Our Team
Kamryn Diehl
President
Kamryn is a Masters student studying botany after finishing a combined major in physics, computer science, and biology. Her interest in astronomy stemmed from watching NOVA documentaries with her Dad as a kid, and she continues to appreciate space by star-gazing whenever Vancouver’s infamously clear sky permits it. When it's cloudy out, Kamryn enjoys gardening, playing video games, and drumming.
Christa Agoawike
Secretary
Christa is a third year biology and oceanography major hoping to minor in health and society. They’ve been interested in astronomy ever since they learned what a black hole was! In their free time, they like to watch anime, read manhwas and geek out about Greco-Roman mythology.
Nic Zaparniuk
Observations Director
Nic is a third-year physics and astronomy student and loves any chance to talk about space and anything in between. He really enjoys finding ways to stack objects as high as possible, but also enjoys looking at stars, playing piano, and reading.
Jen Jon Ma
Social Director
Jen Jon is a fourth-year materials engineering student who aspires to build a career in the space industry. His lifelong passion for space exploration began on the bridge of the Enterprise, and continues today through his satellite student design team. When free, Jen Jon likes to blow things up (in video games), watch movies and TV, and hang out with friends.
Devin Kettle
Equipment Coordinator & Website Manager
Devin is a staff member at UBC. His love for astronomy was sparked by seeing the Milky Way for the first time while camping as a kid on a clear, dark summer's night in the Kootenays. That moment of immense perspective has stuck with him since then. He enjoys camping, playing Ultimate, staring into space, and being sat upon by his cats.
Dhawal Rathore
General Officer
Dhawal is a third-year student studying Computer Science and Statistics. He's been in love with astronomy since he was 4 years old when he looked at Uranus(hehe) at a observatory. Apart from stargazing and geeking out about telescopes, you might find Dhawal playing video games, cooking or watching sci-fi movies.
Justin Lee
Advisor
Justin is a UBC alumnus (BSc 2016) and staff. He was an exec in the UBC Astronomy Club from 2011-2016 and co-president of the club in 2013, and enjoyed running observation nights for the UBC community to see the stars and planets through a telescope, often for the first time. He spends most of his free time climbing and running in the mountains.
Vlad Grecu
President
Vlad Grecu is a third-year student in the Faculty of Science studying physics and astronomy. His passion for astronomy stemmed in kindergarten from questions about why the night is dark, and from there stretched outwards to discover increasingly vast, occasionally puzzling concepts. When not learning more about astronomy (or studying), his hobbies include playing soccer, tennis, and video games, reading sci-fi and fantasy books, and following Formula 1.
Chantal Hemmann
Academic Director
Chantal is a second-year science student with an endless fascination for space. She greatly enjoys laughing at her friends when they point to Jupiter in the night sky and ask her what star it is, but also spends a fair amount of time reading, playing the piano, and wishing she were stargazing.
Andrea Schildhorn
Outreach Director
Andrea is a second year undergraduate student at UBC. She stumbled across astronomy in her first year and thought to herself: “Yeah, this is it.” Andrea enjoys going outside, playing guitar and finding cool rocks on the beach.
Sharon Chan
Astrophotography Coordinator
While stressing out with school work on a daily basis, Sharon enjoys taking out her refractor at night to take pretty pictures as a coping mechanism.
Aakash Anantharaman
Academic Apprentice
Aakash is a third year student at UBC who is currently in the combined physics and astronomy program. He is a an astrophysics enthusiast with a keen interest in the subject, developed from his first (of countless) viewings of the movie Interstellar. He hopes to eventually find himself working at an observatory or in academia. In his free time one can find him working on sketches or reading novels and manga.
Elizabeth Elgood
General Officer
Liz’s favourite moon phase is Waning Crescent. Her favourite colour is pink. She enjoys reading, singing, museum-going, art galleries, and the beach (especially at night).
Satyam Priyadarshi
Advisor
Satyam is a Research Assistant (Data Scientist), in the Department of Botany at UBC. He graduated with a BSc Combined Honours in Physics & Astronomy in May 2023 and is now on a mission to bring the 'fun' back into 'fundamentals' of the cosmos. His cosmic infatuation ignited early, probably when he realized Pluto wasn’t just a Disney character and 'dark matter' wasn't just his laundry pile. He went from 'Hello World!' to 'Hello Universe!' by reading books, binge-watching Cosmos and StarTalk, and gate-crashing starry soirées like he owned the place, much like he did with the club.
Jaaron Muters
Treasurer
Jaaron is a 4th year Mathematics major, just going with the flow and trying to figure out what he wants to do for a career. He's been in love with astronomy as a hobby since he was introduced to the concept of black holes in third grade, and has been an executive with the club for the past 2 years. In his free time, Jaaron enjoys playing SSBM, soccer, and volleyball, along with studying computer science and jazz piano. Feel free to hit him up with any music suggestions or astronomy questions!
Ayan Araleh
Administrative Director
Ayan is a second year in the Faculty of Science looking to pursue a combined Physics and Astronomy degree. She is a huge space nerd, loves anything Sci-Fi and F1 related.
Gurveen Kaur
Promotions Director
Gurveen is a fourth year Arts student who doesn’t know much, except that she loves to look up at the sky and wonder how she ended up on this planet. She has hundreds of questions about everything in the Universe and would love to know all the answers. Find her at club events to talk to her and maybe have some fun conversations about our beautiful Universe.
Sean Heakes
Equipment Coordinator
During the daytime Sean is a third year Astronomy undergrad. At night Sean travels between stars faster than the speed of light and visits galaxies, planetary nebulae, star clusters, and planets within our own solar system.
Rozy Etaghene
Promotions Apprentice
Rozy is a second-year Applied Biology student who’s love for space came from watching Interstellar in Grade 11 physics. (Don’t ask how many times she’s watched it since). She loves to sit and look up at the stars while listening to music when she can’t sleep. One of Rozy’s favorite YouTube things is the space related rabbit-hole she’ll find herself down at 2 am...Sleep is for the weak (jk).
Saloni Maniar
General Officer
Saloni is a third-year Physics and Astronomy student with her head in the stars and her heart in the mysteries of the cosmos. Her fascination with the universe started the night she witnessed her first Geminid meteor shower, igniting a love for gravitational waves, radio astronomy, and cosmology. When she is not gazing up at the night sky, you will find her deep into mystery movies or dreaming up ways to blend her two passions: art and science. An enthusiast of languages and music, she is always exploring new ways to harmonise creativity and cosmic curiosity.