Julie Fornaciari: Renewable Energy and Education Outreach

How did you wind up as a scientist?

I ended up as an engineer/scientists by first being a question child, the typical “I like math and science” lead me in this direction. But, I specifically remember when my grandfather was having heart problems, I researched into what a “pacemaker” was and who built it and found that out engineers did. That’s how I really chose engineering, as I was grateful to have someone make a device that helped keep my grandfather’s heart pumping. That’s how I chose the broad interest of engineering – but I do NOT do anything bio related. A few milestones I had were at the University of Pittsburgh. Two senior students who I met through an diversity organization, Pitt Excel, became mentors of mine and really encouraged I explore research and try it out. Time and time again, I came back to them more inspired and sometimes more discouraged. But their mentorship, along with a few other amazing professors and educators at Pitt helped really get me to love research and continue for my graduate education. How I got into renewable energy research was my first time leaving the country to Australia, speaking with aboriginals who really depended a lot on renewable energy, and seeing the impact renewables can have in a more global scope. Learning more about renewables really encouraged me to pivot my research to seek this out, which opened up opportunities into the hydrogen related research I do today!

Who inspired (or inspires) you and why?

I am lucky and have had many inspiring people in my life from professors and administrators to friends and family. This is a hard one to think of just one person. Probably my non-academic, non-research adviser Dr. Yvette Moore. She knew me from day one of college (actually before – she helped me pick out my schedule during my orientation) till this day. She was realistic- sometimes optimistic, a little cynical, but cared so deeply for me and others within the Pitt Excel community that her continuous pursuit for a more diverse and successful group of engineers flourished under her. She isn’t an engineer like me, she’s an educator, but the grit that women has to work hard, keep going (while getting a PhD and having a full time job as a director), and continuously being there for students that are not traditional makes her one of the most inspiring people I know – except for the fact she never answers my texts, emails, or phone calls.

Describe a unique, interesting, or pivotal experience you’ve had in your career.

In 2018, I was accepted into a program to do a Materials School in Kampala, Uganda. With about 60 graduate students, which about 20 were Americans and 40 East Africans, we learned and worked together over the course of 2 weeks on renewable energy. The program introduced me to some great people, and a project came out of it in which we are trying to develop labs for young women on things related to them (women’s health, sanitary pads, etc.). The hope is to provide hands-on science to destigmatize hard topics, and develop products that empower young women to be creative in solutions to their problems. This project led our group to visit Tanzania, where we helped teach a lab for about 80 young women at a children’s center to make their own sanitary pads and understand what happens to the materials’ properties!

Describe an interesting discovery or something that you learned/are learning as a teacher/scientist/engineer/etc.

I work on renewable hydrogen technology and one of the simplest, but I think most powerful, things I have learned is taking for granted gases we know to be abundant, but aren’t that abundant just in the world. For example! I work on electrolysis – using electricity to break up water to hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is a super useful gas for various industries and is the most abundant element in the universe(!!) but has to be made into H2 gas. Typically Hydrogen gas is made by burning methane, which can be very polluting to the environment. That is a big reason electrolysis is becoming more and more important.

Describe a goal you have, and why it’s important to you.

A future goal of mine is to work on program development from the ground up! Moving from Chicago to Pittsburgh to Berkeley, I have had exposure of a lot of different educational systems and I really believe they should be as equal and equitable as possible. So I hope wherever I end up working (maybe as a professor?), within the local community I am a part of, providing as many opportunities as possible for any student.

Tell us about one of your favorite experiences that you’ve had in science outreach.

I’ve had so many! I can think of two specific examples I don’t think I will ever forget. The first was my very first semester in BASIS, where a group of us went to a OUSD school and the class was SO engaged! It felt great to have them on board. But what I remember most is at the end of class, the teacher asked “Okay everyone, raise your hand if you want to say what you appreciate about our visitors” and the answers went on to “I appreciate learning how water can be in three different phases”, “I appreciate seeing myself in the scientists”, “I appreciate the scientists spending time with us”. Visibility and attentiveness to the classroom make a huge difference, and that really makes a huge difference in the students’ lives.

Second, working with the teachers through KSES; working with motivated teachers who really want their students to learn is inspiring, and too often I get stuck in “what lesson do I have to portray” rather than thinking about the crosscutting concepts or the way I can teach the lessons. This was an invaluable experience to work with teachers and find news ways to teach similar concepts.