About

Hi!

My name is Melisa Orta Martinez and am currently a PhD student at Stanford University pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I am originally from Mexico City where I lived and studied until I came to the US for a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. After obtaining my Masters degree I worked at Apple for three years in the Human Input Device Firmware group. I decided to go back to school and study a PhD in order to contribute to the fields of engineering and education and to someday be able to fulfill my dream of becoming a professor.

CHARM Outreach

Outreach

The world is facing incredible challenges and we need to find a way to bring together people of all backgrounds to help solve those challenges. Part of this is building a diverse community in STEM in order to create multidisciplinary solutions that encompass viewpoints from a variety of backgrounds.

One of the first steps in creating a multidisciplinary community is to be involved in outreach in order to encourage students to pursue STEM. Throughout my studies I have always been involved in outreach programs.

I was the outreach coordinator in my PhD lab for 3 years (2014-2017), organizing 2 tours a quarter for students from underrepresented backgrounds and minorities in STEM.

I have also been heavily involved with the Mexican government and consulate here in San Francisco and have given numerous talks and been a part of multiple events in order to inspire Latin women to pursue STEM careers. I have even been a part of a national TV campaign in Mexico and had the opportunity to shoot a TV ad that ran on Mexican television to encourage girls to get interested in STEM.

Fun

Being a PhD student does not leave too much time for fun activities... But I do my best to find time to do other things that I love (aside from research ;) ) and stay active. I am very involved in Muay Thai and am a part of a fight team which involves training six days a week early in the morning and at night. My current fight score is 2-0 and I have my third fight this Saturday October 26. (*Update, 3-0 now :) )

Another thing I love is soccer and I am a part of a soccer team which I ran for 6 years and we get to play in a league once a week.

I also love doing anything outside with my dog and husband or just staying in and reading with my cat or building anything with my husband. We looove building anything from silly Lego projects to robot toys or improvements to our furniture :) .

And my other passion is of course getting to see my friends and family in Mexico. I try to go whenever possible and be involved in any way I can. Mexico is a fascinating place with such an interesting and diverse culture. I really recommend you go :).

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