Francesca is an M.S. student in Mechanical Engineering at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Sciences from Italy. She previously completed a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, with a concentration in Astronautics, in May 2025 at the Florida Institute of Technology.
During her time at Florida Tech, Francesca has experienced a wide range of research and work experience. In the Summer of 2024, she worked as an Aircraft System Integration engineer intern at Leonardo Helicopters in Philadelphia (AWPC) on the AW609 Tilt-Rotor. She has also worked in the SPACE Lab, run by Dr. do Vale Pereira, on “Project ASTTRO”, which focused on ensuring thermal stability and survivability in various potential orbits of a large space telescope concept. This experience culminated in co-authoring the publication “Thermal design of an observatory on a highly eccentric orbit”.
Francesca was also the Principal Investigator and Project Manager of “Project DROVER”, a Senior Design Capstone project. DROVER was a drone-rover hybrid prototype designed to enhance search and rescue operations, capable of aerial and terrestrial navigation to locate and assist people in distress. The prototype and the poster were presented at the Northrop Grumman Engineering & Science Student Design Showcase in April 2025.
