The DIFUSE Research Team
Petra Bonfert-Taylor
Principal Investigator
Petra is a professor of engineering and associate dean for diversity and inclusion at Dartmouth College. She teaches Introduction to Scientific Computing and Embedded Systems in the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. Her research interests include complex analysis, geometric function theory, discrete groups, complex dynamics, and mathematics of medical imaging.
Laura Ray
Principal Investigator
Laura is a professor of engineering and senior associate dean of faculty development at Dartmouth College. She teaches Introduction to Control Theory, Mechatronics, and Responsible & Ethical Conduct of Research in the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. Her research interests include system dynamics and controls, robotics, signal processing, and machine intelligence.
Scott Pauls
Principal Investigator
Scott is the chair of the department of mathematics and director of the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL). Professor Pauls' research in mathematics focuses on building and analyzing network models for social, biological, and physical systems. In his theoretical work, he aims to find network theoretic signatures for outcomes of dynamical processes. Recently, he has been able to apply these techniques to systems in political science, economics, neuroscience, and environmental science.
Lorie Loeb
Principal Investigator
Lorie is the faculty director of DALI Lab and director of the Digital Arts Program (MS and Undergraduate) at Dartmouth College. Her work is about creating well-designed technology tools that change the way people think and behave. Her research focuses on effective methods for presenting and visualizing information in order to get people’s attention, communicate effectively, and change behavior. The DALI Lab is an innovation and leadership "garage" where students from all over campus come together in small teams to work on big problems.
Merve Kursav
Research Associate
Dr. Merve Kursav is a research associate at the DIFUSE project. She earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education with a minor degree in Measurement and Quantitative Methods from Michigan State University. Dr. Kursav’s extensive career spans a broad spectrum of K-16 mathematics, STEM, and data science education. Her work is dedicated to enhancing and innovating educational methodologies and practices, with a strong emphasis on promoting equity and inclusivity in STEM education. Dr. Kursav strives to ensure that her expertise contributes to creating more equitable and accessible learning environments for all students.
Graduate & Ph.D. Students
Quang Nguyen
BIO 16
James Busch
ASTR 15 & ENVS 3
Carolynn “Carrie” Harris
ASTR 51
Sarah Lee
GEO 36 & EARS 6
Ayobami Ogunmolasuyi
PSYCH 1
Pepper Huang
PSYCH 1
Monika Roznere
ENGS 37 & ANTH 6/40
Clement Nyanhango
MATH 23
Phillip Mulford
ME 3333-004
Undergraduate Students
Elisabeth Baumann ‘22
EARS 6
Sarah Korb ‘22
ENGS 93
William Toth ‘23
PSYCH 1
Logan Sankey ‘20
ENGS 20, ANTH 20, ANTH 6/40, ME 3333-004
Andrew Bean ‘23
ENGS 37, PS/CS 211 & Biology 102
Luis Hinojosa ‘24
EGEE 438
Vivek Hazari ‘22
PSYCH 1
Alexander Robertson ‘23
ENGS 93
William Chen ‘22
ENVS 3
Katherine Lasonde ‘23
SOCY 34
Joseph Gyorda ‘22
EEE 350
May Oo Khine ‘23
Pierre Desvallons ‘21
BIO 16 & PSYCH 1
Garrett Scott ‘22
ASTR 15
Taylor Hickey ‘23
Project Manager
Kyra McLaughlin ‘23
SOCY 34
Benjamin Levesque ‘24
EEE 350, Project Manager
Emma Nguyen ‘25
Tiffany Yu ‘21
Project Manager
Garret Andreine ‘22
PSYCH 1
Jackeline Corona ‘22
ENGS 20
Sabrina Barton ‘24
ANTH 20
Munachimso Onuoha ‘25
EGEE 438
DALI Lab
Staff
Tim Tregubov
Natalie Svoboda
Ashley Sigl
Osman Khan
Students
Abigail Johnson
Adrienne Ko
Amon Ferri
Andrew Chen
Andy Kotz
Ardelle Ning
Brian Wang
Catherine Cooney
Elizabeth Frey
Emily Chen
Eric Lu
Gia Kim
Grace Mensi
Jai Smith
James Utley
Jason Acosta
Jason Pak
Jordan Mann
Josh Vorbrich
Julian George
Justin Chong
Laurel Dernbach
Luc Cote
Macy Toppan
Megan Ren
Michelle Chen
Mira Ram
Rachel Ackerman
Rahul Rao
Sonal Butala
Will Perez
Ziray Hao