Iva Kostadinova is a lecturer in physics, programming and sensor electronics at HIT. After receiving her BSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Technical University, Sofia, in her native Bulgaria, she moved to the USA to pursue her graduate studies. 

She spent a year as a research assistant at the University of Illinois, Chicago, after winning the prestigious Graduate University Fellowship. Her work involved the MBE growth (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) and analysis of multifunctional oxide nanostructure for the development of high-performance microwave components.

Ms Kostadinova then moved to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she focused on microwave remote sensing. She earned her MSc in 2009 for the development of a Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave Wind Profiler radar, aimed at delivering high-sensitivity, high-resolution data of the turbulence in the lower portion of the atmospheric boundary layer.

The same year, Ms Kostadinova moved to India, where she joined the Indian Academy of Sciences as a science writer for Current Science, one of the Academy’s most read journals. There, she had the opportunity to indulge in one of her strongest passions: science communication.

Ms Kostadinova moved to The Netherlands in 2011 and joined the HIT team of lecturers in September of that year.