Alessandra Bianchi

Alessandra Bianchi (GRS’90) of Marblehead, Mass., is communications director at SeaTrac Systems Inc. “Using my BU Master of Arts in English lit skills to bluff/brave my way through blue tech and oceanographic circles working for a solar-powered boat drone startup,” she writes. “On good days it feels like being on the set of a James Bond movie; on more challenging ones, I wish I’d taken more STEM vs. my beloved lit courses.” SeaTrac’s drones, called autonomous surface vehicles, are designed to last at sea for months at a time, where, equipped with sensors and cameras, they make the process of collecting ocean data greener, safer, and more affordable than traditional methods of sending out boatloads of people. Customers include scientists and military and commercial entities, such as offshore wind and gas companies.