In celebration of Hispanic Heritage month (September 15 – October 15), this issue features Dr. Nicole Mendoza, Senior Researcher in Wind Energy Systems at National Renewable Energy Laboratory & Chief Technology Officer at SkyBaron.
Dr. Mendoza, who identifies as both Hispanic and Latina, works primarily in offshore floating and onshore wind energy systems and systems engineering. She is a 2020 Environmental Entrepreneurs 1 Hotels Fellow and Emerging Leader, and her fellowship project focused on supporting small businesses in carbon capture and utilization. She has also won multiple scholarships and awards while completing her PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M, including the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. For her dedication and extensive volunteering, she received the 2018 New Volunteer of the Year Award from Wildlands Restoration Volunteers. She is a passionate champion for women and minorities in STEM and renewable energy, diversity and inclusion, and saving the planet.
In a previous interview, you said that you have been an environmentalist since third grade, when you won an environmental poster contest. What drives your interest in the environment?
I grew up with a strong appreciation for the incredible wonders and majesty of nature, and I highly value biodiversity and the complex web/fabric of life. It is worth protecting, preserving, and conserving because we share living space and resources with the vast variety of flora and fauna in this one world together. My 3rd grade poster was of a vibrant, diverse rainforest with the message “When we pollute, everyone suffers from it!”.