Hello! My name is Claire Kamel, and I am a third-year environmental engineering student. I am really excited to be in to Brazil for the energy program! It is my first time going to South America.
Our first stop was São Leopoldo. São Leopoldo is located in the southern most state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul. It is about a half hour drive from the capital of the state, Porto Alegre. We did a city tour of Porto Alegre our first full day here. My favorite thing I saw was the outside of the public library which had the busts of famous writers such as Dante and and Shakespeare.
With the premise of the program being renewable energy and electrification, I have been enjoying broadening my horizons. I have done two co-op rotations with a utility-scale solar developer, so all of my knowledge has been in solar development. I enjoyed learning about semiconductors and energy distribution in São Leopoldo, as those are out of my areas of expertise. Seeing how the grid is connected from a distribution standpoint was very interesting.
Brazil is a very interesting culture shift from the States. One of the first differences noted is the customary way to greet people in Brazil, which is with a cheek kiss. It is extremely reminiscent of how people greet each other in Egypt, where my family is from. Another thing that I thought was interesting was how mild their late autumn is. It feels like Pittsburgh’s late spring. I’m excited to see more of the country in Foz do Iguaçu.
Swanson School of Engineering 