Location (during time of takeover)
School/Institution
| Masters | University of London Electrical and Electronic Engineering |
|---|---|
| Research | Durham University |
| PhD | University of Nottingham Electrical and Electronic Engineering |
Featured on April 27, 2025
Taking over with laser focus is Pinoy Scientist Viviene Marie Dela Cruz. An engineer and scientist, she is pursuing her PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom with a specialization in Space-Ground Laser Communications.
Viviene graduated 1st Class with her MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Industrial Placement in 2023 from City, University of London – now known as City, St. George’s University of London. Throughout her degree, she participated in several research projects. Notable among these were her contributions to darkfield diagnostics at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory where she developed a laser system that is 4 times quicker than the one that was previously used. At the same location, she worked on the optimisation of laser amplifiers. In 2022, she did research on optics and laser assembly at the University of Oxford Ion Trap Quantum Computing Group for the ABaQuS project. More recently, she did optical fiber sensor system design at her alma mater until 2023 and worked as a researcher at Durham University in 2024.
At present, Viviene is taking up her PhD in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University of Nottingham under the Faculty of Engineering International Scholarship. She is currently also a lab demonstrator and a core member of the Institute of Physics Space Group.
Some fun facts about Viviene:
- She has a tattoo of Mt. Makiling at the backside of her arm, symbolising her time with Elbi before moving to the UK. This was when she spent a lot of time doing theatre (especially backstage!) and environmental action.
- Some of her favourite animals are the butanding (whale sharks) and the pawikan (sea turtles).
- Physics was not her strongest suit in school but she was always fascinated by it. It was a bit of stubbornness that got her to be a physicist and engineer.
