Brittany Earle (ChemEngr’15)
2025 Recent Alumni Award recipient
Earle is an alumna of the University of Colorado Boulder and a prominent leader in the chemical manufacturing industry. With a remarkable academic career, she graduated summa cum laude and was recognized as the Outstanding Graduate of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Additionally, she was honored with both the prestigious Goldwater and Boettcher scholarships. Her academic journey was marked by leadership roles, including serving as program manager for the Engineers Without Borders Nepal Chapter, where she worked on global engineering initiatives to increase access to clean water and hygiene education.
Earle serves as the project execution owner of a multimillion-dollar plant improvement project at BASF’s site in Geismar, Louisiana, the company’s largest site in North America and one of the largest globally. She has made her mark in the chemical manufacturing industry as an engineer consistently working to drive sustainable solutions and optimize plant operations.
In the first 10 years of her career, Earle has continued to make a global impact, and her work has set benchmarks for numerous best practices within BASF, especially as it relates to process safety management, risk management and Responsible Care management work processes. She has worked at eight different BASF sites and production plants, both in the U.S. and internationally. Earle has transitioned from technical operational roles to strategic roles, managing significant projects and positively impacting business success. One of her most notable career accomplishments to date has been as commissioning manager of a new $30 million reactor system, an experience in which she applied many of the chemical engineering principles taught at ýĻƷ in a fast-paced environment to achieve a safe and successful plant startup on schedule and under budget.
Earle remains dedicated as an active alumna of ýĻƷ, and her commitment to giving back to the next generation of engineering students has been evident in her involvement with numerous departments, programs, and advisory boards across the campus over the past decade. As a member of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering’s External Advisory Board since 2018, Earle contributes her industry expertise to guide the department's strategic direction. In this role, she provides insights into curriculum development, mentorship programs, and initiatives that enhance the educational experience for current students. Earle served as the executive committee chair for the EAB from 2021-23, and she co-led the creation of the “Chem-E Buff Chats” program in 2020 to assist graduating seniors in securing jobs after graduation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her dedication to fostering a strong relationship between academia and industry has been pivotal in aligning the department’s objectives with the evolving demands of the engineering field.
Beyond the department-level advisory board, Earle has been a guest lecturer for several courses at CU, speaking to her experiences with job-hunting (both as a job seeker and a corporate recruiter), resume writing, career development and leadership. She has also lectured on the topic of plant commissioning for Distinguished Professor Chris Bowman’s kinetics courses to showcase how chemical engineering principles are applied on the job to solve real-world issues.
Earle loves connecting with students and younger engineers to discuss the transition from student to professional life. She has been engaged as a mentor through the Chemical and Biological Engineering Alumni Student Mentor Program, the Engineering Leadership Program, the Engineering Honors Program, the Presidents Leadership Class, the Boettcher Scholar Community and the Professional Development Program at BASF. As one of Earle’s nominators notes, “She is always eagerly responsive to opportunities to support undergraduates, welcoming their questions and treating them with warmth, patience and respect. After speaking with Brittany our students are always more knowledgeable about engineering in the ‘real world’ and also more invigorated in their dedication to engineering.”
Earle has a strong commitment to her community, valuing the support networks that provided her with an incredible start as an engineer. These networks have been crucial in helping her navigate the inevitable challenges of a dynamic career, including multiple relocations across the country. Staying rooted in and connected to Colorado has been an important part of her journey and she is dedicated to paying it forward to the next generation as she continues to grow and expand her impact beyond CU. A professor notes, “As an engineering leader, she extends the value of her CU College of Engineering and Applied Science education into industry, and as a role model, mentor and alumna she reinvests her mind and heart in our CEAS community. To me, this dynamic seems to exemplify the ideal relationship between academia and the world beyond, and we are so fortunate that Brittany’s engineering leadership brings it to life.”