Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
PhD expected 2024
We are excited to introduce our FY22 GradSWE Affinity Group Liaison, Gabriela Basel! Gabriela is also the FY22 SWE Latinos Affinity Group Collegiate Engagement Lead, the Diversity and Advocacy Chair on the Stanford Graduate Student Council, and a student representative on the Chemical Engineering Diversity and Inclusion Committee working to improve the experiences of underrepresented minorities at Stanford. She is also a recipient of the Stanford Graduate Fellowship and the Stanford Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education Fellowship, and she was a member of the FY19 SWEFL program! Before this, as an undergraduate student, Gabriela helped lay the groundwork for a new SWE chapter at the University of Chicago’s new (est. 2014) school of engineering.
Gabriela’s research topic is theoretical neuroscience and machine learning. She studies novel statistical and machine learning approaches to understanding neural data and theoretical networks. Currently, she uses recurrent neural networks to understand grid cells (neurons which allow animals to understand their position in space) firing patterns.
Gabriela is deeply invested in improving equity in STEM careers and beyond. She hopes to expand positions of research either in academia or the tech sector to influence positions of power to improve the availability of education to historically disenfranchised communities.
Gabriela’s hobbies include hiking, playing basketball, music (she plays trumpet in her university’s mariachi band), reading, visual art, petting her cat, activism, and advocacy.
Fun fact: Gabriela loves to bike but owns a very shoddy bike. In 2016 she attempted to bike 100 miles from Chicago to Michigan and ended up having to hitch a ride from a stranger for the last 10 miles!