Amnahir Peña-Alcántara

Amnahir Peña-Alcántara, from New York, New York, is pursuing a PhD in materials science and engineering at Stanford School of Engineering. She graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering. Amnahir aspires to create affordable, wearable technology in the healthcare field, to make our lives safer, more enjoyable, and more sustainable. She was a researcher at Rogers Research Group at Northwestern University, Polymers Group at Oxford University, and Fibers at MIT. She has worked as a research assistant at labs in the US, Bahamas, and China, and as a surgeon assistant in the Dominican Republic. She has interned in wearable technology and fabric production in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, and India. During her gap year, she studied Mandarin at Tsinghua University and worked on research at Peking University. She was a varsity member of MIT’s fencing team and a member of Tau Beta Pi, MIT Honors Society. She is a National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar, and a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.