We are pleased to introduce the five members of our revised IEET intern program: Akansha Bhargava, Diana Deca, Kris Notaro, Ben Scarlato, and Priyamvada Sivasubramanian.

When we announced a few weeks ago that Kyle Munkittrick had accepted a position with the IEET as Program Director: Envisioning the Future, we also stated that he and Managing Director Mike Treder were in the process of updating and revising the IEET intern program. The result is that we now have a much stronger plan of activity for our interns and look forward to a year of important contributions from each of them.

“These five marvelous interns collectively represent the immense potential of the transhumanist and technoprogressive movements,” said Kyle Munkittrick. “Just as many of the current fellows and IEET contributors move between individual rights and societal needs in their analysis, so too will our interns be working to bridge those two spheres within their own writings and research for our organization.”

Here is a brief background on each of our interns:

Akansha Bhargava is an aspiring physician and philosopher. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she studied genetics and philosophy and most recently finished her Masters in Biotechnology at Johns Hopkins University. She is currently attending medical school at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Diana Deca is doing a research MSc in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Amsterdam, and is currently working on the inheritance of mathematical talent in autism at the University of Cambridge. She obtained her BA in Theoretical Philosophy and Logic at the University of Bucharest with a thesis on cognitive enhancement through nanotechnology. Her main interest is bridging the gap between humans and (their) molecules. Diana’s general interests include genetics, neuroscience, cybernetics and biopolitics.

Kris Notaro has a BS in philosophy from Charter Oak State College. He is a member of the Bertrand Russell Society and works with the Bertrand Russell A/V Project at Central Connecticut State University, producing DVDs to be used in the classroom. His concentration is on Consciousness Studies and Philosophy of Mind, relating both to technoprogressive politics and the current and future nature of consciousness. Kris aims to further the discussion about the controversial topic of qualia, which he believes will be important in the development of future technologies such as AI and human enhancement. His major passions are around technological advances in the areas of neuroscience, consciousness, brain, and mind.

Ben Scarlato is a transhumanist and a bioinformatics student at Rochester Institute of Technology. He began interning at the IEET in 2009 with a series of articles analyzing the biopolitics of Battlestar: Galactica. His research interests include portrayals of transhumanist and technoprogressive issues in popular culture, as well as anti-aging, health care, and longevity. Ben is also interested in the study of happiness and how transhumanism is portrayed in society. He enjoys vegan food, running in the morning while listening to Dr. Steel, and participating in Folding@home.

Priyamvada Sivasubramanian has a Masters in Economics from Stella Maris College, a Masters in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, and an MBA from the Great Lakes Institute of Management. She has worked as an Assistant Brand Manager and Public Relations Manager at Henkel Ltd. As a freelance journalist, she was chief editor of the business journal Gravity. Priyamvada is currently working as a public relations consultant.