Natascha De Vasconcellos Otoya

I joined the Environmental History PhD program in 2017.

Photo of Natascha De Vasconcellos Otoya

My research focuses on the development of the oil industry in Brazil in the first half of the 20th century. I am particularly interested in close-to-the-ground human/nature interactions and how different groups, like politicians, oil field workers and scientists, developed such interactions. My research interests also overlap with the field of history of science. Geology is a central element in the search and exploration of petroleum in Brazil, and this branch of the natural sciences informs my work. Before coming to Georgetown, I completed a Master's degree in Social History at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and earned a B.A. in History at Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.