María Cerezo

María Cerezo holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, where she was a visiting professor from 2015 to 2023. She then moved to Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, where she is currently a visiting professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. María is a member of the Aerospace Engineering research group, specifically conducting research at the UC3M Aeronautical Operations Laboratory (https://aircraftoperationslab.com/).

Her main research focus is the optimization of aircraft trajectories applied to climate change mitigation strategies, with an emphasis on the study of formation flight for commercial aircraft. In this field, she completed her PhD and has published several articles in JCR-Q1 journals. In addition to receiving an extraordinary award, her doctoral thesis was selected for open-access publication by the Publications Service of the Office of Knowledge and Free Culture. She has participated in over ten conferences as a speaker and/or member of the organizing committee. She has been involved in three national projects, four European projects (one as Principal Investigator), and one regional project, also as Principal Investigator. She completed a three-month pre-doctoral research stay funded through a competitive selection process. María collaborates with international institutions such as TU Delft and La Sapienza and is currently supervising two PhD students.

María is committed to scientific outreach, participating in events such as Science Week and the European Researchers’ Night in several editions, among others. She also actively promotes STEM careers among young girls through initiatives like “A Woman Engineer in Every School” and STEM Talent Girl, inspiring and empowering future female engineers. Additionally, she won the “Thesis in 3 Minutes” science communication contest in 2018.