WAVE Council

The WAVE Council is a group of senior graduate students, postdocs, and research staff who serve as non-research mentors to WAVE Fellows over the summer.

The 2024 WAVE Council members were:

Spencer Delgado - Graduate Student in Chemical Engineering
Spencer was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. He got a bachelor's in chemical engineering from MIT and is now pursuing his PhD in chemical engineering at Caltech in the Manthiram Lab. In his free time, Spencer enjoys dance, painting, and reading. Click here to contact Spencer.

Jonathan Gomez Barrientos - Graduate Student in Planetary Science
Jonathan Gomez Barrientos is a second-year graduate student in planetary science working with Heather Knutson and Katherine de Kleer. His current research focuses on detecting Earth-sized planets beyond the Solar System using Palomar Observatory. Jonathan is originally from Guatemala City, Guatemala, but immigrated with his family to Long Island, NY nearly 17 years ago. He went to Cornell University for college, where he developed an interest in planetary science and research. He chose Caltech for his graduate studies due to Caltech's unique planetary science program and its access to powerful ground-based telescopes. Click here to contact Jonathan.

Manuel Holguin - Graduate Student in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
I'm a rising G2 in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics (BMB). I was born and raised in LA, and am a first-gen college student in my family that started off at East Los Angeles Community College, before transferring to UC Irvine to finish my B.S. in BMB. While at Irvine, I also spent a summer as a WAVE fellow in Bil Clemons' lab in 2022. My general interests involve protein evolution and structural biology, but I've had a wide range of research experiences, from organic chemistry synthesis to insect behavior. Click here to contact Manuel.

Cameron Jackson - Graduate Student in Neurobiology
Cameron Jackson is a Los Angeles native. He went to UCLA for undergrad where he studied neuroscience and biochemistry, and now studies in utero gene therapy as a neurobiology PhD student in the Gradinaru lab. Click here to contact Cameron.

Kayla Jackson - Graduate Student in Biology
Kayla Jackson is currently a student in the joint USC-Caltech M.D.-Ph.D. training program. Prior to graduate school, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Spelman College. After graduating from Spelman, she participated in the Intramural Research Training Fellowship at the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It was during this fellowship that she solidified her interest in understanding how patient experiences intersect with medicine and research. Kayla's medical interests include Radiology, Pathology, and Emergency Medicine, while her graduate research focuses on developing interpretable and robust statistical models of spatial gene expression data. In her free time, she enjoys exploring restaurants in Los Angeles, visiting thrift shops, and watching Jeopardy! Click here to contact Kayla.

César Lasalde-Ramírez - Graduate Student in Materials Science
¡Hola! My name is César and I'm a first-year Materials Science PhD student at Caltech. I was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where I earned my Electrical Engineering undergraduate degree from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. My undergraduate research experience spanned projects in the fabrication of printed electronics, simulations of DNA nanostructures, carbon dioxide conversion, and solar fuel generation. In the fall of 2023, I joined the Atwater lab where my research focuses on studying carbon capture and conversion. Outside the lab, I like to exercise (sports, jogging, gym), watch movies/shows, hang out with friends, and stay up to date with all the new reggaetón music. Can't wait to meet you all! Click here to contact César.

Noor Naji- Graduate Student in Chemistry
My name is Noor Naji, and I'm a physical chemistry G2 in Lu Wei's lab. I work on expanding microscopy tools for bio-imaging. I'm an LA native, and went to Cal Poly Pomona before coming to Caltech! I'm excited to get to know my students, and am looking forward to help any way I can! Click here to contact Noor.

Micah Nishimoto - Graduate Student in Aerospace
Hey everyone! My name is Micah Nishimoto (he/him), and I just finished my second year as a Caltech PhD student studying aeronautics. I'm originally from Hawaii - I was born on the island of Maui and moved to Oahu when I was 11. I went to USC for undergrad, where I studied aerospace engineering and developed a love for fluid mechanics. I'm also a WAVE alumnus! I was a part of WAVE's 2021 class, and did research on turbulent flows (ie. chaotic fluid motion). It was a transformative experience that balanced research/lab experience with making lifelong friends and connections, and it eventually transitioned into my current research in turbulence simulation in Prof. Jane Bae's group. Outside of research, I enjoy performing mentoring and outreach with the Aerospace Mentorship Program, an in-house program where we work with community college students to build their aerospace toolbox through hands-on project work; I also love playing trumpet and supporting our local LA sports teams. Please let me know if you have any questions during your experience at Caltech, and I hope to meet all of you soon! Click here to contact Micah.

Evan Nunez - Graduate Student in Astrophysics
Hello hello! My name is Evan Haze Núñez and I am a rising fifth year grad in Astronomy. I am half Black (African-American) and half Mexican, grew up in Southern California, love spending time with my family and friends, am an avid music listener (hip-hop/rap, indie alternative, instrumentals, and jazz), and generally like to keep a chill and relaxing atmosphere around me. My research focuses on how the matter inside and outside of galaxies evolves in the distant universe (w/ Chuck Steidel and Evan Kirby). Excited to see you all this summer! Click here to contact Evan.

Noah Okada - Graduate Student in Social Science
Hi everyone! I'm Noah, originally from Tokyo, Japan. I moved to the US to study at Emory University in Georgia, where I earned bachelor's degrees in Neuroscience & Behavioral Biology and Computer Science. Currently, I'm a PhD student in the Social and Decision Neuroscience program at Caltech, exploring how AI/ML and VR technologies can enhance cognitive assessments through more naturalistic settings. My passion for this field deepened during my time as a Caltech WAVE Fellow in 2022. I am also deeply committed to advocating for diversity and international collaboration in science, serving as a Quad Fellow representing Japan in scientific partnerships across the Indo-Pacific. Outside of my research, I enjoy hiking, checking out new restaurants, and visiting national parks across California. Click here to contact Noah.

Brenna Outten - Graduate Student in Computation and Neural Systems
Hi, I'm Brenna, a graduate student in the Computation and Neural Systems program at Caltech, working under Ralph Adolphs. My research addresses the simple, yet enduring question: 'Where do emotions come from?' Specifically, for my dissertation, I aim to explore mechanistic differences in how emotions are constructed, particularly in individuals with Autism. On a personal note, I am passionate about making everyone I meet feel accepted and valued. When I carve out free time, I enjoy exploring flea markets and indulging in overpriced lattes. Click here to contact Brenna.

Alex Ramirez - Graduate Student in Physics
Hi! My name is Alex Ramirez and I am finishing my second year as a Physics PhD student here at Caltech. I work in multiple areas including quantum optics, LIGO, and single photon detectors and wavefront sensing at JPL. Outside of research I enjoy playing soccer, snowboarding, music and exploring new places to eat. Congrats on your acceptance and I look forward to meeting you! Click here to contact Alex.

Melissa Ramirez - Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Chemistry
Melissa Ramirez was born in Los Angeles, CA as part of a Mexican-American family and is a first-generation Latina in chemistry. She obtained her B.A. in chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania in 2016. Thereafter, Melissa attended UCLA where she was trained as a computational and synthetic organic chemist in the laboratories of Professors Ken Houk and Neil Garg and obtained her Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 2021. Currently, she is an NSF Ascend and Caltech Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in the group of Professor Brian Stoltz. After completion of her postdoc, she plans to start her own research group and train the next generation of diverse scientists. Click here to contact Melissa.

Tristan Villanueva - Graduate Student in Mechanical Engineering
Tristan was born and raised in San Diego, California. He completed his Bachelor of Science degree at UC Berkeley where he majored as a mechanical engineering and studied mathematics and physics for a semester at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He is a first year graduate student working with Professor Adrian Lozano Duran on developing flow control using information theory. His research is supported by the Caltech Graduate Presidential Fellowship, GEM Fellowship, and the NSF GRFP. In his free time, Tristan enjoys running, bouldering, and playing videogames. He was a UC Berkeley McNair Scholar in 2021 and a Caltech Wave Fellow in 2022 . Click here to contact Tristan.