What is your next adventure?

I’ll be staying at Georgia Tech and pursuing my Ph.D. with the Aerospace Systems Design Lab (ASDL)under Dr. Dimitri Mavris.

What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?

During mymaster’s I managed to work on different topics, so I was exposed to many different fieldswithin aerospace. One of those being model based systems engineering (MBSE). I’m excited to continuemy research in MBSE and finish my thesis topic.

Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?

As an undergrad and as an international student(from Sao Paulo, Brazil), getting an internship in aerospace was quite challenging, but I did undergraduate research throughout most of my undergrad.I was able to try out new things and see what I liked and what I had the most fun with and got to experience a few labs. I did research with Dr. Sankar in computation fluid dynamics (CFD) and then later got involved with the ASDL. One thing I reallylike about ASDL is the industry focus and applied research.

How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?

The AE School has a very diverse program. During undergrad, I was able to work hands on and work on with multiple projects, as well as a variety of experiences. Through the graduate program, I’ve been able to work on projects with Airbus, Saab, and Delta.

It’s been very helpful in making me understand each one of them better and helped me choose what I wanted todo and study in graduate school and beyond.

I’ve been part of the design, build, fly (DBF) team and it was very fun experience too. I got to work onaircraft, which also helped me decide what area of aerospace I ultimate want to specialize in.

What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?

Try out different things. Sometimes it might feel challenging, especially for international students, but ifyou stick with it, doors will open and the more education you get, themore skills you gather. I think thathelps better the opportunities you will have after graduation.

Reach out to upper classmates and other international students and get their advice, because their experience can help you as a guide. Professors too. They all have very good experiences and a good perspective on paths you can take.

Explore areas outside of the aerospacebubble at Georgia Tech. One semester I studiedabroad atGeorgia Tech Lorraine and got to see different options andhave a new perspective.