The Shape of Things to Come

From computing to commuting, meet five young alumni who are modeling the future.

Theerawat Khajornkhanphet (M.F.A. ’14)

"Do you know Dragon Ball Z?" asks Theerawat Khajornkhanphet (M.F.A. ’14, Computer Graphics and Animation), who is affectionately known as TK and pictured above. The answer is that it’s the manga that sparked his interest in animation. TK spent hours copying animated characters to refine his drawing skills. He’s still drawing, but now it’s in his role as a junior designer at UVPHACTORY, an award-winning motion design and visual effects company in New York City. He’s worked on projects from the American Pavilion at the 2015 World Expo in Milan, Italy, to animations at festivals around the world.

TK’s career began in his native Thailand, where he earned awards for copywriting and art direction. He wanted new opportunities to work in 2-D and 3-D art and animation, so he moved to New York City and enrolled at NYIT. There, he impressed faculty member and UVPH cofounder Scott Sindorf and UVPH cofounder Damijan Saccio. An internship at UVPH grew into a full-time position. While he further refines his skills at UVPH, TK’s long-term goal is to create his own animated series. He’s developed characters and storylines, but like any savvy artist, is keeping details quiet … at least until it premieres.

Moriel Schottlender (M.S. ’14)

As a software engineer at the Wikimedia Foundation, the open source organization that brought the world Wikipedia, Moriel Schottlender (M.S. ’14, Computer Science) has plenty of room to test herself. She began working at Wikimedia after applying to Google Summer of Code. Even as an intern, she developed code that impacted the user’s experience. "The magic of open source is that it’s very welcoming. If I was an intern anywhere else, I might not have been given the opportunity to touch live code," she says.

Growing up in Israel, Schottlender quickly realized that the left-to-right conventions of the web were at odds with her right-to-left world view. "When you’re reading right to left, your mental model shifts. What you’re expecting to see on screen is different." At NYIT, she found that worldview could be a competitive advantage. "It’s easy to see what is wrong with a program when you read it from right to left," explains Schottlender. She is putting that perspective to good use as she works on a tool that improves collaborative editing on Wikipedia. Going forward, she hopes to do even more by adapting the conventions of the web for non-native English speakers.

Marie Christie (B.F.A. ’15)

Marie Christie (B.F.A. ’15, Interior Design) always knew she’d end up in design—she just didn’t know what kind. After earning a liberal arts degree, she enrolled in NYIT’s interior design program. “They throw you right in with the architecture kids, and I realized I didn’t need to be intimidated,” she says. "I could do this work. It was hard, but I loved it."

Today, she’s an interior designer at Corgan, a renowned architecture firm with offices in the Empire State Building that specializes in office remodels and aviation projects. Christie can’t say what project she’s working on—it’s confidential—but she loves the fast pace of designing commercial interiors. Her approach—considering spaces from the inside out—blurs the boundaries between architecture and interior design and blends interior and exterior spaces. "It’s important for me to play with those lines,” she says. “In our environment, where we have different seasons, I want people to experience both inside and outside at once."

Someday she may strike out on her own, but for now Christie’s taking in everything from inside one of the world’s most iconic buildings. "Every project is exciting to me—it’s all brand new."

Pranav Krishnamurthy (B.S. ’14)

Photo by Bob Handelman 

"The way technology is advancing rapidly, you do a lot of self-teaching," says Pranav Krishnamurthy (B.S. ’14, M.S. ’15, Computer Science). As a software developer at Sanef ITS Technologies America Inc., a leading mobile toll technology company, he’s learning all the time.

"When you drive through a toll and see ‘E-ZPass Paid-Go’—there’s a whole process behind that," he says. Krishnamurthy began working on his current project—developing proprietary technology to turn your phone into an E-ZPass tag—as an intern in 2010. At that time, he was an undergraduate student and always tinkering. “I was part of the robotics team and a member of the team that developed an IOS and Android app for The Campus Slate," he says.

Those projects have helped him succeed. "You’re able to show that you can take what you learn in the classroom and make something," he says. "It puts you that much closer to an offer letter."

While he continues to figure out how to increase accessibility and adaptability of technology at Sanef, Krishnamurthy’s also already helping aspiring developers. "I mentor my high school robotics team every year," he says. "It’s awesome to see all those future innovators."

Ryana Yin (B.S. ’14)

"I wanted to do so many things when I was a child," says Ryana Yin (B.S. ’14, Electrical and Computer Engineering). "I didn’t even know what a product manager was.” Today, that’s the goal. Yin, who is originally from China, is pursuing a graduate degree in economics in Germany because "it will prepare me for analytical, economic positions," she says. “In combination with my NYIT bachelor’s degree, I can also go for product manager positions in high-tech or finance companies."

Yin originally planned to attend graduate school in the United States, but a recruiter made the case for the emerging technology community in Germany, which dovetailed with her interest in startups, learning about new cultures, and getting a strong business foundation. Yin’s adventurous spirit is apparent in her career plans, too. As a product manager, she will have one foot in engineering and one foot in business, but that’s not where it ends. "I want to work on products that use technology to change people’s mindsets and lives," she says. And while Hamburg isn’t Silicon Valley, Yin isn’t concerned as long as she’s “working with a passionate team to do something revolutionary."

This story originally appeared in the Fall 2015 issue of NYIT Magazine. It is also part of The Box's "60 Years in 60 Days" series featuring alumni anecdotes in celebration of NYIT's 60th anniversary in 2015.