Every day, Nyasha Milanzi’s advocacy for underserved communities is deeply rooted in her family’s legacy. Her parents lived through the challenges of Zimbabwe’s Chimurenga, the revolutionary wars that led to the country’s independence in 1980. Their personal experiences of living under a colonial government and witnessing the inequities in access to education and opportunity had a profound impact on them. These experiences inspired them to become educators. Nyasha’s father dedicated his life to teaching children with disabilities, while her mother has taught in rural Zimbabwe for over thirty years. As she often says, “Education is the key that unlocks potential.” Their unshakable belief in the transformative power of education for underserved students inspired her to pursue her own path in electrical engineering. She sought to focus on solving one of the core issues perpetuating cycles of poverty: energy poverty in underdeveloped areas.
Nyasha trained as an electrical engineer at Ashesi University in Ghana, where she developed energy technologies aimed at improving lives. She worked on innovative projects such as insulated solar cookers and home biogas digesters. One of her projects, which earned recognition, was the creation of an affordable air pollution sensor—a device designed to address a crisis that claimed the lives of 1.1 million people in Africa in 2019. The sensor was designed to be much more affordable than conventional instruments, making it accessible for monitoring pollutants like soot and black carbon, which are often understudied. This sensor provided a cost-effective alternative to expensive monitoring equipment, enabling local communities to gain better insights into their environment. These experiences reinforced her belief that engineering could be a powerful tool in tackling urgent issues. But they also left her with an important question: Could engineering alone create equitable change?
To further explore this question, Nyasha Milanzi expanded her perspective by studying social sciences, including anthropology, law, and politics. She soon realized that many of the challenges Africa faces are not only technical but also deeply systemic, rooted in colonial histories. For example, African countries are disproportionately impacted by climate change, a global crisis that is primarily driven by industrialization in the West. As she began to understand the social and political dynamics surrounding the problems she was attempting to solve, she recognized that the solutions she was developing couldn’t focus solely on technology—they needed to address these deeper historical and societal factors.
Reflecting on these broader issues, Nyasha concluded that a holistic approach was needed. It wasn’t enough to just create innovative technologies; they had to align with solutions that also addressed the social and political challenges at play.
After graduating, Nyasha realized that her ability to make a lasting impact would benefit from a more interdisciplinary approach. She enrolled in a graduate program at Michigan Technological University, where she joined a team of engineers and social scientists working on a project that directly addressed public health concerns from a local community about a bioenergy facility that burns wood and plastics. Through this work, Nyasha helped the community transition to renewable energy by conducting air quality sampling and performing economic assessments. She led the development of surveys and interviews with local businesses and government officials to ensure that the solutions proposed were not only effective but also equitable.
Looking back, Nyasha is proud of how her interdisciplinary training has allowed her to bridge the gap between technical engineering and social science. As her mother often says, “True progress comes when we lift each other up.” The experiences she has had working across these fields have only reinforced her belief in the power of collaboration and holistic thinking to drive real, lasting change.
Nyasha also recognized that the most vulnerable communities are often excluded from the decision-making process. Motivated by this realization, she initiated a research project titled “Care and Value in Research with Partnerships.” In this project, she interviewed researchers who were using community engagement to support energy transitions. She focused on exploring the opportunities and challenges in building research partnerships that result in meaningful outcomes for communities, while avoiding exploitative practices like the “publish or perish” mentality. As Nyasha explains, “In academia, a faculty member’s tenure is often determined by their success in publishing. This creates a race against time, where the quantity of publications often outweighs the quality and significance of the work.” Unfortunately, this system can exploit the very communities that researchers aim to help. Nyasha believes that the most effective solutions arise from partnerships with those who are directly impacted, stating, “It is my mission to center their voices in the work I do.”
Her commitment to centering marginalized voices was further realized through the American Geophysical Union’s Voices for Science fellowship, which provided her with a platform to do so. Recognizing the underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in environmental literature, Nyasha launched a social media fundraiser to create an environment library by Black authors for low-income students in Zimbabwe. She exceeded her initial fundraising goals, finding it deeply meaningful to give students access to books written by authors who looked like them. As she reflects, “It was inspiring to provide students with resources that could encourage them to pursue careers in science and engineering—fields that often seem out of reach for young people from marginalized backgrounds.”
In the summer of 2024, Nyasha participated in the Catalyst Leadership Circle fellowship at the University of Michigan, which served as a significant test of her interdisciplinary skills. She helped the City of Ann Arbor model emissions from buildings, which account for 23% of the city’s total emissions. While the project required technical expertise, Nyasha also engaged with stakeholders through informational interviews to ensure that the proposed heating and cooling system upgrades aligned with the community’s needs and priorities.
With the world facing a critical decade for climate action and global leaders signaling the “end of fossil fuels” at COP28 in Dubai, UAE, she is determined to use her interdisciplinary expertise to build resilient, sustainable communities. By prioritizing underserved voices and collaborating across disciplines, Nyasha is challenging the conventional boundaries of engineering. Looking ahead, she aims to inspire future generations of engineers to take on the role of true stewards of change, driven by the same dedication to equity and progress that her parents instilled in her.
Nyasha Milanzi stands as a shining example of the impact USAP Community School has on its alumni. Her journey from electrical engineering to advocating for sustainable energy solutions and marginalized voices reflects the core values of service and curiosity instilled at USAP. As one of the many successful alumni, Nyasha continues to challenge boundaries and create lasting change. As a fellow USAP alumnus once said, “USAP teaches you to think beyond yourself and your circumstances—it empowers you to create solutions for the world.” Nyasha’s work embodies this spirit, inspiring the next generation to lead with purpose and commitment to underserved communities.
References
1.Milanzi, N. (2025). Inspiring the next generation of engineers and scientists to be champions of equitable change. Cell, 188(3), 586-588. https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(25)00043-1.pdf
2. Milanzi, N., Isaacs, S., and Beem, H. (2023). Development of a low-cost black carbon sensor for air quality monitoring in Ghana. EGU General Assembly 2023. 23, 9708.https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU23/EGU23-9708.html
As someone interested in research, I am inspired. Keep working, Nyasha!!