Honors College student reaching for research future

October 20, 2016

Photos by: Charles Jischke

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- It’s fitting that Theresa Saenz likes to climb, both literally and figuratively. The avid rock climber and Purdue University senior knows a thing or two about rising higher. She tackles mountains and is also moving up the research ranks, hoping to expand the use of solar energy as a scientist.

“A lot of what you get as an undergraduate in research is perspective,” Saenz said. “You see how what you are studying in class is relevant and how everything fits together.”

Saenz is a materials science and engineering major in the College of Engineering and is also enrolled in the Honors College. Both encourage research and Saenz wasted no time in diving in. She’s involved in two research projects at Purdue, working with materials engineering Professors Alejandro Strachan and Elliott Slamovich. She further fueled her interest in solar technology with summer research at California Institute of Technology, the Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Lab, the only federal laboratory dedicated to research, development, commercialization and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

“Solar is really devoted to being an energy that anyone can use, so it is good for countries with acute power shortages and it is also a clean energy,” Saenz said, describing why she wants to focus on solar.

During her time at the National Renewable Energy Lab, Saenz worked with silicon solar cells.

“That internship really helped me understand what it means to be a scientist and what it would be like to work in a national lab,” Saenz added. “I found it a very collaborative environment.”

The mountains, hiking and camping opportunities in the area were an added bonus, she says.

“I organized camping trips for all of the interns who I worked with, so we had about 60 people exploring rocky Mountain National Park,” Saenz said. “It’s a happy marriage of my two interests.”

The sure-footed climber also has a firm grasp on her career trajectory. After finishing a Ph.D., Saenz hopes to work in a research environment like the National Renewable Energy Lab. Honors College Dean Rhonda Phillips is confident Saenz will reach those goals and calls the senior an exemplary honors student.

“Our goal is foster scholars, who are not only doing great things in research, but using their skills to help others with engaged service,” Phillips said. “Theresa is a volunteer tutor, involved with a student sustainability group and is also helping underserved areas install solar power systems.”

Saenz was the team leader for the Nigeria project, which involved the Inwelle Center, a STEM school for girls. Together with 14 other Purdue students, she used teleconferencing technology to teach Nigerian students how to install solar panels. The panels will provide the center a reliable source of power and ensure it can stay connected to the Internet.

She is currently leading support of a project that will install two solar power microgrids in the Vatican. The effort is part of a new papal initiative, calling on the faithful to take better care of the environment. The Vatican views the project as a testing ground for an expansion of solar power throughout Vatican City, using only remote communication.

Saenz’s team is also working to install solar panels at a girl’s orphanage/STEM school in the Himalaya region of India.

“Additionally, we are looking at sites in Nepal, Bhutan and Mexico for future work,” she said. “The project aims to develop a process to install solar power systems in remote areas. It is unbelievable in terms of its scope.”