Daniela Montes ’25

She is interested in the development and assembly of novel materials to target global challenges, specifically renewable energy and carbon emissions. In the summer of 2023, Daniela participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at George Washington University, where she synthesized and characterized zero-dimensional halide perovskites with the purpose of optimizing their properties while also providing an environmentally benign replacement to lead perovskites. She is a Clare Booth Luce Scholar currently working for Professor Rachel Stanley on adapting Membrane-Inlet Mass Spectrometry to improve noble gas measurements in aquatic environments and at the MIT Tisdale lab on investigating new low-dimensional metal-organic chalcogenolates for optoelectronics applications. Daniela also has a native proficiency in Spanish. On campus, she is part of the Círculo de Mujeres pilot program, a bilingual collaboration with a Colombian institution that promotes women empowerment in higher education and has worked as a laboratory teaching assistant in the Chemistry Department for the introductory suite of courses. After graduating, Daniela plans to pursue a graduate degree in material sciences or chemical engineering to continue making sustainable and accessible materials for worldwide applications.