SciencesSandu Dumitrița
Main achievement
Co-founder OZON- Chemical Group, test planning and launch campaign The purpose of the experiment is the study of anthropogenic and natural atmospheric pollutants through an economical, compact and easily reproducible device, which can intervene quickly in the study of restricted areas.
About
Born in Chisinau, she grew up with her grandparents in the village of Holercani in the Republic of Moldova, as her mother had decided to work abroad, particularly in Italy. Life in the countryside offered her ample opportunities to admire the sky, the stars, and to dream. In this Moldovan village, she was able to see the Milky Way, invisible elsewhere due to light pollution. "I remember one winter night, it was snowing. I sat in the snow, looked at the sky, and wondered: what is in space, are we alone or not? That's when I realized that I would really like to contribute to research, to the discovery of the Universe. The fact that this world is unknown motivated me." Later, she moved to Italy, where she discovered her passion for physics and mathematics. "When I was in the 12th grade, I had the opportunity to talk to a Moldovan who works in the space industry and who encouraged me to pursue aerospace studies." Dumitrița Sandu studied aerospace engineering at the University of Padua, then obtained a master's degree in the same field. "With each course I took that allowed me to explore the aerospace world, I realized I loved it more and more. Many things happened during my studies: I became a co-founder of the 'Ozone' project, which involved creating a device that, thanks to a stratospheric balloon, would rise to an altitude of 35 km." As a university student, I participated in an exchange program in France, where I completed an internship in a laboratory. The objective was to create a sensorless control method for checking an engine, which later allowed me to specialize and complete a second internship. This is how she ended up in Toulouse to study aviation. She focused mainly on designing air conditioning systems for aircraft, and three years ago she was contacted by a company with a job offer she couldn't refuse. "I traveled 600 km north of France for the interview. There were three interviews in total. This company is the first in France to build a rocket. These are the main rockets used by ESA. In 2021, I was part of a team of about 20 people. In fact, I am the only woman on the team!"
