Communication Lab Alumni

COMM.LAB Alumni

Over the years we've had the good fortune to have many talented and dedicated individuals as colleagues in the Lab. Former members of the Lab have gone on to pursue careers in an impressive variety of fields. Some are shown below. We encourage our alumni to keep us informed about their current activities and whereabouts.

(last updated: October 16, 2006)

This would be a picture of Purnima.

After completing her PhD, Purnima Chawla was a post-doc at the Educational Testing Service, Following a stint as vice president for strategic planning at Porter/Novelli Communications, she and her husband Ravi Singh founded the Center for NonProfit Strategies.

this would be a picture of Yihsiu.

Ezequiel Morsella received his PhD in 2002 after completing a dissertation on the motor components of semantic representation.He is now a post-doc in John Bargh's lab at Yale Universiy. For recreation Ezequiel writes short stories, some of which actually get published. (For examples, click HERE.)

Yihsiu Chen: Life to Yihsiu is like a box of chocolates: "You never know what you're gonna get, but you gain weight all the same." In the fall of 1996 Yihsiu finished his doctorate, and is now a leading light in the Consumer Appliances Division of Avaya Corp.. We miss him.
Rebecca Gottesman did her undergraduate Honors research in the Lab, and worked there for a year after her graduation from the College in 1995. She completed her MD at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, and now is chief resident in neurology at The Johns Hopkins Medical School. NEWSFLASH: On May 19th, Rebessa became a mother (see below)..

A native of Northern Ireland, Ciara Catchpole is a graduate student at the Human Communication Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland who spent the Spring '04 semester at COMM.LAB doing a research internship. She also appeared to enjoy life in New York
Leah Isabel Goldstein, born on May 19, 2005 to Rebecca Gottesman, and Ed Goldstein becomes the the first (but we hope not last) honorary COMM.LAB alumna. Great things are expected from her. At last report, mother and daughter were doing well.

Stephen Krieger worked in the lab while a junior and senior at Columbia College, and was lab manager for COMM.LAB during the '97-'98 academic year. He went on to Yale Medical School, and is now a neurologist at Mt. Sinai Hospital.

This would be a picture of Stephen.

Gerald Echterhoff did a post-doc in the lab in 2001, studying the way conversational context modulates the effects of audience design on memory. He now teaches and does research at the University of Bielefeld in Germany.

Christoph Mensebach is a psychology student at Bielefeld University in Germany. In 2001 he spent several months in New York studying at the Albert Ellis Institute and working as a volunteer in the lab. He is now back in Bielefeld, finishing his degree.
A graduate student at the Catholic University of Milan, Monica Ciapponi spent three months as a research intern at COMM.LAB. She says: "Spero che questo periodo in una univerista' straniera contribuisca al mio arricchimento professionale e soprattutto personale...ma spero di non diventare strana come i newyorkesi."

This would be a picture of Flora.
Flora Zhang: As a high school student, Flora did research in the lab on the semantic properties of words that elicit gestures. Her project was a finalist in the Westinghouse (now Intel) science competition. Flora went on to graduate from Harvard, and is now doing web design for the Asia Society..

Anne Ribbers is a student at Tubigen University in the Netherlands, who did a research internship in COMM.LAB as part of her degree program. She made an important contribution to our research on the inferences that listeners make from speakers' voices.

As an undergrad in the College, Lauren Walsh was a work study student in the Lab. In Fall '01 she began graduate work in Comp Lit at Columbia. Click on her picture to hear her compare her two favorite authors, Fydor Dostoyevsky and Gabriel Garcia-Marquez.

Pedro Tsividis who interned in the Lab and did an individual study project with Bob Krauss, graduated from the College with a major in Philosophy in 2005. Pedro is now studying jazz percussion at the New England Conservatory. What happens after that is yet to be determined.

As a first-year at Columbia University, Katya Ostrow was a work-study student in the Lab. She probably will opt for pre-med with a concentration in... something really important and awesome. She's not sure yet. This topic make her nervous.

After finishing her undergraduate work as a Neurobiology and Behavior major in May 2003,, Raquel Gardner began her studies at the Harvard Medical School.. Raquel did her Honors research in the Lab, studying the effects of altered pitch on listeners' response to persuasive arguments.

A doctoral candidate in Columbia's French Department, Bingshu Yang's interest in language led her to volunteer as an intern in the Lab. She's now hard at work on a dissertation on Chinese Fransophone authors.

Robin Freyberg (we knew her as Haber) graduated from Columbia College in Spring '01, after doing an undergraduate Honors project in the Lab. She received a PhD in developmental psychology from Rutgers, and now teaches at Stern College of Yeshiva University.

	After completing her PhD, Purnima Chawla was a post-doc at the Educational Testing Service, Following a stint as vice president for strategic planning at Porter/Novelli Communications, she and her husband Ravi Singh founded the Center for NonProfit Strategies.
Ezequiel Morsella received his PhD in 2002 after completing a dissertation on the motor components of semantic representation.He is now a post-doc in John Bargh's lab at Yale Universiy. For recreation Ezequiel writes short stories, some of which actually get published. (For examples, click HERE.)		Yihsiu Chen: Life to Yihsiu is like a box of chocolates: "You never know what you're gonna get, but you gain weight all the same." In the fall of 1996 Yihsiu finished his doctorate, and is now a leading light in the Consumer Appliances Division of Avaya Corp.. We miss him.	Rebecca Gottesman did her undergraduate Honors research in the Lab, and worked there for a year after her graduation from the College in 1995. She completed her MD at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, and now is chief resident in neurology at The Johns Hopkins Medical School. NEWSFLASH: On May 19th, Rebessa became a mother (see below)..
	A native of Northern Ireland, Ciara Catchpole is a graduate student at the Human Communication Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland who spent the Spring '04 semester at COMM.LAB doing a research internship. She also appeared to enjoy life in New York	Leah Isabel Goldstein, born on May 19, 2005 to Rebecca Gottesman, and Ed Goldstein becomes the the first (but we hope not last) honorary COMM.LAB alumna. Great things are expected from her. At last report, mother and daughter were doing well.
Stephen Krieger worked in the lab while a junior and senior at Columbia College, and was lab manager for COMM.LAB during the '97-'98 academic year. He went on to Yale Medical School, and is now a neurologist at Mt. Sinai Hospital.		Gerald Echterhoff did a post-doc in the lab in 2001, studying the way conversational context modulates the effects of audience design on memory. He now teaches and does research at the University of Bielefeld in Germany.
	Christoph Mensebach is a psychology student at Bielefeld University in Germany. In 2001 he spent several months in New York studying at the Albert Ellis Institute and working as a volunteer in the lab. He is now back in Bielefeld, finishing his degree.	A graduate student at the Catholic University of Milan, Monica Ciapponi spent three months as a research intern at COMM.LAB. She says: "Spero che questo periodo in una univerista' straniera contribuisca al mio arricchimento professionale e soprattutto personale...ma spero di non diventare strana come i newyorkesi."
	Flora Zhang: As a high school student, Flora did research in the lab on the semantic properties of words that elicit gestures. Her project was a finalist in the Westinghouse (now Intel) science competition. Flora went on to graduate from Harvard, and is now doing web design for the Asia Society..		Anne Ribbers is a student at Tubigen University in the Netherlands, who did a research internship in COMM.LAB as part of her degree program. She made an important contribution to our research on the inferences that listeners make from speakers' voices.
	As an undergrad in the College, Lauren Walsh was a work study student in the Lab. In Fall '01 she began graduate work in Comp Lit at Columbia. Click on her picture to hear her compare her two favorite authors, Fydor Dostoyevsky and Gabriel Garcia-Marquez.		Pedro Tsividis who interned in the Lab and did an individual study project with Bob Krauss, graduated from the College with a major in Philosophy in 2005. Pedro is now studying jazz percussion at the New England Conservatory. What happens after that is yet to be determined.
As a first-year at Columbia University, Katya Ostrow was a work-study student in the Lab. She probably will opt for pre-med with a concentration in... something really important and awesome. She's not sure yet. This topic make her nervous.		After finishing her undergraduate work as a Neurobiology and Behavior major in May 2003,, Raquel Gardner began her studies at the Harvard Medical School.. Raquel did her Honors research in the Lab, studying the effects of altered pitch on listeners' response to persuasive arguments.
A doctoral candidate in Columbia's French Department, Bingshu Yang's interest in language led her to volunteer as an intern in the Lab. She's now hard at work on a dissertation on Chinese Fransophone authors.		Robin Freyberg (we knew her as Haber) graduated from Columbia College in Spring '01, after doing an undergraduate Honors project in the Lab. She received a PhD in developmental psychology from Rutgers, and now teaches at Stern College of Yeshiva University.