ÎÞÂëרÇø

Elizabeth Wanchisn Smith (she/her)

Presidential Fellow

Elizabeth is a PhD student advised by Dr. Carrie McDonough in Carnegie Mellon's Department of Chemistry. She obtained her BS in Chemistry from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA where she focused on synthetic organic chemistry. Her doctoral research is focused on the fate and transport of PFAS's and persistent organic pollutants within rural communities of Pennsylvania near hydraulic fracturing wells. She will identify novel drinking contaminants and help determine community risk and exposure through the analysis of drinking water with high resolution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. In addition to being a Steinbrenner Fellow, she is also a member of the 2025 Rales Fellows cohort.

Abnash Bassi (she/her)

Abnash Bassi is a PhD student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a member of the Parallel Data Laboratory at ÎÞÂëרÇø. She is advised by Prof. Akshitha Sriraman. Abnash received her Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto, where she specialized in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Her research focuses on designing efficient and environmentally sustainable data center hardware and software systems. Abnash’s current work designs holistically sustainable data center servers by considering carbon emissions and beyond-carbon metrics like water consumption, PFAS, and e-waste.

Hannah Boyles (they/them)

Hannah Boyles is a PhD student in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. They are advised by Dr. Valerie Karplus and Dr. Chris Pistorius. Hannah received a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2022. Hannah's research at ÎÞÂëרÇø focuses on techno-economic and lifecycle assessment of alternative ironmaking pathways to reduce emissions from the iron and steel sector.

Tedi Totojani

Tedi Totojani is a PhD student in the Department of Statistics and Data Science, joint with the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. Tedi received his bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics from Colgate University in 2023. His doctoral research applies causal inference methods to environmental and health policy questions. Currently, he is working with Dr. Mikael Kuusela and Dr. Zach Branson on developing statistical methods for repeated interventions in time series settings, with an application to quantifying the effect of Kigali’s car-free day program on fine particulate matter concentrations.