UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Elena Vazquez, an architecture doctoral candidate in the Stuckeman School who is focusing her thesis on the design of kinetic facades that can help improve the environmental performance of buildings, was selected for the Freiburg Rising Stars Academy, which connects early career researchers from around the world to share ideas, network and begin the next steps in their careers.
Established by University of Freiburg in Germany in 2020, the first cohort of academy fellows met virtually at a kick-off event in October and will have the opportunity attend a conference in Freiburg in March.
Vazquez, who is a researcher in the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, learned about the new fellowship program last year while organizing a workshop and poster session for graduate students from Freiburg and Penn State with fellow architecture doctoral students.
“The event was hosted by the Convergence Center for Living Multifunctional Material Systems (LiMC2) and the University of Freiburg’s Cluster of Excellence for Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS),” explained Vazquez. “During the event, leadership from both centers talked about the different opportunities available for students at both universities, and that is how I learned about this exciting program.”
Vazquez was inspired to apply for the Rising Stars Academy because of the opportunity to collaborate with the livMatS cluster at Freiburg, which has been working to develop bio-inspired material systems.
“With this program, I wish to start a conversation with my partners at the livMatS cluster on hydro active material systems for architectural applications, and hopefully work on new ideas on the subject,” said Vazquez.
Vazquez’s passion for her research stems from her interest in developing greener building systems from material technologies. Through the Rising Stars Academy, she hopes to use meaningful connections to create new projects.
“I am very excited to be part of the first cohort of Rising Stars Fellows and I am looking forward to exchanging ideas and starting new projects within this collaboration,” she said.
Vazquez also has been awarded with the American Institute of Architects Upjohn Grant and the Architectural Research Centers Consortium Research Incentive Award in support of her research.