Biography:
Marisa is a first year PhD student and NSF GRFP Fellow in the Aerospace Engineering Department at the Nonequilibrium Gas and Plasma Dynamics Laboratory. Her research is in understanding the computational capabilities and efficiency of Vlasov-solver plasma simulations. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she did her B.S. in Physics at SUNY Stony Brook, where she bounced between different areas of physics research until finally discovering her interest in computational plasma physics. Throughout her career, she spent much time trying to understand the culture of STEM academia and how to best advocate for change at the institutional level, especially for students like herself who had a lack of quality STEM education growing up. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, cooking, and as of recently, skiing!