Rebecca Attia
Rebecca is a full-stack learning experience designer who loves creating playful resources for classrooms. At the CEEO, she will be working as a staff member on the LEGO Education team to develop hands-on STEM classroom activities. She lives in Winthrop, MA, with her husband and two daughters.
Barbara Bratzel
Barbara teaches at the Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the author of several LEGO robotics activity books for teachers and will be working at CEEO as a staff member on the LEGO Education team.
Milan Dahal
After finishing his PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Milan Dahal has transitioned to a staff role as a robotics engineer working for Chris Rogers. Milan’s interest is in designing and building accessible educational robots and makerspaces. He works with students, teachers, and organizations to enhance engineering and science education through engaging and playful methods.
Karen Miel
Karen Miel, who received her PhD from Tufts in Science Education, has returned to CEEO as a post-doctoral research scholar.
Sehba Hasan
Sehba Hasan is the Program Manager for the BEST program and takes joy in helping underrepresented students achieve academic success by connecting students to right resources and organizing different workshops, seminars, events, and meetings. Born and brought-up in India, a country rich in diversity, Sehba understands and looks forward to serving a diverse population. Sehba is pursing a PhD in STEM education with Kristen Wendell as her advisor. In addition to STEM, Sehba loves cooking, arts, and crafts.
Kayli Battel
Kayli is a Master’s student in Human Factors Engineering set to graduate in 2025. She earned her undergraduate degree, also from Tufts, in Human Factors Engineering with a minor in Engineering Education in 2024. Kayli’s passion for STEM education started in 2018 when she co-founded Sisters in STEM (SIS), an ongoing initiative in Scottsdale, AZ to introduce young girls to STEM through a recurring hands-on activity fair. In addition, Kayli is the author of a children’s book on cyber safety education, Jada Saves the Day. In her free time, Kayli plays volleyball, rock climbs, watches movies, and plays dungeons and dragons
Sophie Hankin
Sophie is pursuing an MS in Mechanical Engineering. She worked with the CEEO throughout her undergraduate years at Tufts and is passionate about expanding access to engineering education across all communities. Her research looks at developing technology to teach children computational thinking while playing on the playground. She also loves to play ultimate frisbee and hike in the beautiful New England nature!
Elijah Houlton
Eli is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in control-systems and robotics. He has had five internships, which drove his interest in continuing his education on these topics and his research into robot-human physical interaction, which Chris Rogers advises. Eli is also a member of the Tufts Varsity Swim team, and loves to stay active, whether swimming, lifting, Frisbee, spikeball, or hiking. Above all, he enjoys spending quality time with his friends and family.
Lambert Niyonsenga
Lambert is pursuing a Masters Degree in STEM Education with Brian Gravel as his advisor. A tech-savvy person, now passionate about education, Lambert combines local resources with a touch of technology to design engaging and holistic learning experiences for both formal and informal education.
Pragyee Shrestha
Pragyee is a first-year MS student in STEM Education from Nepal. She completed her undergraduate studies in Electronics and Communication Engineering and is passionate about merging technical skills with education. Before joining Tufts, Pragyee served as the Product Development Lead at Smart Cheli, where she designed and developed localized STEM curricula and kits for children. She firmly believes that in this age, STEM education is a fundamental knowledge base that should be accessible to all. Outside of work, Pragyee enjoys painting, hiking, and traveling.
Nicolas Triebold
Nick is a Mechanical Engineering student currently pursing a Master’s at ETH Zurich. He is a short-term visiting scholar here at Tufts to work on his Master’s thesis. His studies at ETH Zurich, along with an exchange at the Danish Technical University in Copenhagen, and work for the LEGO Group’s Creative Play Lab, have sparked a passion for engineering creativity, education, and play, leading him to pursue his thesis here at the CEEO!
