Maria was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan studying Aerospace Engineering. She has experience in systems engineering, particularly model-based systems engineering.

Maria developed an interest in sustainable commercial aviation as a result of the many plane flights she took as a child traveling to visit family in Mexico. She’s now interested in the research and development of alternative propulsion systems as a way to continue leveraging the connective power of flight in a more environmentally conscious way.

Outside of class and the IDEAS lab, Maria was the chief design engineer of the Michigan-Pratt & Whitney Electrification Project (M-PWER), a student team attempting to design, build, and test a prototype hybrid-electric powertrain system for use on a remote-control aircraft. She also enjoys ice skating, baking, and watching Flint Firebirds hockey.