Claudia Sotomayor graduated with a BS degree in Materials Science and Engineering, focusing on semiconductor physics and learning how chemical and electrical principles fuse together to create modern electronic devices.

In the summer of 2011, the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program allowed her to study the synthesis and characterization of geranium nano-crystals at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The following year, she interned at Micron Technology in Virginia for 8 months, conducting failure analysis investigations on integrated circuits using focused ion beams and transmission electron microscopes. Of the experience, Claudia says, “As part of my job, I saw individual atoms in a perfect crystal lattice, and as an engineer and scientist, one can only feel awe.”

She later completed another extended co-op at SpaceX in California to help build and design today’s most innovative rockets and space capsules.

Sotomayor, who grew up in Cuba during the 1990s, hopes to use her skills to facilitate the technological advancement of humanity. Her love and respect for engineering have instilled a sense of duty in the coming generations to help them appreciate and understand science as a vessel for progress and personal fulfillment. After graduation, Ms. Sotomayor is moving to southern California to work as a semiconductor failure analysis engineer at Semtech.