Undergraduate Students – Visualizing Cities Lab

Spring 2022 Undergraduate Student Fellows

Chloe Alimurong is a first-year undergraduate at Duke Kunshan University from Maryland. Planning to major in Computation and Design with a track in Social Policy, she’s interested in all things architecture, aesthetics, sociology, and sustainability. At Duke, she has pursued other interests in the dance program and through DukeKSAC. Through the VCL, she hopes to learn new skills that will help her design the future.

Natalie Aramendia is a first-year Duke Kunshan University student majoring in Computation & Design, with concentrations in social policy and urban design. Her interests lie in urban mobility, architecture, and comparative studies in cities. In her free time, Natalie enjoys painting and is particularly a big fan of illustrated maps.

Surya Cannon is a sophomore from Texas and the Chicagoland area. She is studying decision science and art history with a concentration in architecture. Her interests include furniture, accessibility in urban planning, and community-building through design. She enjoys reading and writing fiction, visiting art museums, and working with her hands. She hopes her experience in the Visualizing Cities Lab will help her understand how identity and nationalism shape the systems and objects that people interact with in cities every day.

Michael Cao is a sophomore from Scotch Plains, New Jersey who is passionate about interdisciplinary scholarship within the humanities. He is excited to be a Visualizing Cities Lab Fellow and to explore how cities as social institutions construct reality and organize our social roles; how abstractions like beauty, aestheticism, and awe manifest in urban environments; and how cities represent the human desire for existential progress, often at the expense of disenfranchised individuals and groups. He is looking forward to developing skills in source analysis, data visualization, and the broader digital humanities to better communicate research and the unheard stories of the built and natural world. Outside of the lab he likes to learn about all kinds of academic disciplines like sociology, philosophy, and visual media studies, and he hopes to integrate these areas of knowledge in his work. In his free time, he is a huge fan of paninis, the music of Kacey Musgraves, and Duke Women’s Soccer.

Carmen Chavez is a sophomore double majoring in Sustainable Design and Policy, through an in-progress interdepartmental major, and Economics. They are interested in urban planning for its opportunities to solve equity issues, particularly economic immobility in marginalized communities. The VCL has helped them realize city case studies are their favorite way to learn more about this, a result from the Chicago team’s focus on lessons learned from urban history. They are currently working on fine tuning their technical skills through the visualization projects in this lab and new project teams in Our Urban Future (@ouf_duke).

Charlie Colasurdo (DKU ’23) is a junior from Westport, Connecticut. He has worked in Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand in a variety of fields including sustainable construction materials development, heritage conservation, and tourism. His academic interests include Mandarin Chinese and studying the intersections of sustainable development, education, the global economy, and Asia. Colasurdo is involved in student recruitment at Duke Kunshan University, student affairs, and serves as an editor for the Duke Chronicle.

Richard Gao is a second-year undergraduate student at Duke studying Art History and Classical Archaeology. Although he hopes to pursue a career in healthcare, he is profoundly interested in religious art in the urbanizing landscape. He enjoys visiting religious architecture such as churches and Buddhist shrines in the city and thinking about how multiple religions co-exist, interact, or conflict with each other in the urbanizing landscape. In his free time, he loves volunteering, visiting museums, traveling, practicing Chinese tea art, and hanging out with friends for food.

Sana Hairadin is a junior undergraduate student from Plano, Texas. She is studying Visual & Media Studies with a concentration on Computational Media. She is passionate about digital storytelling and the Visualizing Cities Lab allows her to build upon her studies of cultural digitalization by reveling in past and current methodological perspectives of a city. To visualize anything is to simultaneously nurture the discussion of interdisciplinarity, so the opportunity to collaborate with faculty, graduates, and other undergraduates is crucial to our joint experiences throughout the semester. She is also involved in organizations such as FORM Magazine, Duke AFRICA, and Duke DESTA. In her free time, she loves reading, taking long walks while listening to music, and finding the closet place that has arroz con leche.

Jeffrey Hwang is a second-year undergraduate at Duke University studying Environmental Science and Policy at the Nicholas School and minoring in Art History. He is interested in sustainable and biophilic design, urban studies, and language learning. He aspires to pursue a landscape architecture or urban design master’s program after graduation and enjoys drawing, 3D modeling, and spending hours on TikTok in his free time.

Kate Leonard is a senior from San Diego studying Neuroscience, Cultural Anthropology, and East Asian Studies. She is interested in how man-made boundaries created by mapping and city layouts foster the development of unique cultures and impact the way people interact with spaces. Her time spent in Japan fueled her interest in Tokyo as she became fascinated with the way modern, advanced displays of technology exist in spaces also dominated by traditional displays of Japanese culture.

Jiayin “Joy” Liu is a first-year undergraduate student in Trinity from Waterloo, Canada. As one planning to pursue an interdepartmental major in Computational Media and likely a minor in the Visual Arts, she is interested in exploring the intersection of the arts and technologies. She is always looking for ways to combine her interests in the visual arts, computer science, and digital humanities through real world applications. For the spring semester, she is excited to learn and work with other VCL fellows collaboratively in visualizing cities.

Riya Mohan is a current sophomore at Duke University who intends to pursue a self-designed Plan II major that combines global health, public policy, and computer science. She is currently a member of the Student Collaborative on Health Policy and a research assistant for Duke Ethical Tech where she is pursuing an independent project on the ethics and regulations of the growing genetic engineering sector. One day, she hopes to carve her own niche in order to combine ethics and medical practice with a focus on advocating for social justice and human rights.

Chase Pellegrini de Paur is a junior majoring in Global China Studies with a concentration in Political Science. He is particularly interested in political campaign strategy, having worked on local and national campaigns over the past three years. Originally from New York City, he is enjoying learning about the history and design of other cities, as well as getting some hands-on experience in the digital humanities. When he’s not at the VCL, he can be found giving campus tours, working in the best coffee shop on campus, rowing with the Duke men’s team, or watching Jeopardy with friends.

Felicia Wang is a first-year undergraduate student at Duke University who is considering Physics, Public Policy, and Visual Media Studies as potential majors. She hopes to pursue a career in urban infrastructure engineering and design to improve a city’s sustainability and highlight their arts, history, and culture. Felicia also analyzes aircraft carrier accidents with Duke’s Humans and Autonomy Lab and plays trumpet in Duke’s Jazz Ensemble. She is interested in how Bronzeville’s churches built community and fought for racial justice, which is her research focus in the VCL.

Malynda Wollert is a sophomore from Tennessee double majoring in Art History and Cultural Anthropology. She is interested in using analysis of art and architecture as a form of qualitative research to holistically understand the lived experiences of other cultures. Her previous background is in queer and conceptual art, and she hopes to bring that dimension to the Visualizing Cities fellowship while also expanding her knowledge through collaborative work. In her free time she is an avid reader, specifically of world literature, and enjoys listening to music and writing poetry.

Fall 2021 Undergraduate Student Fellows

Ian Acriche is a junior double majoring in Political Science and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies with a concentration in Chinese. As a history buff, Ian has always been fascinated by the role cities have played throughout history and their significance as cultural, economic, and academic hubs. Living outside New York City his entire life has allowed him to explore one of the world’s largest and most diverse cities — its countless neighborhoods, vibrant cultures, and intricate subway system. Ian hopes to pursue a career in urban policy focused on economic development.

Daniel Block is a sophomore undergraduate in Trinity, planning to double major in Mathematics and Computer Science, with a minor in Visual Media Studies. He is interested in discovering new approaches to explore the humanities with computational methods and mapping technologies. The VCL has enabled him to intertwine technological research with an ethical focus, focusing on the Durham community and Venetian spectacle. He has worked with the VCL for three semesters and hopes to continue this work in the future.

Michael Cao is a sophomore from Scotch Plains, New Jersey who is passionate about interdisciplinary scholarship within the humanities. He is excited to be a Visualizing Cities Lab Fellow and to explore how cities as social institutions construct reality and organize our social roles; how abstractions like beauty, aestheticism, and awe manifest in urban environments; and how cities represent the human desire for existential progress, often at the expense of disenfranchised individuals and groups. He is looking forward to developing skills in source analysis, data visualization, and the broader digital humanities to better communicate research and the unheard stories of the built and natural world. Outside of the lab he likes to learn about all kinds of academic disciplines like sociology, philosophy, and visual media studies, and he hopes to integrate these areas of knowledge in his work. In his free time, he is a huge fan of paninis, the music of Kacey Musgraves, and Duke Women’s Soccer.

Vaneesha Patel is pursuing a double major in Public Policy and Environmental Science and Policy, and a certificate in Energy and the Environment. She is interested in exploring the intersection of the built urban environment and energy policy, and how such an intersection could promote sustainable development of cities in the future. She is involved in organizations such Our Urban Future, an urban studies organization, and Environmental Alliance in order to better understand how policy, energy, and the physical spaces all connect.

Jeremy Tang (‘22) is pursuing a degree in Public Policy with minors in History and Political Science, and in the future he hopes to pursue a graduate degree in transportation planning. Originally from Cambridge, Massachusetts, he volunteers for a transit advocacy group based in Boston, where he has worked on bus schedule optimization and presented his findings to the MBTA. Next spring, Jeremy will research the history of urban-renewal and highway construction projects in Massachusetts as an independent study topic. On the rare occasions he’s not thinking about transit, Jeremy enjoys sudokus and crossword puzzles—his New York Times Monday crossword record is 2 minutes and 58 seconds.

Spring 2021 Undergraduate Student Fellows

Ian Acriche is a sophomore double majoring in Political Science and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies with a concentration in Chinese. Being a history buff, Ian has always been fascinated by the role cities have played throughout history and their significance as cultural, economic, and academic hubs. Living outside New York City his entire life, Ian’s proximity to one of the world’s largest and most diverse cities has allowed him to explore NYC’s many neighborhoods and vibrant cultures. Ian hopes to pursue a career in urban policy focused on economic development.

Daniel Block is a first-year undergraduate in Trinity, likely to double major in Mathematics and Visual Media Studies. He is interested in discovering new approaches to explore the humanities with computational methods. The VCL has enabled him to intertwine technological research with an ethical focus, specifically focusing on the Durham community with his subgroup. By working with other VCL fellows in the Fall semester, he was able to approach urban research from both coding and artistic backgrounds. For the Spring semester, he will continue this work, not only visualizing cities, but also breaking down the boundaries between academic disciplines, and learning innovative ways to inspire students.

Deepthi Chandra is a first-year student and a strategist with a specialty in marketing. Over the last two years, she has interned at a government office, civic organization, and think tank as she is interested in the impact of purpose-driven strategy and marketing on a system level. On-campus, she is involved with consulting at Duke Impact Investing Group, leading the Children’s Hospital Committee at Duke Marketing Club, and conducting cause marketing research for the Duke Markets & Management program. In her free time she watches rom-coms or searches for her next go-to coffee or bubble tea place.

Charlie Colasurdo (DKU ’23) is a sophomore from Westport, Connecticut. He has worked in Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand in a variety of fields including sustainable construction materials development, heritage conservation, and tourism. His academic interests include Mandarin Chinese and studying the intersections of sustainable development, education, the global economy, and Asia. Colasurdo is involved in student recruitment at Duke Kunshan University, student affairs, and serves as an editor for the Duke Chronicle.

Keena Gao is a first-year civil engineering student at Duke from Lexington, Massachusetts. She is interested in sustainable development and urban areas and wants to someday design technical solutions informed by context from the humanities that will help under-served communities. She hopes the Visualizing Cities fellowship will help her complement her classroom understanding of the built environment with innovative digital humanities research and the interdisciplinary knowledge of other lab members. In her free time, she can be found trying to wrangle fabrics into clothes through sewing, playing amateur tennis, and exploring fun fitness classes like goat yoga with friends.

Ayesham Khan is a sophomore from Lahore, Pakistan. She is studying visual art and public policy, with a focus on digital media. Her interests include queer Islamic culture, urban studies, and healthcare issues affecting gender minorities. She has been a poet all her life and hopes to write a book one day. Ask her about fashion, Persian literature, reality TV, museums, and art history.

Brandon Li studies political economy/public policy at DKU and is originally from Los Angeles, CA. An urban enthusiast possessing a global mindset, he is interested in topics revolving around human and developmental aspects of the cities of the future. Brandon has conducted prior interdisciplinary research on topics ranging from the comparative econometric performance of civilizations to the socioeconomics of Singaporean society and hopes VCL will serve as the perfect platform for exploring emerging paradigms of innovation and diversity amidst globalization. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, converging viewpoints and perspectives could revolutionize the way we interact with our surrounding environment as well as one another. There is unlimited potential in the never-ending pursuit to understand on a deeper level where, why, and how we live and Brandon hopes to explore these questions in depth with his colleagues.

Vaneesha Patel is pursuing a Public Policy major, a minor in Environmental Science and Policy, and a certificate in Energy and the Environment. She is interested in exploring the intersection of the built urban environment and energy policy, and how such an intersection could promote sustainable development of cities in the future. She is involved in organizations such as IGNITE @Duke, a political organization, and Environmental Alliance in order to better understand how policy, energy, and the physical spaces all connect.

Alana Hyman is a Duke undergraduate student in the class of 2022 majoring in Art History and Visual Arts with minors in Chemistry and French Studies. I joined the Visualizing Cities Lab as someone who is interested in the methods people have of visualizing any form of material culture both historically and in a modern sense. My interests lie primarily in the Global South with an emphasis on the visual culture of the Caribbean, but I also find myself drawn to the visuals and objects of ancient civilizations all over the globe.”

Riya Mohan is a current freshman at Duke University who intends to pursue a self-designed Plan II major that combines global health, public policy, and computer science. She is currently a member of the Student Collaborative on Health Policy and a research assistant for Duke Ethical Tech where she is pursuing an independent project on the ethics and regulations of the growing genetic engineering sector. One day, she hopes to carve her own niche in order to combine ethics and medical practice with a focus on advocating for social justice and human rights.

Elena Rivera is a third-year undergraduate student studying visual media studies and economics from Durango, Colorado. She is interested in the economics of art and hopes to pursue an MBA. Through her courses at Duke University and Harvard University, she has completed multiple research projects that investigate these intersections within the contemporary era. For VCL, she worked on the Chicago team where she applied her interests to investigate the neighborhood of Hyde Park.

Georgie Stammer is from Minnesota and is an undergraduate student in Duke’s class of 2024. She is undecided on a major but is considering Math, Computer Science, and Information Science & Studies. She also greatly enjoys photography and other art and loves exploring intersections of art and technology. At Duke, she also shoots photos for The Chronicle and works on the Operation Climate Podcast. In her free time, Georgie likes to play lacrosse, hang out with her dog, and watch movies.

Christina Wang is a first-year student from Northern Virginia. She plans on majoring in Political Science and History. She is interested in studying the American urban political landscape, especially the urban vote, and how it has evolved over time. Outside of the lab, Christina is a member of the Duke Votes Coordinating Committee and is involved in political activism.

Fall 2020 Undergraduate Student Fellows

Alexis Joseph is a junior majoring in Visual Arts and minoring in Global Health and a defender on the Duke Women’s Lacrosse team. After graduating from Duke, she plans to attend graduate school for architecture. Alexis’ main focus is using visual arts to amplify and investigate Black stories. The majority of her work is centered around being a Black woman and her experience of lack of representation in the art world. Recently, she has focused on the intersectionality of visual art, architecture, environment, and the Black experience.

Haitong Lin is an undergraduate student at Duke Kunshan University. She is currently pursuing a B.S. degree in Data Science and is widely interested in the intersection of science and humanities.

src=”https://sites.duke.edu/visualizingcities/files/2020/12/Caroline-Rettig-VCL-Photo-scaled-e1608126889252-150×150.jpg” alt=”Caroline Rettig headshot” width=”150″ height=”150″ />Caroline Rettig is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degrees in Art History and Romance Studies. In addition to being a part of the Visualizing Cities Lab, Caroline is a member of Nasher MUSE, the undergraduate student executive board at the university museum, and a contributor to FORM Magazine, the university’s arts and lifestyle publication. After college she hopes to attend graduate school and earn a master’s degree in Museum Studies. Caroline is delighted to be a part of the Visualizing Cities Lab and to collaborate with professors and students on developing new pedagogies and methodologies.

Christina Shin is currently pursuing a major in Art History and a minor in Chemistry. Passionate about understanding the construction of lived experiences, Christina joined the Visualizing Cities Lab to pursue questions about the reciprocal relationship between urban environments and their inhabitants.