TaNia Donatto
TaNia wearing a red blouse in front of trees smiling at the camera
Hi everyone! My name is TaNia, and I am an undergrad at Stanford University (Class of '23!). I'm from Southeast Texas and majoring in Materials Science and Engineering with the goal of focusing on aerospace industry applications. My fascination with space started at a young age -- fostered by family trips to Space Center Houston, getting a closer look at the night sky, and spending lots of time starting at it. I am a 2021 Brooke Owens Fellow, interning at SpaceX on the Materials Engineering Polymers Team doing research and development work. At Stanford, I co-lead the Satellites-Structures team as part of the Stanford Student Space Initiative (SSI), playing an important role in the development of the team's CubeSat. Additionally, I am the co-lead for the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team, hosting events and speakers, working with leadership, and extending SSI’s resources beyond the organization itself. Furthermore, I have had an amazing time working on SSI’s Mars Bricks team, that will be sending our experimental payload to the International Space Station as part of the 2021 NASA Student Payload Opportunity with Citizen Science (SPOCS) competition. The summer before my sophomore year, I became an undergraduate researcher in Stanford’s EXtreme Environment Microsystems Laboratory (XLab). My research examines the electrical properties of materials, specifically graphene aerogel, synthesized in a microgravity environment. As the project outreach lead, I've worked with Scientific Adventures for Girls (SAfG) and the Chabot Space and Science Center in order to communicate the research topic to a young audience in a fun and engaging way. Our project even got a feature on the YouTube channel Seeker. In addition to space-related activities at, I'm a part of the Stanford Axe Committee, Black Recruitment and Orientation Committee’s Big Sib/Lil’ Sib Program, and have danced to sold out audiences with the Chocolate Heads Movement Band. Outside of school, I serve as a mentor for The Champion Project, supporting minority and first-generation/low-income students through the college admission process. I also love to write and perform poetry and have multiple publications online and in print. Feel free to reach out to me about anything!
