Our Leadership

“The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.” – Padmasree Warrior

Christian Deem – President

Christian is a senior ChemE at CMU. Outside of class, Christian works as a Lab Coordinator in the Rothfus Lab and as a Community Advisor (CA). Christian’s areas of interest are process engineering and optimization.


Lance Miller – Vice President

Lance is a senior from Harrisburg, PA pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Operations and Supply Chain Management. This past summer, he interned with The Hershey Company as a part of their Lean Center of Excellence. He is the Design Lead of CMU’s ChemE Cube team, an actor, singer, and dancer in Scotch’N’Soda’s mainstage productions, a Bass 2 in the D Flat Singers, a writer and actor for Tisbert Sketch Comedy, and a member of Carnegie Mellon’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble.


Ian Gimino – Secretary

Ian is a Junior from Corvallis, Oregon pursuing a double major in Chemical and Biomedical engineering. He is part of the Cohen-Karni Lab group as a research assistant and is an EMT with CMU EMS. Ian is interested in biomedical devices, especially devices involved with cell therapy or wound-healing applications. Outside of school, he enjoys playing the piano, baseball, and working out, but he has recently taken up baking!


Dante Mancini – Treasurer

Dante is a senior from Lake Forest, Illinois pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with an additional major in Biomedical Engineering. Dante is a captain of the CMU Varsity Men’s Soccer Team, a team representative for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a member of the Student Giving Committee, a junior representative for the Student Advisory Council for Chemical Engineering, and a member of Tartan Leaders of Tomorrow. Outside of school, Dante enjoys watching movies, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.


Udithi Kothapalli – Industrial Liaison

Udithi is a sophomore from Long Island, New York studying Chemical Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering. She is interested in pharmaceuticals, developing new prosthetic devices, and researching new cancer technologies. Udithi is a member of CMU OM, CMU Science Olympiad, Society of Women Engineers, and Biomedical Engineering Society. Outside of school, Udithi enjoys singing, cooking, playing the piano and meeting new people!


Ruby Perez-Fry – Public Relations Chair

Ruby is a fourth-year student from El Paso, TX double majoring in Chemical Engineering and Hispanic Studies. This past summer, she worked as the Quality Intern at Ingredion in Cedar Rapids, IA. Ruby is interested in consumer packaged goods, cosmetics formulation, and food production. She is a member of Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Spanish and Latin Student Association, Society of Women Engineers, and Kappa Kappa Gamma. Outside of school, she enjoys exploring Pittsburgh, cooking, and playing with her corgi puppy, Phoebe!


Harshika Varadhan – Senior Class Representative

Harshika is a senior from Baltimore, Maryland studying Chemical Engineering with an additional major in Biomedical Engineering. She is interested in pharmaceuticals, vaccine production, developing cancer therapies, and is involved in the Shukla Lab on campus. Harshika is the head designer of Vivid Cosmetics Club, is a junior representative for the Chemical Engineering Student Advisory Council, a member of Engineers Without Borders, and dances on the CMU Sahara Bollywood Fusion Dance Team. Outside of school, Harshika enjoys baking, playing the piano, and hanging out with friends/family.


Justin Croyle – Junior Class Representative

Justin is a junior from Cleveland, Ohio studying Chemical Engineering with a minor in Materials Science and Engineering. This summer, he interned at the Lubrizol Corporation as a Process Development engineer and RAPID intern. Justin is really interested in polymers (specifically thermoplastic polyurethanes) and understanding deep chemistry to enhance process design. He is also a member of ChemE Cube on the build team and is an event chair for CMU Science Olympiad. Outside of class, Justin is a big fan of running and gaming! He also loves spending time with his husky, Willow 🙂


Foy Dosunmu – Sophomore Class Representative

Foy is a second-year student from Houston, Texas studying Chemical Engineering with a minor in Animation and Special Effects. She is a part of NSBE, Dancers Symposium, and Spirit. Foy is interested in water purification (within the scope of complex waste streams) in addition to the technical intersection between finance and chemical engineering! This summer she will be a part of the Goldman Sachs Emerging Leader Series in New York as well as taking part in a REU Program based in Phoenix, Arizona. She currently is a nanofab technical assistant at the NanoFab Labs here at CMU. Outside of class, Foy loves to cook, thrift, and read/watch cartoons.


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