Women Engineers From The United States

"One of the things I think is very important is to make sure our students have the internship opportunities, the externship opportunities and other experiential learning opportunities."

"We’re also going to work on what I’m calling distinguished professorship interaction opportunities. I had a conversation about having executives in residence, or corporate individuals on our campus interacting with our students, be it in person, which is what we hope."

"The biggest concerns I’ve heard were about students who’ve been adversely affected by the pandemic and who may not financially be able to return to campus. I was told about students who have good grades, but they might not be able to afford coming back to campus."

"If you think about what caused the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to be created, think back to 9/11 and the fact that there was information out there in the community that wasn’t being integrated properly. That was the impetus for the creation."

"So we recognized 20 years since 9/11 back in September. Now we’re talking about 17 years of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in just a few days."

"What’s changed is the amount of integration that we’ve seen, that we’ve been able to continue to push on agencies to work together and really to leverage the – not only the strength of each agency, but also the authorities of each agency, to be able to do more for our customers, to be able to provide that intelligence insight. I’ve seen that grow over the years."

"And I know we’ll talk more about that one going forward, but really coming from a place where the ODNI wasn’t – didn’t exist, to a place now, 17 years in, where our place in the community in terms of being able to help with that integration and help standardize some of the things that are happening with the community, whether on the personnel side"

"I am not here by accident. And I am also not here solely because of my own efforts. I lead because the legacy of Alcorn’s past has enabled me to envision the promise of our future."

"You must see every challenge not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity to be a beacon of light and hope for others who may not have that same uplifting experience. Simply put: do good and be good"

"IT is now a ubiquitous presence in the lives of students, faculty and staff alike. A modern IT infrastructure is critical as it adds significant value to academic programs and efficiencies to administrative processes,” she explains. “The evaluation and transformation of Alcorn State University’s network infrastructure, wi-fi access, telecommunications and classroom-based technologies are critical components for ongoing success."

"It is my responsibility to ensure we are visible in the spaces, places and with people that are decision-makers so that there is an appreciation for not only the historical but the future relevance of Alcorn."

"But we never stopped moving forward, thanks to the extraordinary efforts and steadfast resilience of our students, faculty and staff, while keeping our community safe."

"I fondly remember gracing this beautiful campus as a student years ago and am forever grateful for the solid foundation it has provided me,” she says. “My life experience and career in higher education has provided me with the tools and skills needed to serve and lead this campus successfully."

"It takes courage to break a ceiling – it also requires a willing community who sees that shattered glass as a new floor and not a mess."

"Self-doubt is real, and sometimes, we can be our own biggest critics,” said Anderson. “We have to understand that we are excellent. We are great. And at the end of the day, for any woman coming to this industry—if you’re even thinking about it—there’s something in you. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it."

"ExxonMobil was challenging, and I absolutely loved it,” said Anderson. “I loved the boots, the hard hats, getting my hands dirty. I was able to go out into the field, see all the equipment. I was in awe. I fell in love with it."

"It was all about people who like a challenge; people who are lifelong learners,” said Anderson. “And as I kept reading, I kept hearing myself in this description. People had always said, you’re smart, you should be a doctor or a lawyer. But nobody ever said engineer."

"I didn’t know what engineering was until my senior year in high school,” said Anderson. “I thought an engineer was a train driver, and nobody told me differently."

"If we want to continue to attract talent to this industry and remain globally competitive, we have to put in the effort to show students our industry and what we do. If not, they will all gladly head to Silicon Valley."

"Tech is in their face, so they don’t have to try hard to know about the industry; it’s right there in the palm of their hands. They see it every day. They use these apps daily,"

"As a kid, I wasn’t exposed to the fields of engineering, but I knew I always loved learning and math was always my favorite class. My own research on college degrees when I was a senior in high school led me to find the careers of ‘engineer."

"STEM for me was being a doctor. I didn’t even know what an engineer was!"

"Our work most definitely extends beyond the Jonsson School. In 2020, particularly following protests not seen since the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, the issues of respect and belonging have become much more prominent in the national conversation. In the fields of engineering, computer science and mathematics, women, Black, Hispanic and Native American people simply are not represented according to their presence in the general population."

"My current projects focused on graduate student and faculty development, belonging, and intersectionality directly align with the Jonsson School’s and UTD’s strategic initiatives. Additionally, I am also applying the insights from this work to our organizational and programmatic changes at UT Dallas."

"We also have a responsibility to look at alternative ways to assess what students are learning and the impact of our programs. This vision is clear in my mind, and it drives my decision making about running the department and what I think our role can and should be."

"I think it’s imperative for engineering educators to not only constantly beat the drum about what happens in the engineering classroom, but to also create experiences to increase literacy among the non-engineers."

"In my opinion, this approach to teaching differently should, in a nutshell, use research to inform practice. We know so much about how to educate students, how students learn, how to best teach, and we are doing a disservice if we are not constantly changing how we teach, how programs are constructed, and how people are trained. We are missing an opportunity if we rely solely on the research without a real, fundamental commitment to the practice."

"I was first introduced to the idea of questioning the status quo in the education of engineers by Richard Felder in the early 1990s. From then on, I started to realize that we don’t have to teach the way we were taught, just because it’s always been done that way."

"My degree put science, engineering, and chemistry all together. This brought me closer to the environment because we have the obligation to take care of mother earth. I have a responsibility to protect her"

"We need a do it yourself approach for sustainable practices. I recall the sanitation strike of 1968 in Memphis, TN. The city came together and demanded change. It is essential to organize and use your community, church, and creative influence to prevail. You have a direct influence on solving our world’s problems."

"I had planned to be a pediatrician, then I read Silent Spring and this changed my direction away from medicine and towards chemistry"

"Going to college, having a scholarship, never knowing where the money was coming from, but trusting, feeling blessed, and knowing it will come was a blessing. It came from God"

"Mom wouldn’t allow pesticides in her garden. Being a Brownie and a Girl Scout, we were taught about preventing forest fires, how to protect the environment, take care of animals, etc."

"We took care of the land. We captured water in a cistern and used a pump from the well. Nothing was thrown away. You had to use everything because there was little or no money. This meant that we practiced canning, composting, and reusing whatever we could"

"You are your brother’s keeper. You are responsible. You’re blessed to have what you have, and you’re responsible to take care of others, as God has taken care of you."

"I was told that I would never make full professor because I would not be doing funded research or publishing scholarly papers."

"One female scientist who has inspired me is Shirley Ann Jackson, PhD. She’s currently the President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY, USA) and an accomplished theoretical physicist. She has broken many glass ceilings in her career and continues to be a trailblazer for African-American women and women in general."

"It’s important to talk to others, both women and men, who are working in the field so they can learn more about the field and jobs/opportunities that may be available depending upon the level of training."

"Women have to continue to pursue leadership roles in their organizations such that opportunities, such as hiring and promotion, and initiatives to engage and support women can be made a priority."

"I am both African American and a woman. I always knew that I was one of the few in my field, whether as an undergraduate majoring in mechanical engineering or later in life as faculty. However, I never felt as if I was at a disadvantage. I was fortunate to have and surround myself with supportive colleagues and mentors over the years."

"As a professor, I have the pleasure of mentoring students and postdoctoral trainees in this line of research and in their professional development. My laboratory continues to conduct both discovery science and translational research where trainees and professional staff are encouraged to participate in all aspects of the research. The most challenging aspects of this work continues to be obtaining research funding."

"My research involves the understanding and development of functional biomaterials for tissue regeneration. We focus on the development of synthetic and natural biomaterials that can promote the function of stem cells and other cell types for the repair of orthopaedic injuries, specifically bone and cartilage, as well as spinal cord injuries."

"And, today, I’m grateful to Miss Ann, for showing me a direction I didn’t want to take."

"I knew how to get out because I could read and I had to get out because the environment was dangerous."

"That experience taught me about making decisions and to just keep going but to always maintain your dignity."

"Accepting the position directing minority engineering programs, I left a regular, tenured job with academic administration Being told I was making a tragic career move solidified my need to support students who looked like me."

"I do believe that I possess the emotional intelligence to lead through those challenges with grace, respect, integrity, and with an inclusive spirit. My leadership will not only be data-driven but also holistically person-centered."

"I’m thrilled to be living at a time where multidisciplinary work is rewarded. For instance, grant sponsors now include multiple disciplines and diversity as part of their funding requirements."

"It’s important to have people that you know are interested in you and your career, a parent, mentor or sponsor. Not all of them, but some of them should look like you. You can’t underestimate that."

"I take pleasure in getting African-American students interested in this work, not only in aerospace and mechanical engineering but in any goal that might seem out of reach because they are a minority."