Dr. Egon Schulte is a Professor in Mathematics and the Chair of the Mathematics Department at Northeastern. His main areas of expertise include Discrete and Combinatorial Geometry, Combinatorics, and Group Theory, and his recent teaching activities have focused on graduation education and the supervision of PhD students. Egon witnessed Bridge to Calculus grow from a small outreach program for Boston area high-school students, launched by his former colleague, Bob Case, about 25 years ago, to a vibrant program of modest size based on an alliance between Northeastern University’s Mathematics Department and the Boston Public Schools. The program is as much about college access for underserved high-school students as it is about Calculus and mathematics! Egon has been part of the team reinvigorating Bridge to Calculus this year including implementing the Math Question Center, a new program component added in 2020 to support students throughout the academic year.

Dr. Bindu Veetel is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the department of Mathematics, Northeastern University. She was appointed the coordinator of the program in January 2023 after serving as Interim coordinator in Fall 2022. She has been associated with Northeastern from 2007, initially as a student and later as instructor. She received her PhD from Northeastern in 2014 in the area of partial differential equations. Within Northeastern’s Mathematics department, Bindu has been teaching various levels of courses in Calculus and Statistics, Linear Algebra and coordinating one of the largest math courses in the department.

Additionally, she taught online courses for Elementary School teachers at Grand Canyon University. In the past, she has also taught at Wentworth Institute of Technology (Boston) and Mount Carmel College (Bangalore, India).

Her research is in the area of Partial Differential Equations, with a focus on Inverse Problems which has applications in areas like cancer research. She inspires students to focus on the beauty and compelling influence that Mathematics has in the rapidly evolving world.

Beth Qudah is the budget coordinator for the Math Department at Northeastern University. However, she has been involved with Bridge to Calculus for over a decade and has supported the program and watched it grow. She is delighted to see it take root and to be such an integral part of it.

Tony Iarrobino is a professor in Northeastern’s Department of Mathematics. He has expertise in algebraic geometry, commutative rings and their deformations, commuting nilpotent matrices, families of points on a variety, gorenstein algebras, and singularities of maps.

After being rescued from failing eight-grade mathematics by an inspiring algebra teacher Professor Porter went on to receive his PhD in mathematics from Yale university. At Northeastern, he has served as Vice President of Cooperative Education and Chair of the Mathematics Department as well as professor of mathematics.

Professor Porter’s research focuses on algebraic constructions related to geometric problems and then using the algebraic constructions to solve geometric problems. He has given invited lectures on his mathematics research throughout the country and Europe. He has been visiting professor at the Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, France; the University of Sussex England, and the Max Planck Institute in Bonn, Germany.

Through his teaching, his work in support of cooperative education, and a multiyear grant from the National Science Foundation to promote the excitement of research and discovery for first-year college students, Professor Porter aims to encourage and support students to shape their future through learning. This is a critical goal of the Bridge to Calculus program, and he is honored to be a member of the team.

Rajini Jesudason teaches mathematics at Northeastern University. In the past, Raj was Program Director in Mathematics, serving the Boston Public Schools. Raj has taught and worked closely with teachers in the Boston, Cambridge and Watertown Public School districts, and has played a leading role in state initiatives for asset-based instruction and teacher development in mathematics education. Raj’s experience in higher education includes serving as a Dean of Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering at Foothill Community College in California, teaching Quantitative Reasoning and Pre-Calculus mathematics at Harvard University, co-implementing a Quantitative Reasoning Program at Wellesley College, and teaching in the teacher education programs both at UMass Boston and Wheelock Colleges.

Raj has presented her work at regional conferences, including the Southern California Community College Consortium, MathWest conference in Massachusetts, Quantitative Literacy Consortium of the Northwest, BU’s Aframath conference and at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government’s Black Policy conference.

Raj has an Ed. M. from Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Rekha Bai is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Northeastern’s Department of Mathematics.

Oana Veliche is an Associate Teaching Professor at Northeastern’s Department of Mathematics.

Mr. Howland has an extensive history with Boston Public Schools (BPS), as a “homegrown” student educated in the district grades K-12. Mr. Howland is a graduate of Boston Latin School (BLS) and worked in BPS for almost five decades as a teacher and administrator. He has served as headmaster of Another Course to College, an administrator in charge of discipline at the former Jamaica Plain High School, and head of the math department at The English High School. Additionally, Mr. Howland served as interim associate headmaster at his alma mater BLS. More recently, in the winter of the 2018-19 school year, Mr. Howland filled in as interim head of school at Boston Latin Academy.

A veteran math teacher and an attorney who has long instructed students in law and in mock trials, he has earned Boston’s “Golden Apple” and the Massachusetts “Teacher of the Year” awards. He was also nominated as a finalist for “National Teacher of the Year.”

Chiruza Peter graduated from Boston International High School. Chiruza is currently a rising senior at UMass Amherst, majoring in Biology on the pre-med track. He is actively involved in both extracurricular and academic activities, working in a research lab at UMass and serving as a biology peer advisor. Additionally, he leads a nonprofit organization in Africa, supporting the education of over 200 children.

Kashish Patel holds dual master’s degrees in Management and a postgraduate certification in Digital Marketing and Communications. She joined the BtC program as a Video Editing Mentor and, with her strong background in marketing and management, later took on the role of Media and Marketing Assistant to enhance the program’s digital presence.

Sai Charan is pursuing a master’s degree in Engineering Management, bringing a robust background in project management to his academic and professional endeavors. Initially joining the BtC program as a Service Learning student, he has transitioned into the role of Administrative Assistant, where he supports program coordination and planning. With a strategic approach to organizational leadership, Sai Charan demonstrates a commitment to practical learning and program development.

A Passion for math led Kushala Manjunath to pursue a Master’s in Applied Mathematics at Northeastern University. Kushala’s major in Civil Engineering taught her that math can be applied to various fields. Kushala’s goal is to become a data analyst where concepts of civil engineering can be applied. She is also interested in teaching students, having taught at an NGO in India.

Kushala is grateful for BtC for the opportunity to work with students of different levels, describing mentoring for the BtC Summer Program as a fun and exciting experience.

Lucas Collins is a rising second year student at Northeastern University studying Mathematics and Finance. Lucas plans to pursue the field of actuarial science post-university, and enjoys rock climbing and playing soccer on the side.

Jovin Nicholas is a passionate Software Engineer with 2+ years of industry experience. Jovin is currently pursuing a Master’s in Software Engineering Systems at Northeastern University.

Outside of work, Jovin enjoys hitting the gym for a good workout and spending time in nature, whether it’s exploring trails or finding a quiet spot to watch the clouds and sunsets.

Ana Veliche is a second year Mathematics and Biochemistry Double Major at Northeastern University. Anna hopes to continue her studies towards neuroscientific research. Math has always been a part of Anna’s life, and she is excited to share that enjoyment with BtC students.

Vachan Srinivasagowda is a Graduate student at Northeastern University. Vachan plans to pursue a career in data analytics after graduation. During his free time, Vachan likes to read books, hit the gym, play chess, and practice playing the piano.

Ritesh is an eager and diligent graduate student at Northeastern, with a passion for data and coding. Always ready to learn, help, and grow together to achieve academic excellence in every endeavor, Ritesh is excited to contribute to the success of the Bridge to Calculus program.

Madeleine is a rising fourth year undergraduate student at Northeastern University studying math. During her spare time, she enjoys drawing and cooking.

Likitha Rani Purushothaman is a Master’s student in Project Management at Northeastern University, with over four years of experience in the IT industry. Likitha has a strong background in embedded systems, having worked extensively with microcontrollers. She is an instructor for the Robotics Program at Bridge to Calculus, where she introduces students to the fundamentals of robotics. Additionally, Likitha was a mentor for Statistics. In her free time, Likitha enjoys exploring AI concepts and neural network training techniques. She also loves cooking, traveling, and exploring new places, which allows her to experience diverse cultures and perspectives.

Luis Garcia is a PhD student at Northeastern researching human-computer interaction through games. He’s interested in developing game AI that players can interact with meaningfully. For fun, Luis likes reading, making procedural art, and petting his cat, Ziti.