ESP Biography

AMBER VELEZ, MIT junior studying fiction writing and mechanical

Major: 2A and 21W

College/Employer: MIT

Year of Graduation: 2024

Brief Biographical Sketch:

Amber Velez is a writer and engineer studying at MIT. She is pursuing a double major in mechanical engineering and writing, and plans to work in green energy and sustainable development. She fosters a passion for making and can be found anywhere from the blacksmithing forge to the various all-hours makerspaces around MIT.

Amber writes fiction with speculative or fantasy elements, and her stories have been published in venues including Broken Pencil Magazine, Silver Blade Magazine, and Drunk Monkeys Magazine. She recently won first prize in the Ilona Karmel 2022 writing contest for science fiction.

Past Classes

(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

S15244: An Introduction to Climate Modeling in Splash 2022 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2022)

Ever wondered where all those climate change forecasts come from? And how do we know that the climate is changing, anyway? In this class, we'll start at the beginning and work our way through the history of climate modeling up to the current giants of the field. We'll talk about climate models look like today, how they're built, and what they can (and can't!) tell us about the future. We'll finish by discussing the shortcomings of climate modeling and the pressing issues of the field.

A15245: How to Structure a Novel in Splash 2022 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2022)

Come learn about novel structure and plots! We'll talk about narrative story arc, walking through 1-2 popular novels (Percy Jackson? Mistborn?) as exemplars, and get creative gears turning! Inspiration from Brandon Sanderson's "Writing Excuses" podcast.

X15417: show and tell in Splash 2022 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2022)

everyone has something to show and tell. come revive your sense of childlike wonder with us! show us what you've got and sit back smugly as we're all like, wow that's so cool. bring a trinket, a smell, a dance, a poem, a fact, a story, an equation, a piece of art, a toy, a recommendation, or a pot of soup (i'm hungry). and most importantly, bring yourself!