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Shiloh Sacks

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Bio

I'm a Latina Electrical Engineer and startup founder who is passionate about sustainability and using the tools of engineering to better the world. Shampoo on Tap is coming. I am the co-founder and Chief Engineer of Wonderfil, a tech company making modern electric dispensers for shampoo and conditioner, to eliminate the need for single-use plastic bottles. Our pilot program at UCSC is funded and underway. I live and study in Santa Cruz, CA. I love Santa Cruz and the peace of the ocean and redwoods. I spend my free time cooking, surfing, hiking, and doing yoga. I research in UCSC's Radiological Instrumentation Lab. I have designed a PET Scan Interaction Simulation and currently designing resonant electrodes for x-ray and CT detection. I interned as an Electrical Engineer for Joby Aero, a prominent start-up designing electric air-taxies. I am extremely driven to make a positive impact on climate change. We have the technology to address climate change, but the generation of engineers and politicians in power have not adjusted to the need of the times. We need to do things differently to survive. I have spent my time in college working toward sustainable and ethical engineering. I am a founding member of UCSC's Engineers w/o Borders team, working to create a green water and power system for the people in Takui, Cameroon. I was the Project Manager & VP of the UCSC Electric Racecar team for 3 years. I believe that we are what we do and although there are many issues plaguing the world today, I am dedicating my life to being a small part of the solution. Thanks :)

Education

University of California-Santa Cruz

Bachelor's degree program
2016 - 2021
  • Majors:
    • Electrical Engineering

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Renewables & Environment

    • Dream career goals:

      Startup Electrical Engineer

    • Teaching Assistant for High Speed Digital Electronics

      University of California, Santa Cruz
      2021 – Present3 years
    • Teaching Assistant for Radio Frequency Design

      University of California, Santa Cruz
      2021 – 2021
    • Chief Engineer and Co-Founder

      Wonderfil
      2020 – Present4 years
    • a-Se Electrode Design, PET Scan Simulation Designer, Lead Contamination Analysis via Machine Learning

      UCSC Radiological Instrumentation Laboratory
      2019 – Present5 years
    • Electrical Engineering Intern, Systems Engineering Intern

      Joby Aero
      2018 – Present6 years

    Sports

    Tennis

    Present

    Research

    • Electrical Engineering

      University of California, Santa Cruz — Electrode Design, PET & CT Scan Research Scientist
      2019 – Present

    Arts

    • Ballroom Dance

      Dance
      Arthur Murray
      2012 – 2014
    • Newspaper

      Design
      King's Courier
      2012 – 2016
    • El Camino Real Charter High School Debate Team

      Speech and Debate
      State Debate Champion, Harvard National West Coast Champion
      2012 – 2016

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Engineers without Borders — Project Manager, Design Engineer
      2017 – 2018
    • Volunteering

      Homeless Garden Project — Gardener
      2016 – Present

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Politics

    Volunteering

    Philanthropy

    Boosting Women in STEM Scholarship
    Quarantine. Isolation. Atomization. Individualized. Single-use. If the global population adhered to a standard of one disposable face mask per day, the pandemic could result in global consumption and waste of 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves, per month. COVID-19 friendly dining options are take-out and pre-packaged food. There are no public spaces with plates or utensils not meant to be completely thrown away. Living in the reality of coronavirus makes mountains out of the mundane and when shared air and surfaces can be the difference between life and death, things like plastic waste and sustainability understandably fall by the wayside. As the population begins to be vaccinated and a path out of the deepest parts of the woods becomes visible, we begin to see a glimpse of life post-pandemic. As face masks begin to be found washed up on beaches, we need to think critically about the acceleration of an epidemic of disposability. Despite mass recycling efforts, currently, less than 10% of plastic in the US is recycled each year. I am deeply passionate about using engineering to better the world and as an electrical engineering student, I was to use engineering to fix and update our current view of materials and disposability. The common understanding is that there is a world-altering pandemic every 100 years, but considering plastic takes 500 years to decompose, we will be dealing with the masks and takeaway wrappers from COVID-19, five pandemics from now. Our society deserves a better legacy than plastic and I know that we can better. Dozens of start-ups have been founded over the last year to sort and properly prep waste for recycling in new and innovative ways, while other engineering teams are finding methods of repurposing plastic into other needs commodities like building blocks for homes, yoga mats, and shag carpets. Seeing the extreme waste created in COVID-19, I decided that I wanted to be a part of the sustainability revolution. Realizing how much plastic waste I personally create from hair care products and packaging, a dear friend and I created Wonderfil, LLC. We fabricate and design electric dispensers for shampoo, conditioner, and much more. Our dispensers function similarly as water-bottle refill stations and allow users to refill bottles rather than continuously purchase plastic for toiletries. Our funded pilot program will debut our dispensers at the University of California, Santa Cruz’s campus this summer. Studying STEM and specifically, electrical engineering has allowed me to contribute to a small part of the solution. It is extremely empowering, especially as a woman in STEM, to think of an idea and be able to physically make it a reality. As we exit the COVID-19 period of our lives, I am permanently aware of how easy it is to ramp up the production of materials that take hundreds of years to dissolve with no proper contingency plan. I want to work as an engineer to eliminate the default system in our society for mindless production and consumption of plastic. Thank you!