By Melissa Savignano
When the Communist regime fell on Christmas Day, 1989, it brought previously out-of-reach futures within reach for Gabriela Bunea (GRS’01) and others in her generation of Romanians. However, it would take boldness, talent, determination and luck to build a new life in the “free world.”
A talented and driven student, Gabriela studied physics and engineering, with a particular interest in semiconductors, during her undergraduate and masters studies at the University of Bucharest in the early ‘90s. But she found there wasn’t much of an industry for her expertise in Romania, and she hoped to get into more applied physics.
Following the lead of some of her friends, she looked abroad for her next step, applying to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at BU, among other American grad schools. After using her self-taught English skills to take the entrance exams and apply, she entered the physics PhD program at GRS.
“I’m very competitive by nature and I was pretty good at school, so I wanted to see if I could get a scholarship in the United States,” Bunea says. “What brought me was the potential for a better life. From a scientific point of view, I thought it would be great to be in the hub of Boston with so many other universities there.”
Bunea found an opportunity to explore diverse scientific perspectives within BU. She started out working with Professor of Physics and Engineering Kevin Smith on fundamental physics and, when she realized that she missed the more practical, applied aspects of her field, began to work with Theodore Moustakas from the College of Engineering. From there, she continued at BU with a foot in both the fundamental and applied scientific worlds, finalizing her PhD studies with Bennet Goldberg and Selim Unlu. “As someone who hadn’t been in the US school system, BU gave me this flexibility to find my way,” she recalls.
The Startup Life
After graduation, Bunea joined Lucent Technologies but quickly moved to the West Cost to join SunPower Corporation, which specializes in solar power generation and energy storage, starting out as a research and development engineer and eventually becoming vice president of the department. She was among the first research and development hires at SunPower Company and in a startup environment, you need to be able to do it all. For Bunea, that meant everything from sweeping the labs at night to building prototypes.
Her experience at BU prepared her well for this critical job. If you’ve taken a lab class in the Photonics Center and stopped to admire the view, you can thank Bunea (at least partially) for that opportunity. As she studied, she was also one of the “worker bees” helping to set up labs throughout the then new building—an experience she called a “thrilling adventure.” She also credits it with giving her the confidence to thrive in a startup environment throughout her career.
“I joined SunPower when the company was 35 people,” she says. “It was that startup mentality. I had been involved with building labs and starting all over, [so] I could build on that experience.”
After 16 years at SunPower, it was time to move on. Since February 2019, she has been the Senior Vice President of Solar Research & Development at GAF Energy, a solar energy startup in Silicon Valley with a mission to make solar roofing more accessible for customers.
“If I’m bored, it’s not the job for me,” Bunea says. “I thrive on the unknown and trying to create something that hasn’t been done before.”
As she leads and builds teams now at GAF Energy, she looks for people who can both build the products and explain them. Communication is a big part of the solar energy world, as right now its biggest hurdles are justifying the cost and articulating why a customer needs, not just wants, a solar roof. With over 18 years in the business, she’s seen solar go from a minor player to a real force in the roofing and sustainability realms. She hopes in the next decade, as someone buys a new roof, it’s a given that it’s a solar roof. “You wouldn’t buy a car without a safety belt or rearview camera. I want it to be like that.”
Moving Her Field Forward
When Lucent Technology hired her in 2001, Bunea was the only woman in a team of over 30 people. As she has moved up professionally, she still finds herself sometimes the only woman in the room. However, she has seen signs of progress. Now, she sees more female graduate and doctorate students applying to her company, and as hiring manager, she hopes to create a comfortable application environment for diverse candidates.
Bunea has been active and interested in promoting diversity in STEM since her time at BU, when she was an active member of the Graduate Women in Science and Engineering (GWISE) student group and also volunteered to mentor younger students. She thinks bringing more demos and talks into high schools and middle schools will encourage more people, of all genders, to pursue scientific fields, especially in sustainability.
The alumna has stayed connected to BU and hopes to help BU with efforts to diversify STEM fields and promote environmental sustainability. And even though she has called the West Coast home for almost two decades, Bunea’s time on campus still has a place in her heart—especially her beloved Photonics Center.
“The best view of my career so far,” she remembers.