2024 Team

Co-Chairs

Eric is a second-year PhD student in the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society advised by Professor Anette "Peko" Hosoi and Professor Catherine D'Ignazio. His current research focuses on algorithmic fairness and alignment, housing stability and equity, and social data science. Outside of research, he enjoys training for triathlons and making art.

Yael Cervantes is a second-year TPP master's student at MIT. His research at the MIT Low-Income Firms Transformation Lab (LIFT) aims to reduce poverty in developing countries by reducing the barriers that affect micro and small enterprises. Originally from Mexico, he is a Fulbright-García Robles Scholar and Ex-Banxico. When he is not studying, you can find him playing tennis, visiting museums, or in the closest bakery.

Executive Committee

Hannah is a first year SM student in the Technology Policy Program. Her research interests include science communication, trust in science, and stakeholder engagement in science & policy. Outside of school she can usually be found in the gym.

Albert Chen is a PhD candidate in the Social and Engineering System program of IDSS. He’s working on climate change, energy systems and air quality, in particular the potential outcome of climate and energy policy, combining modeling tools (e.g., climate ensemble, chemical transport model) and statistical tools (e.g., machine learning, optimization, causal inference). He enjoys ultimate frisbee and hiking in free time.

Nathan Collett is a Fulbright scholar in the MIT Technology and Policy Program. He is currently supporting the policy and resilient cities missions of the Climate Project at MIT and conducting thesis research on the political economy of sustainable building design.
Nathan previously worked in a specialized social and behavioural science research unit of the Privy Council Office of Canada, where he provided evidence-based policy advice to the Prime Minister and Cabinet on climate change and threats to democratic stability. Previously, he earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science from McGill University, where he was a student fellow at the Research Group on Constitutional Studies and the founding director of the McGill Journal of Human Behaviour. Nathan grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, immersed in nature, good books, and social democratic politics.

Carlotta Barone-MacDonald is a first-year graduate student in the Technology and Policy Program at MIT. Previously, she studied Mathematics and Physics at École Polytechnique in France. Carlotta grew up in Paris, immersed in museums, culture and unavoidable activism. Beyond academics, she enjoys jazz, poetry, and advocating for women in STEM! Her research interests lie at the intersection of quantum engineering and technology policy. In particular, in finding ways to apply quantum mechanics to solve real-world issues, particularly regarding energy technologies and information science, examining their interplay. During her undergraduate thesis at MIT, she researched the parallels between exciton diffusion in light-harvesting systems and quantum annealing, motivating intersections between information transfer and energy transfer in photosynthesis. Previously, she worked on quantum computing problems at Imperial College London, investigating efficient quantum algorithms for stabilizer entropies and measures of "nonstabilizerness", under the guidance of Myunshik Kim and Soovin Lee.