Hola! My name is Melissa and I am an early-career chemical engineer. I graduated with my undergraduate and Master's degrees in Engineering in 2022. From 2022 through 2026, I have been working at Sandia National Laboratories, where I have been learning about how the United States uses different types of energy sources, such as wind, solar, and hydrogen power. I especially like learning about how we can make our electrical systems more resilient and reliable so people can have access to energy even in very remote areas of the world or during natural disasters.
Outside of work, I enjoy fostering dogs, farming, hiking, running, playing guitar, and doing arts and crafts with friends. One of my favorite dogs that I've fostered was a little orange-haired pitbull named Turkey who loved to cuddle on the couch and watch dog TV!
In Chile, I will be studying the way electricity is made and distributed to different areas, and trying to identify major challenges and opportunities. Chile has an exciting stance on using renewable energy for ensuring that everyone has access to electricity, and also has some interesting engineering puzzles, like how the shape of the country impacts how electricity can be distributed. There are also people living in very remote areas of Chile, such as parts of the Atacama Desert, where there are great opportunities to explore new and non-traditional ways of ensuring people have access to electricity.
I am excited to practice speaking Spanish, meet new people, see the country from the mountains to the desert to the coast, and share my experience with you!
Want to learn how you could be a Fulbright Scholar like me? The Fulbright Program is the United States government's flagship international exchange program. Fulbrighters foster mutual understanding between the United States and partner nations, share knowledge across communities, and improve lives around the world. Learn more by clicking here!
