Sabeane Escobedo Palacios

Sabeane Escobedo Palacios

Biography

Sabeane Escobedo Palacios is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, pursuing a double major in Aerospace Engineering and Bioengineering. As a Mexican-Salvadorian student from an immigrant family, she is driven by a commitment to expanding access, representation, and innovation in science and engineering.

Her academic interests center on bioastronautics, the intersection of aerospace engineering, biology, and medicine, with a focus on supporting human health, performance and habitability during long-duration spaceflight. Although long drawn to both aerospace engineering and medicine, she initially viewed them as separate paths. While training as an underwater astronaut at the Advanced Space Academy, she discovered a field that united these interests, shaping her interdisciplinary research goals.

Sabeane currently works at NASA Ames Research Center and the Berkeley Biomechanics Laboratory, serves as the Chair of the Research Committee for AIAA at Berkeley, and is an Engineering Team Member at Space Technologies at Cal (STAC). She aims to pursue research on physiological and behavioral adaptations to spaceflight, spacecraft and habitat design, and the development of medical systems and countermeasures for astronaut protection. She is especially motivated by the translational potential for this work, leveraging insights from extreme environments in space to improve patient care on Earth, and aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in bioastronautics.

Outside of research, Sabeane is deeply committed to STEM outreach and mentorship. Growing up in a community with limited access to STEM opportunities, and in a family where formal education was not always accessible, she is driven to expand pathways into science and engineering for young students. Through AAUW Tech Trek, she has taught and developed hands-on Electrical Engineering and Computer Science curricula, mentored middle school students, and authored a 40-page instructional handbook to support accessible, project-based learning. She is committed to ensuring that students from underserved backgrounds can see themselves in and pursue STEM.