Dr. Rosa Padilla completed her undergraduate degree in Biological Systems Engineering and with a minor in education from the University of California, Davis. She obtained a doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Irvine with an emphasis in combustion.
Upon graduation she joined the University of California, Los Angeles in association with the Air Force Research Lab during her post-doctoral research, where she conducted experiments at elevated pressures for measurements of surface tension in fuels. In October of 2018, Dr. Padilla joined the Universities Space Research Association at NASA Glenn Research Center where her focus has been in spacecraft fire safety, specifically in understanding the risks from lithium-ion battery fires.