that the internal structure is a huge mixture of quarks and gluons forming and annihilating, and understanding the interactions is a key aspect to knowing what makes us. LQCD discretizes spacetime on a finite size lattice, and utilizes resampling techniques in order to extract matrix elements. These matrix elements are then related to amplitudes that are frame independent, and then further related to three-dimensional generalized Parton distribution functions (GPDs). GPDs contain information on hadrons spin, mass, pressure, orbital angular momentum, and more. Winning this award is a great honor and emphasizes that I am determined to push forward the research from the Temple LQCD group.