Donatella Zappalá

I joined the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering/TU Delft because I was attracted by its large section dedicated to wind energy and its reputation and ambition to be a world leader in the field. Since I joined, in June 2020, I was really impressed by its inclusive and international culture, the inspirational colleagues and the strong determination to play a key role in the field of sustainability, with so many opportunities and possibilities for developing my career. What drives me in my work is the possibility to actively contribute with my research to the world’s climate neutrality and to inspire and form the next generations of engineers who will shape and lead our clean energy future.

How do I contribute to a better world? As wind turbines are rapidly evolving in complexity and size, as well as moving to more remote harsh offshore environments, there is an urgent need to improve their availability and reduce operations and maintenance costs. My research contributes at optimizing wind farm operations and maintenance in order to make wind energy more reliable and affordable.

Why do people need to come work here? Because of the Faculty’s strong reputation and its inspirational and challenging environment.

Being part of the vibrant, international, world-leading research community at the faculty of Aerospace Engineering/TU Delft gives me the opportunity to further learn, develop and set new challenging goals for my career. I find it really exciting!