Veronica

Veronica Cedillos is a civil engineer by training (B.S. from MIT in 2005, M.S. from Stanford University in 2008, and California registration as a Professional Engineer in 2010), but a violinist at heart.

In her professional career, Cedillos has over three years experience in earthquake and tsunami preparedness in emerging countries at GeoHazards International and one-year experience of structural engineering design work at Gilsanz Murray Steficek in New York City.  Cedillos has conducted projects in India, Indonesia and Peru, and has participated in post-earthquake reconnaissance in Sichuan, China (2008 M7.9 Earthquake), Padang, Indonesia (2009 M7.6 Earthquake) and Port-au-Prince, Haiti (2010 M7.0 Earthquake).  In India, she participated in a summer research program that focused on investigating the earthquake-resistant features of vernacular architecture in the foothills of the Himalayas with the long-term goal of promoting these traditional earthquake-resistant techniques into current construction practices.  At GeoHazards International, she led two major projects—one focused on developing tsunami evacuation solutions for Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia—a city with one of the highest tsunami risks in the world—and the other focused on improving earthquake safety in rural Peru by conducting trainings on earthquake safe construction and seismically strengthening an adobe school in Chocos, Peru.  Veronica has been recognized for her work with various awards, including  being selected as the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) national representative for New Faces of Engineering 2010 and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s 2011 Shah Family Innovation Prize recipient.

In terms of her involvement in music, Veronica started playing violin at the age of nine and has performed with numerous ensembles including:

  • San Francisco Sinfonietta (San Francisco, CA), 2008—2010
  • Stanford Symphony Orchestra (Stanford, CA), 2006—2008
  • Mariachi Cardenal de Stanford (Stanford, CA), 2006—2007
  • AMEROPA Chamber Music (Prague, Czech Republic), Summer 2006
  • Greenwich Village Orchestra (New York City, NY), 2005—2006
  • MIT Symphony Orchestra (Cambridge, MA), 2003—2005
  • Mariachi Internacional del Tecnológico (Cambridge, MA), 2002—2005
  • University of Texas at El Paso Symphony Orchestra (El Paso, TX), 2001—2002
  • Mariachi Los Pasajeros (El Paso, TX), 2000—2002

Although Veronica is not a professional violinist, she has always ensured to keep music as a significant part of her life. Veronica also enjoys reading, dancing, running, yoga and traveling.

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