An internship with Dow's Industrial Innovation Campus in Switzerland was Veronica Colombo's first plastics industry role.
"The project I worked on involved EPDM weather seals' electrochemical corrosion and the design of compounds to enable lightweight solutions for automotive applications. The results were published in a journal and presented at a conference as part of the Dow Mobility Science platform," she said.
"I was interested in the plastics industry because of the wide range of applications and the significance of plastics in our daily life. Also, I was intrigued by the possibility to impact society by designing more sustainable products and developing more innovative solutions. Finally, I saw the plastics industry as a field with several challenges ahead where I could make a difference and have a positive impact: from sustainability to the perception by public opinion, but also in inclusion and diversity, and on women representation," Colombo added.
When she was 16, Colombo applied for a scholarship and studied in Hong Kong for a year. During her undergraduate program, she spent seven months doing research in Saudi Arabia. She earned a bachelor's degree in chemical and materials engineering from the University of Padua and a master's degree in chemical engineering from Politecnico di Milano, both in Italy.
"These experiences have shaped my character and have taught me to interact with people with different backgrounds and cultures. Despite numerous challenges, through grit and determination, I thrived from these diversities and was able to make the most of these experiences," she said.
A technical service and development specialist at Dow in Spain, Colombo focuses on industrial and consumer packaging. She has collaborated with business and marketing teams in a variety of platform technologies and markets and led technical projects from concept shaping to commercialization.
"One thing I am particularly proud of is the role I played in establishing the technology strategy to penetrate the medical packaging market and creating a multigeneration plan, which enabled the successful launch and commercialization of products that play a vital role in improving human life.
"The extent of the innovation in new product design and implementation is witnessed by the number of inventions documents I directly contributed to, namely four patents and eight innovation concept documents in less than three years, as well as several external webinars and trainings provided to both the internal organization and external partners.
"The growth and establishment of our participation strategy in the medical packaging market have also [been] recognized by various external and internal awards, such as the R&D 100 Team Award, Dow technology center award, different gold and silver awards, and the Young Scientist Award I was honored with," she said.
Colombo has been an active member with a student mentoring program called Inspira STEM.
"When I was in university, I spent two summers volunteering abroad with an international nonprofit organization, once to clean up a natural reserve in France and the other time teaching science in a Cornish school," she said. "I enjoy being active in the community and feeling that I am making a positive impact, even more so when I feel I am raising awareness on topics such as women's representation in STEM."