Lecturer, Center for Integrated Design
Mariel has spent her career in the vibrant intersection between design and engineering, wielding the fundamentals of each to explore innovative solution spaces and create thoughtful products. She loves making things and has carried that interest through a variety of applications, including disaster-relief housing, consumer electronics, and packaging.
Born in Santiago, Chile, Mariel moved to the US at age 11, where she went on to pursue bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford University. Most recently, she worked as a Product Design Engineer at Apple, initially in computer hardware innovation and then leading a team focused on technology development and sustainability within packaging. She now works as an independent consultant, developing functional applications for sustainable materials.
Mariel is excited to keep experimenting with manufacturing of all forms - from knitting to CNC machining, baking to injection molding - and can usually be found working on some kind of hands-on project.