Ana Madalena

She/Her

I am queer and I am an electrical engineer.//

I’m an electrical engineer passionate about photonics and quantum systems engineering. I’m fascinated by quantum mechanics; there is something very satisfying about using randomness and uncertainty to our advantage. I’m hoping to work on developing semiconductor systems for quantum computing applications. I enjoy academia because I am surrounded by eccentric & energetic people. My lab co-workers are fabulous.

I hope to be a professor someday, providing the sort of outstanding mentorship I myself received as an undergrad. Academic positions offer a great deal of task independence, which I think appeals to a lot of queer people.

My personal life has always taken a back seat to my academic pursuits, so I am not ‘out’ to many people. I’ve struggled for years with ‘imposter syndrome’ due to being both female and queer in STEM. For a long time I didn’t know anyone else who was both queer and successful in my field, so I was terrified that speaking up would be seen as unprofessional or, worse yet, jeopardize my career.

By doing this I hope I can help myself as much as I may be helping others. I believe this visibility campaign is very important, especially for those who feel unwelcome/underrepresented in academia.