Name: Elena Semanova<br/><div class="floatright">(http://hosted.x-art.com/galleries/party_girl/x-art_kato_party_girl-3-sml.jpg)</div>Age: 26<br/>profession: Earth Scientist<br/>Nationality: Emigre Russian<br/>Background: Elena (Lena to almost everyone) was born to destitute parents in an internal refugee camp in St. Petersburg. Her parents struggled to provide for her in the camps, and then, when she was two, they made a desperate break for freedom after seeing a child of similar age to their daughter ripped apart by a pack of wild dogs looking for food. They escaped on foot over the border to Estonia, and spent a year in another slightly better refugee camp in Estonia - then part of the European Union. They applied for, and received refugee status in Estonia and could then theoretically move freely through the EU.<br/><br/>Lena's parents both worked two jobs to save up enough money for a rail journey to Germany. They made it, and Lena went to school in Hamburg.<br/><br/>It was very early on that Lena's teachers realized that she was clever. Really, really clever. She was good at everything, but liked science. How things worked, why they worked the way they did, and how to make them better. The headmistress of the school sponsored Elena to get an EU tuition grant. She went to a succession of better and better schools in Germany where she specialized in Earth Sciences and Geology. She did her undergrad at Imperial College in London, England, and then her first PhD at the same school. She was 22.<br/><br/>The dean of Imperial 'suggested' Lena apply to MIT at the school of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary sciences. She was immediately accepted and completed a second doctorate by the time she was 25. This time she specialized in the geology of extra-planetary bodies. She participated in several expeditions to the low Arctic collecting Mars rocks . Early on in this second doctorate, the UN extended an invitation to take up a position within their science division. Once her second doctorate was completed, she became a front line field worker in one of their teams investigating the asteroid 'problem'.<br/><br/>Skillsets : Geology, Earth science, general physical science. Speaks English, German, Russian.<br/>Natural Abilities: Physically fit, she is a perfect member of the UN exploratory teams. She is able to work under pressure and work out solutions to practical problems. She has completed several Arctic survival courses in Norway as well as equivalent courses in the Amazon basin and the Gobi desert. If you are in trouble, you want her on your team.<br/><br/>