Our Members

Kate is the founder of OcTech. Though always loving to sing and play various instruments, notably clarinet, harp, piano, and Celtic flute, she has only been immersed in choir life since 2013. Since then, she has sought to be part of three or more ensembles at any given point. She holds a bachelor's and master's in Linguistics from the University of British Columbia and Oxford, respectively, as well as a bachelor's in biochemistry from the University of British Columbia. She is now a graduate student in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics here at Caltech and conducts graduate research into the structural biology of proteins involved in virus-host interactions.

Georgia Squyres has a B.A. in Biophysics from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Harvard University. Currently, she is a Damon Runyon postdoctoral fellow in the BBE division at Caltech, using high-resolution microscopy to study the development and organization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. She has sung in various choral groups, most recently in Caltech's Glee Club and Chamber Singers and previously in Harvard's Dudley House Choir. She has also played piano and percussion, and served for four years as the director of a small handbell choir.

Having received a B.A. in Physics and Chemistry, Maria is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Caltech. She studies the endogenous mechanisms of repair of DNA interstrand cross-links in eukaryotic cells. Music has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember, with the piano remaining her main instrument while she dabbled in an assortment of woodwinds. She sang in several choirs in high school, and she is now very excited to be part of another singing group after several years without any vocal escapades.

Magdi is a postdoctoral researcher in the Orphan Lab in Geobiology at Caltech, investigating methane-oxidizing microbial communities in deep-sea carbonate rocks. She joined OcTech as an alto in the fall of 2022. She is from Austria and has a Master's degree in Ecology from the University of Vienna, Austria, and a PhD from EAWAG/ETH Zurich, Switzerland. She grew up in a musical family and played viola in orchestras and string quartets. Later she focused more on singing and since 2006 was a member of various choirs such as coro siamo in Vienna, molto cantabile in Lucerne and Glee Club at Caltech.

Hannah Dion-Kirschner holds a B.A. and a B.Mus. from Northwestern University, where she studied Earth Science and Horn Performance. She grew up playing horn and piano and singing in church and local theater productions. Chamber music has always held a special place in her heart. Here at Caltech, Hannah studies terrestrial biological sinks for greenhouse gases and their sensitivity to climate change. She is passionate about advancing STEM educational equity and likes to read and hike in her spare time.

Noah holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. He is now a graduate student at Caltech researching gene regulation. Noa has been singing in choirs his whole life, and studied music extensively as a young person at the Orange County School of the Arts for six years.

James is a graduate student in Environmental Science and Engineering at Caltech and has been singing bass with the group since its inception. Originally from Massachusetts, he has sung with a variety of groups since 2010, including choirs, community theaters, barbershop quartets, a cappella groups, and opera productions, and is a classically trained saxophonist. His graduate work is focused on coastal ecosystems, microbes, and the environmental impacts of climate change.

Philip is a founding member of OcTech, and has sung as a bass with the group since early 2022. He has been singing since his senior year in college, and also occasionally plays viola, guitar, and banjo. When not in choir, he studies the evolution and ecology of deep sea microbes, reads science fiction, and plays with his cat.