We live in a world with more access to knowledge than ever before. What matters is how we use that knowledge and which problems we choose to address.
I grew up around industrial engineering and manufacturing because my family has ties to the automotive world in Chile. Manufacturing felt like a natural fit for me, but my life changed when I took a teaching position in manufacturing.
I quickly found that the old saying “those who can’t do, teach” was completely wrong. I could teach while working on practical questions about how to improve systems and productivity.
Since then, I’ve worked in industry and higher education settings. As my career progressed, I focused more broadly on innovation and translating research into real-world impact.
I’m grateful that the University of Georgia has allowed me to work as a program director for the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps, the entrepreneurial training program aimed at turning research innovation into real-world impact.
As a researcher here in Georgia, I’ve worked on addressing precision agriculture, electric mobility, and manufacturing systems.
From the outside, these may seem like separate domains, but they are connected by the same question: How can research, industry needs, and innovation come together to create useful results?
As a teacher, I want to equip students with the tools to recognize important problems, understand the people affected by them, and develop practical solutions.
I also want to help researchers think early about how their work might be used.
When universities focus their knowledge on real needs, they can improve lives, strengthen important industries, and create impact in Georgia and beyond.
