Hey friend, I'm Adriana, and I'm a graduate student at MIT! My research interests are modeling and simulation, ML-accelerated tools (generative models, machine-learned interatomic potentials) for materials design, density functional theory, group theory and its applications to crystallography, optoelectronic properties and environmental applications of materials (see research page here). Post Ph.D., I plan to pursue a career as a professor or research scientist, focused on the intersection of materials engineering for environmentally-conscious practices, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
I completed my B.S. in computer science, with a minor in physics at the University of South Florida (May 2022), and am also a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2022). In undergrad, I was a full-ride merit scholar under the USF Director's Award and the Bright Futures Florida Academic Scholarship (2018-2022). I was honored to be featured in USF's Spring 2022 Outstanding Graduating Students and College of Engineering NSF students articles!
Outside of the lab (aka my computer), I enjoy hanging out with friends and doing these activities, like playing piano, lifting, and snuggling with my precious cat. I am also the creator of STEM Cells, a website created with the purpose of supporting undergraduate STEM students through graduate, research, and diversity-equity-inclusion (DEI) resources. As a 2021 alumna of the MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP), I am a reviewer on the MSRP Application Review Committee.
Along my line of interest for human rights social movements and environmental awareness, I have written a paper on how intersectional thinking and a paradigm shift in the collective consciousness is required to work towards the end of oppressive structures that are ideologically racist, ableist, patriarchal, capitalist, etc. I'm also working on a side project that minimizes food insecurity in the greater Boston area, spawned from techniques I've learned from my 6.C57 Optimization Methods class.
If you like what I research and what I stand for, let's be friends!