Arjun Lev Pillai Hausner (Grad ‘16) is living out the AES motto:  Enter to learn.  Leave to serve.  Arjun was fully immersed in student life at AES; he played basketball, was involved with service clubs, Varsity Council, NHS, Class Council, and even welcomed the Dalai Lama on stage in 2016.  He was also involved in the now-familiar tracking of air quality data here at AES and through his IB Extended Essay may have helped supply some of the data for the early stages of our air filtration systems.

Arjun was born in the USA and as a young child moved to Cambodia and then Kazakhstan before coming to AES at age 11.  He had a keen interest in the sciences and also appreciated the opportunity to mix art with science through some of his IB Higher Level classes.  After graduating from AES, he headed to Cornell University in New York state where he began to focus on marine sciences.   

Upon completing his BSc in Earth and Atmospheric Science, Arjun's love for marine science and exploration took him to the San Juan Islands as a TA, where he had studied for a semester during his undergrad, and then led him back to Cornell to pursue an MS in Earth and Atmospheric Science with a focus on Oceanography.  He has done practical work studying blue whale movement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and is passionate about his experiences and research in areas that can make a global impact.  This includes his research with the Greene Lab at Cornell, studying the potential for algae as a sustainable human nutritional supplement.  

We can’t wait to see where Arjun’s desire for global impact takes him after finishing his master's degree!

Photos below:

Arjun (top row center) with Grade 12 Class Council (2016)

Arjun on stage with the Dalai Lama in 2016