Sandia National Labs Academic Programs Collaboration Report

Sandia’s Sandra Begay expands STEM opportunities for indigenous people

Sandra Begay is a research and development engineer in Sandia’s Photovoltaics & Materials Technology Department, part of Sandia’s Renewable Energy Technologies Group, with a passion for sharing STEM with Native American students, women, and other individuals. She won the 2020 Indigenous Excellence Award from the American Indian Science and Engineering Society for her substantial work to advance opportunities for indigenous students involved in STEM. Begay

is a member of the Navajo Nation and a University of New Mexico (UNM) alumni and has worked with many American Indian students. She has dedicated 16 years of her career at Sandia improving 20 remote tribal communities through work providing electricity, housing, and infrastructure.

Researcher Sandra Begay-Campbell, pictured in front of Window Rock, has worked with DOE for nearly a decade to implement renewable energy sources in rural areas too remote for the power grid to reach.

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Academic Programs