Materials Science Undergraduate, Claudia Sotomayor, Gives Commencement Speech

Claudia Sotomayor is graduating with a degree in Materials Science and Engineering. Her studies have focused on semiconductor physics, 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. Claudia, who grew up in Cuba during the 1990s, hopes to user her skills to facilitate the technological advancement of humanity. Her love and respect for the engineering profession have instilled a sense of duty to the coming generations, to help them appreciate and understand science as a vessel for progress and even personal fulfillment. After graduation, Ms. Sotomayor is moving to southern California to work at Semtech as a semiconductor failure analysis engineer. http://youtu.be/Oh_rRoHRLjA?t=1h47m58s