Diyaselis Delgado

Being an analyst who helps our sponsors navigate complex technical challenges and make informed, strategic investments is both a heavy responsibility and a tremendous privilege.

What does your job entail?

I primarily evaluate emerging technologies and their potential impacts on radar signal processing. I’ve also assessed technologies for rapidly establishing radio-frequency communications in disadvantaged environments and explored alternate position, navigation, and timing solutions. Through these assessments, I help identify promising innovations and provide insights that support our sponsors' mission-critical objectives.

How did you come to pursue your career path?

After spending years in graduate school studying abstract physics — looking for interactions between invisible particles to understand the origin of the universe — I wanted my work to have a more tangible impact. Don't get me wrong, I loved my research; I developed software tools to analyze data from cool experiments at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and IceCube Neutrino Observatory.

At the Laboratory, I'm making valuable contributions to national security. The defense landscape is constantly evolving with new threats. Being an analyst who helps our sponsors navigate complex technical challenges and make informed, strategic investments is both a heavy responsibility and a tremendous privilege.

What's an unexpected skill you've gained at the Laboratory?

I've learned how to effectively communicate complex technical work through storytelling. Presenting my research involves more than just advancing slides with nice graphs; I must also craft a narrative that gives the audience a complete understanding of what the project is and why it matters.

What would you tell your younger self?

Things will work out in the end, even when it doesn't feel like they will. The journey is worth it, challenges and all. I've struggled with mental health issues, having to overcome a lack of confidence and purpose while pushing through my fear of public speaking. During my PhD at Harvard, I won an outreach and teaching excellence award, which helped me battle my imposter syndrome, realize that struggling is part of success, and find joy in my work again.

Where are you originally from, and what was growing up there like?

I'm originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. I grew up in a single-mom household where nothing was taken for granted. My family experienced ﬁnancial struggles, natural disasters, and medical impediments, but love persevered and got us through these hardships. I'm a strong woman because my mom was stronger.