About
Hi, I'm Vanessa. I'm a fashion-designer-turned-engineer working to make our clothing smarter through materials science. Specifically I research robotic textiles: fabrics that sense the wearer and their surrounding environment and respond accordingly.
Robotic textiles enable garment-based
assistive
augmentative
expressive
fashionable
To conduct my research, I'm currently a NSF MPS-Ascend Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Stanford University Chemical Engineering as part of the Bao Group. Previously I completed my PhD in Harvard SEAS and the Wyss Institute as part of the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory. My PhD was supported by the DoD NDSEG Fellowship and the GEM Fellowship.
Like I said, I didn't start out as an engineer. I began school at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) for fashion design and graduated with a BS from the Fiber Science program at Cornell University in 2016. Then I wanted to go even deeper into materials, which led me to Harvard. My unique background enables me to understand garments from the clothing system level to the textile structure to the underlying materials.
I've seen first hand how creating smart clothing facilitates the intersection of design and engineering. It's what got me interested in STEM. This multidisciplinary work sparks creative technical solutions and is a great platform for project-based learning I have shared my passion for engineering+design education by serving as a mentor in programs including the Open Style Lab summer program, where student teams develop adaptive wear.
tech for people of all abilities, while still being like everyday clothing.
