FIELD OF STUDY: Nuclear Engineering 

ACTIVE RESEARCH ERA: 21st century 

AFFILIATED INSTITUTIONS OF WORK: 

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology- Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Engineering 
• Florida A&M University- B.S in Physics
• National Nuclear Security Administration- Graduate Fellow (2017-2018)  
• Johns Hopkins University- Senior Engineer (2019-present)
• U.S Department of State- Senior Advisor (2022-present)

RELATED PRINCETON COURSES: 

• AST 309
• MAE 309
• PHY 309
• ENE 309 

Background, early life, and outside interests: 

Even though Snowden is a trailblazer in her field now, as a young child growing up in Miami she recalls that she had no interest in STEM; subjects like science and math made her anxious and nervous. However, as she grew older and went through high school her teachers helped to expand and encourage her interest in STEM. She had this idea that science and math were something that people were just good at but she later learned that it’s a skill that can be developed and grown. In her senior year, she had the amazing opportunity to meet a family friend that worked in the physics department at Florida A&M University where she was nothing but welcomed by everyone she met. 

During her undergraduate years, she participated in a summer research project at MIT and this is when she was first introduced to nuclear engineering and decided that she wanted to pursue graduate study. She was accepted into MIT for her graduate studies but recalls that the adjustment from an HBCU to a PWI was a challenge; she was often the only black person and/or the only woman but to make it a bit better she joined several affinity groups for minorities and surrounded herself with images of inspiring women who are pioneers in STEM.

Outside of science she is well connected with her family, she stays active (she’s hiked the Grand Canyon), and she is a strong advocate for diversity not only within nuclear engineering but within the STEM field in its entirety. 

Most Notable Achievements:

Snowden is the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT and has had her story shared in countless media like MARVEL comics, CNBC, BET, etc. Her research mainly focuses on nuclear arms control verification, nonproliferation, and modernization. She’s also devised action plans about the use and production of nuclear weapons while a part of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

Barriers broken by this scientist:

As a young black woman entering a field with nearly no one who looked like her, Snowden felt like she needed to prove herself more than others around her. However, the inspiration from strong black women like Katherine Johnson and the knowledge that she gained from attending an HBCU where she was told that as an exceptional student she will be a trailblazer in whatever she pursues helped her. She was prepared to be the first and excited to give young women of color another role model. 

Citations:  

Connley, Courtney. 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/18/first-black-woman-earns-a-phd-in-nuclea…;

Snowden, Mareena. 2022. "About — Mareena Robinson Snowden". Mareena Robinson Snowden. https://www.mareenarobinsonsnowden.com/about.

2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mareenarobinsonsnowden/.

Nominated by Sophia Hu

Written by Vanessa Herrera