About KUBI
Micah Borghese
President
Micah is a senior Honors student studying Computer Science and Mathematics. He was been involved with the KU Blockchain Institute since Fall 2023 but his interest in blockchain started long before then. In 8th grade, Micah gave a presentation on if Bitcoin would be the future of currency. Since then, he was explored developing on the blockchain, winning 3rd place at HackKU 2024 for his XRPL sidechain NFT supply chain solution.
Alex Perez
VP of Business
Alex is a sophmore majoring in business administration from Chino Hills, California. He is also the Director of Funding for the United Business Council (UBC) at KU.
Jahnvi Maddila
VP of Engineering
Jahnvi is the VP of Engineering at KU Blockchain Institute, previously leading outreach, marketing, and retention. Her research focuses on Spectrum Management Framework for Unmanned Aerial Systems. Jahnvi is especially excited about applications of blockchain in DeFi and social networks.
Kyle Spragg
Director of Development
Kyle Spragg will be a third year student at the University of Kansas this fall, studying Computer Science and Business. He is from Naperville, Illinois, and participates in athletics. He became an Academic All-American in his fourth year of high school sports, and pursued club lacrosse in college. Currently, Kyle is the Vice President of the Kansas Lacrosse Team and a Financial Analyst for the Rock Chalk Investment Club.
Emma Du
Director of Marketing and Communications
Emma is a sophomore majoring in computer science and minoring in business. She has been involved in KU Blockchain Institute since Fall 2023. Emma is interested in blockchain's potential to create a more transparent and fair digital economy, as well as its applications in the healthcare industry. Outside of KUBI, she is a part of the KU SELF Program and plays the violin in the KU Symphony Orchestra. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer and tennis.
Caleb Hite
Director of Outreach and Growth
Caleb is a Sophomore Computer Science student from Shawnee, Kansas. Caleb is a member of ACM and German Club. Caleb was also a part of the Kansas Blockchain Fellowship.
Vatsa Pandey
Director of Research
Vatsa is a freshman studying CS, Math, and Economics, Competitive programmer, Machine learning researcher and KU Blockchain's director of Research. His hobbies include robots and rockets.
Nischay Rawal
Director of Education
Nischay Rawal is a current honors freshman and self fellow dual majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics. He has been involved with the KU Blockchain Institute since Fall 2024 and is now the Director of Education. Nischay is currently also involved with research on programming synthesis.
Wolfgang Sell
Director of Education
Wolfgang is a freshman majoring in Cybersecurity Engineering from Shawnee, Kansas. His interest in decentralized technology began by participating in the Kansas Blockchain Fellowship, and has since been inspired to pass on that knowledge to others as Director of Education. His current research is in healthcare applications of LLMs, and is also an avid violist playing in the KU Symphony Orchestra and numerous other ensembles.
Emma Nasseri
Former President
Emma is a final year Honors Computer Science and Visual Arts student. She was the previous President of the KU Blockchain Institute.
Dr. Jennifer Lohoefener
Associate Director & Assistant Research Professor at I2S
Dr. Lohoefener is KU Blockchain Institute's faculty advisor and a long-time supporter of blockchain research at the University of Kansas.
Dr. Perry Alexander
Distinguished Professor at The University of Kansas
AT&T Foundation Distinguished Professor and ITTC Director at The University of Kansas.
The University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI)
Dr. Perry Alexander Contact Personal Website
Dr. Perry Alexander is The AT&T Foundation Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department and Director of the Information and Telecommunication Technology Center at The University of Kansas. Dr. Alexander oversees the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) Grant of $2 million donated by Ripple for blockchain research and development at KU. His research interests include system-level modeling, formal verification, language semantics, and trusted computing.