Our team

Saul Perlmutter, PhD

Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley

Saul Perlmutter is a 2011 Nobel Laureate, sharing the prize in Physics for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe. He is a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he holds the Franklin W. and Karen Weber Dabby Chair, and a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Gabriel Perko-Engel

Physics PhD Student, California Institute of Technology

Gabriel is a professional worm charmer. He first got involved in the art while interning at a local coal mine in high school. He found the worms there cruel, but delightful, and decided to open up his own private practice. Since then, Gabriel has traveled the world charming worms for numerous farmers, gardeners, birds, and heads of state. He hopes to some day meet (and charm) the Worm King himself.

Winston Yin

Physics PhD Student, University of California, Berkeley

Winston first joined the SSS teaching team as the head graduate student instructor in 2020 and has worked on developing course content ever since.

Emlen Metz, PhD

Public Education Specialist, Lawrence Hall of Science

Emlen earned her PhD in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016. At Penn, she researched how attitudes about knowledge and science influence adults' and adolescents' reasoning and beliefs. She did a postdoc at UC Berkeley developing assessments and curriculum for SSS. Emlen has been invested in empowering students to develop confidence and competence in reasoning about science and society. She is passionate about evoking students' curiosity, collaboration, and hope.

Aditya Ranganathan, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher, Harvard University

Aditya Ranganathan recently earned his PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University, where he studied optimal control of collective systems ranging from internet networks to animal swarms. Prior to Harvard, Aditya earned an undergraduate degree in Physics from UC Berkeley. In his freshman year at UC Berkeley, Aditya took the SSS course in its inaugural edition (2013), and has remained with the program ever since, wearing different hats including Head GSI and, more recently, “Chief Evangelist,” launching SSS at UC Irvine, Harvard (where he was also part of the teaching team), and University of Chicago.

Nicole Pagano, MA

Saul Perlmutter's Chief of Staff

Nicole offers strategic support for Saul Perlmutter's projects and initiatives. As a communications professional for 20 years, she has enjoyed working for institutions that aim toward a public good, be it in education, basic research, or public policy. As an educator, she teaches Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy with an emphasis on the poem's potential to promote personal insight and creative expression.