Stefanopoulou studied
marine engineering at the
National Technical University of Athens, studying ship propulsion and graduating with a diploma in 1991. She moved to the University of Michigan for graduate study, beginning with a master's degree in marine engineering but then shifting to electrical engineering and computer science, as she became more interested in automotive applications of control theory. After completing her Ph.D. in 1996, she worked on engine control for the
Ford Motor Company from 1996 to 1997. In 1998 she became an assistant professor of mechanical and environmental engineering at the
University of California, Santa Barbara, where she developed an additional line of research on
automated braking, and was chosen as one of the participants in a prestigious
National Academy of Engineering "Frontiers of Engineering" symposium. In 2000 she returned to the University of Michigan as an associate professor of mechanical engineering, and began the work on
fuel cells for which she is best known. ==Book==