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Executive Board
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M. Bernardine Dias, Founder and Director, is an
Associate Research Professor in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science. Her research expertise are in technology for developing communities, assistive technology, and autonomous team coordination. Dr. Dias is a native of Sri Lanka. Her career goal is innovating means of developing and disseminating suitable and sustainable technology for empowering underserved communities. She is a strong supporter and mentor for women in science and technology. |
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Yonina Cooper, Associate Director, is an Associate Teaching Professor in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. She co-teaches the Technology and Global Development course at Carnegie Mellon Qatar with M. Bernardine Dias and is a Qatar faculty advisor for the iSTEP program. Her research interests are in the areas of education and technology: ICT in education in developing countries, identifying technology that is accessible and relevant to the needs of a developing community, and adapting Alice (software) to be culturally relevant for Middle East schools. |
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M. Beatrice Dias (Bea), Postdoctoral Associate, is based
in the Robotics Institute at
Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science. She is collaborating with the TechBridgeWorld team to assess different projects in ICTD, with a focus on literacy tools designed for developing communities across the globe. Beatrice conducted three of her Ph.D. research studies in collaboration with TechBridgeWorld to understand the effect of technology in developing communities across the globe. The genesis of this research was her experience as a participant in TechBridgeWorld’s inaugural iSTEP internship program in 2009 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. |
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Sarah M. Belousov, Project Manager, is based
in the Robotics Institute at
Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science. Her primary responsibilities involve supporting TechBridgeWorld’s activities through partnerships, fundraising, field work, and program planning. She earned her M.S. in Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College, and her B.A. at Johns Hopkins University, majoring in International Studies and minoring in French. She also studied at l’Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris. Prior to joining TechBridgeWorld, Ms. Belousov worked at the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and participated with Leadership Pittsburgh’s Leadership Development Initiative. |
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Ermine A. Teves, Project Assistant, graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in May of 2008 with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College with a concentration in Social Innovation. She became interested in technology for sustainable development while interning for TechBridgeWorld during her undergraduate studies. In summer 2008, she spent 10 weeks in Bangalore, India interning with Microsoft Research India and the Mathru School for the Blind on the Braille Writing Tutor project through TechBridgeWorld. Shortly after completing the internship, Ermine joined the TechBridgeWorld team full time and her responsibilities include expanding TechBridgeWorld programs, marketing, and fundraising efforts. Ermine is a native of the Philippines and hopes to facilitate future TechBridgeWorld projects in her home country. |
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Gary Giger, Technical Consultant, is a Research Programmer/Analyst in the Field Robotics Center at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Gary graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1997 with a B.S. in Computer Science and began his career as a software engineer for various companies. In 2004, he returned to graduate school and earned his Ph.D. in 2010 in Computer Science and Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University where he focused on high-level planning algorithms regarding groups of cooperating unmanned underwater vehicles. After graduation, Gary continued his research in the area of unmanned vehicles with Applied Research Associates. Since September 2012, Gary is working with TechBridgeWorld to support its projects and programs. |
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Hatem Alismail, Student Representative,
is a graduate student at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. His research interests include developing and applying computer vision techniques for mobile robots in tasks such as pose estimation, navigation and 3D reconstruction. Furthermore, he is interested in Information and Communication Technologies for Development research, especially education oriented research efforts. He participated in TechBridgeWorld's inaugural iSTEP 2009 internship in Tanzania, where he took the lead on the Literacy Tools project in Dar es Salaam. |
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