From the classrooms of Brazil to cutting-edge labs at Yangzhou University, astrophysicist Larissa Santos has spent 10+ years decoding cosmic mysteries – and she’s got a galactic message for girls everywhere: "Science needs your spark!" 🔭✨
As one of just five women in her 40-student physics cohort, Santos knows the struggle. "I’d walk into conferences where people assumed I was someone’s assistant," she laughs. But her latest research on the early universe’s dark matter distribution (🤯) proves talent knows no gender.
Why Diversity Fuels Discovery
Santos argues varied perspectives solve problems faster: "Imagine if every smartphone engineer thought alike – we’d still have flip phones!" 📱 Her team’s recent breakthrough? A data-crunching method inspired by Brazilian textile patterns. 🧶➡️🪐
To Girls Eyeing STEM:
Her advice? "Own your curiosity! The next big discovery could be your TikTok theory video or basement experiment." With women now leading 30% of China’s major space projects (🚀), Santos believes the final frontier is equality.
