Cybersecurity-CTA
Info Card - Climate and Power
Info Card - Cyber
Crysthal Alvarez, Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Student
Crysthal Alvarez is an undergraduate mechanical engineering major working in Dr. Guillermo Aguilar’s Window to the Brain Lab. She, alongside an interdisciplinary and multi-university team of faculty and postdocs, has developed a novel transparent skull implant that provides a literal “window to the brain,” which will eventually allow for new treatment options to become available for patients with life-threatening neurological disorders.
Crysthal’s journey to a UC wasn’t the traditional path – she transferred from a community college. As a member of the Transfer Transition program, she bridged the gap to her four-year degree and got on the fast track to success. Early in the program she was paired with a peer mentor, who also joined from a community college, and took advantage of opportunities to gain experience through faculty-led undergraduate research, which has prepared her in a way that only a UC engineering degree can.
“I’ve presented my work at five conferences and two symposiums and have been a part of two published reports. These opportunities help me come up with new questions to apply to my research when I return to the lab,” said Crysthal.
Her experience as an undergraduate researcher helped Crysthal find her calling. She is completing her senior year and has been accepted into the UC Ph.D. program to continue her work and make the Window to the Brain a reality.
Learn more about Crysthal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkrKzwaAAD8