Choose to Challenge

Choose to Challenge: Laurel Hind

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 15:26:02 +0000

Choose to Challenge: Laurel Hind Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 03/30/2021 - 09:26

Erica McNamee

Assistant Professor Laurel Hind began teaching at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering in the spring of 2020. Though her career began with and ultimately led to engineering, her educational path has allowed her to focus on biological and immunological interests.

“Growing up and in high school, I always really loved science,” Hind said. “I was around a lot of science people.”

Hind’s father was an engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin—Hind’s alma mater—and her mother was involved in medicine. Because science was a family tradition, she was interested in pursuing a degree in biology, but because of her love of math, she saw engineering as a possible path.

She attended the University of Wisconsin and received a degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering, then continued her education at the University of Pennsylvania where she earned a PhD in bioengineering. Her love for and interest in biology influenced her choices as she continued her education.

“Biologists and engineers think about problems in very different ways, and I wanted to get back into biology and understand where biologists come from,” Hind said.

She returned to the University of Wisconsin to work under Dr. Anna Huttenlocher, where she studied immunology.

Though Hind’s career was filled with many successes, she was also faced with challenges that defined the scientist she is today. In her graduate research, her mentor encouraged more independent work, and Hind found that, while it was difficult to get started and find her footing, she was able to explore her scientific interests more. This experience also proved to be useful when she was completing research for her postdoc as well.

“It helped my development as an independent researcher,” Hind said.

Hind now runs her own research lab here at the university, studying the innate immune response to an infection using bio-inspired engineered devices. As her research group is fairly new, they are still finishing setting up the lab while beginning to run experiments, and she said she is proud of how far her students have come given the setbacks that arose due to the pandemic.

Hind is one of several female researchers and assistant professors at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ, something she was not as used to seeing. When she was earning her undergraduate degree, all of her professors were male. Hind noted that it was a different environment to learn in when she had female peers and instructors in her higher education.

“One of the reasons I chose Boulder was because there’s such a strong core of female faculty,” Hind said.

Hind wants incoming and future female scientists to know the importance of camaraderie and finding a group of people to lean on in their science careers.

“The best way to succeed is to surround yourself with others who are supportive of your goals and your wellbeing,” Hind said.

Hind would like to thank her mentors that have helped her along the way—Dan Hammer and Anna Huttenlocher—as well as her husband, her parents, her peer-mentors and her friends for supporting her career.

About the Author

My name is Erica McNamee and I am a third-year chemical engineering student. I chose to write about Laurel Hind because of the way that she approaches her teaching. She is one of my professors this semester, and from the first time that she taught a lesson, I could tell she was extremely passionate about her work. As a young female in a predominantly male major and field, it's really important for me to see other females in that profession who are excited to teach. I hope that in the future there will be even more female scientists like Dr. Hind that can inspire students to learn.

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Choose to Challenge: Kristi Anseth

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Choose to Challenge: Kristi Anseth Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 03/07/2021 - 17:00

Sarah Fischer

Professor Kristi Anseth discovered chemical engineering in college. She had grown up knowing few engineers but enjoyed chemistry and mathematics in high school. Upon starting college, chemical engineering was recommended to her as a major, and she was fascinated to learn about the multiple dimensions of chemical engineering, especially those related to improving quality of life and human health.

A specific turning point came from conducting undergraduate research in Nicholas Peppas’ lab while at Purdue University. Peppas opened Anseth’s eyes to how she could contribute to the field through research and the opportunities available by pursuing advanced graduate degrees, she said.

Highlights

Conducted undergraduate research with Nicholas Peppas while at Purdue University
Invested in improving human health and quality of life
Research lab involves students from various disciplines
First engineer ever selected as Howard Hughes Medical Investigator
Advises students to take constructive criticism and forget the rest

As a result, Anseth went on to graduate school at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ, where she discovered her love of teaching and mentoring others. It resonated that while mentoring, she could help others achieve their goals in the university setting.

She went on to a postdoctoral position at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for additional research training. While there, she was exposed to the interdisciplinary nature of Professor Robert Langer’s lab – a mixture of biologists, chemists, MD/PhD students, clinical fellows, bioengineers, and classically trained chemical engineers like herself working on complex medical problems. She hoped to emulate this stimulating, multi-disciplinary environment in her own group and returned to ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ to join the engineering faculty.

Today, Anseth enjoys leading a research laboratory that not only tackles challenging problems in regenerative medicine but also provides significant teaching opportunities to impact individuals at all stages of their careers – from high school up to postdocs.

The setting creates a learning experience for Anseth as well, she said. By mentoring students with different backgrounds, training, or via collaborations, she values the chance to learn something new every day. I reflected that I also enjoy the learning and growth mindsets of university settings and seek this in a career looking forward.

Anseth noted that one of the challenges to progressing in anyone’s career is taking risks and leaps forward and learning from failure. In her time as a faculty member, she has tried to not only do the next logical thing but to continuously stretch herself, she said. This mindset has made all the difference when jumping into different research themes—from methods to regenerate tissues to understanding diseases of the heart, a collaboration that started with Leslie Leinwand. Anseth noted the value of surrounding yourself with dedicated and talented researchers with different skill sets who can help continually push yourself forward.

Anseth is the first engineer, male or female, to be selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator. She’s also the only ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ faculty member — and one of just a few in the nation — admitted to all three National Academies. I asked Anseth about the challenges she may have overcome to find success as a woman in STEM. She responded that she felt fortunate to have great mentors that were extremely supportive to her in her career path – they listened, guided and continue to support her to this day.

She noted that in her path, some of the closest mentors also happened to be men. From early in her career, Anseth has wanted to emulate good mentorship and serve as an exceptional faculty member regardless of gender – to be a great instructor, mentor and internationally known researcher.

Looking back at the students she has served, however, Anseth said she sees the value that relatable role models play in inspiring others in STEM. She noted how important it is to the next generation of scientists to bear witness to female faculty succeeding in their careers. Anseth said she finds it a tremendous privilege that students may come with an affinity to work with her, and she can be that authentic, relatable resource that can be approached to open doors.

For the last part of the interview, I asked her what advice she would give to her younger self. She said she would tell herself that hard work pays off; you can take some constructive criticism and forget the rest, and you’ll learn a lot from your mistakes and failures.

“Keep your eyes looking forward, surround yourself with people that are supportive, and don’t be afraid to seek out good mentors,” she said.

Overall, I was touched by Anseth’s humility when discussing her career growth, the leaps and risks she’s taken, and her commitment to mentoring others. We share the value that the university setting can be a wonderful place for progressing research and the career trajectories of others.

About the Author

Sarah Fischer is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and a social media lead with the ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) network.

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Choose to Challenge: Allison Anderson

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Choose to Challenge: Allison Anderson Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 03/07/2021 - 17:00

Madisen Purifoy-Frie

Allison Anderson, the 2020 Young Professional Engineer of the Year (Rocky Mountain AIAA), has been a professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder since 2017.

Throughout her time, she has focused on research involving space and aviation biomedical issues in addition to spacesuit design. She has authored and co-authored numerous research papers and presentations, mentored and taught countless students, and gave a TEDx talk on spacesuits for Mars missions. Some of the notable awards she has received include National Academy of Science New Leader in Space Science in 2016 and National Space Biomedical Research Institute First Award Fellow in 2014.

Highlights

First became interested in space in third grade
Earned degrees from USC and MIT
Joined ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ in 2017
Researching how the human eye changes in microgravity
Winner of the 2020 Young Professional Engineer of the Year award

Anderson has always loved space, but her curiosity catalyzed when she was in third grade, she nostalgically recounted.

“Our teacher spent the day telling us about astronauts, and I just thought that was the coolest thing ever,” Anderson said. “It amplified my love for space because it was the first time I realized that people could go there, and it really fascinated me.”

She began her journey into human spaceflight at the University of Southern California, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in astronautics engineering. She then continued to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for double master’s degrees in aerospace engineering and technology policy as well as a PhD in aerospace biomedical engineering.

Deciding to become a professor was an easy choice, she said.

“I got hooked on teaching through outreach,” she said. “I really wanted to be a professor because I couldn’t give up research and I couldn’t give up teaching.”

At the University of Colorado Boulder, she is on the “ground floor of a true scientific debate of a really unknown (problem)” that aims to discover why astronauts’ eyes flatten while they are in space.

She passionately affirmed this research is “exciting from a scientific breakthrough perspective. Understanding how the eye changes in microgravity is a relatively recent problem, and there was not a lot of certainty around what was causing it.”

As for the future of her research, she said, “I am excited because I feel like a lot of my research threads are starting to merge and integrate. I find that really exciting because I think we’re able to continue being interdisciplinary while pulling in from other areas.”

She doesn’t shy away from giving thanks to the pioneers and the mentors who empowered her journey throughout her career as a professor in STEM.

“When you’re first starting this job, there is a lot you don’t know and don’t understand,” she said. “Every single one of (my mentors) approached working with me from the perspective of helping me figure it out and advancing my career by providing really useful advice, which I have been very lucky to have.”

She has also embraced her role as a female professor.

“Once I became a professor and I noticed just how few female professors there really are, I realized how much my students in the classroom recognized that,” she said. “And I think that is where I began to want to step into that role more.”

When asked what advice she would give to her younger self, she takes a minute to think.

“I am a big believer that where you came from makes you who you are, and if you’re happy where you are, you shouldn’t wish to change things from the past, even if those experiences were negative,” she said. “One of the things I would tell my younger self is just to not second-guess yourself and the degree to which what you’re doing is good or valuable or important” — advice she still tells herself to this day.

This advice provides reinforcement and courage for aspiring engineers across all domains and ranging from all experience levels in the STEM community.

Where does she envision her leadership at the university heading? She exhibits an eager smile at this question.

“One of the things that is really incredible about CU is you feel a vibrancy across the engineering school. I think you see that at a lot of other universities, people sort of talk about being stagnant or stationary, and you just don’t get that sense at all at CU. Every department across the college is growing. Every department has more professors, more buildings, more students, our reputations are rising and I think that is the growth period ... that is synced with this national and global emphasis on STEM and technology.”

About the Author

I am Madisen Purifoy-Frie, and I am an aerospace engineering student in the class of 2022. Allie Anderson is such an amazing facility member, and I am honored that she let me highlight her.

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Choose to Challenge: Daria Kotys-Schwartz

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Choose to Challenge: Daria Kotys-Schwartz Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 03/07/2021 - 17:00

Mia Miller

Daria Kotys-Schwartz’s engineering story started when she was incredibly young. Her parents were first-generation Americans who were big on education and taught her that she could be whatever she wanted to be.

As one of three girls, she never felt there were gender-specific societal roles placed on her by her family, which helped instill that sense that she could do anything. She has “amazing memories of being in the plant with my father watching steel being made around 8 or 9.”

Highlights

Inspired as a child by watching father at steel plant
Earned undergraduate degree from Ohio State
Worked in manufacturing before returning to academia
Currently teaching professor, director of Idea Forge
Encourages students to be authentic, follow own path

When it came to college, she knew she needed to make a decision between history or engineering. Through the process of elimination, by understanding there wasn’t much she could do with a history degree, she went for engineering. She bounced around the engineering disciplines a bit until she fell into mechanical engineering and got to work at the engine lab.

Even through this time, she still thought about leaving engineering two other times because the classes were not something she enjoyed. However, through it all, she stuck with engineering because she loved doing the work of a practicing engineer. This experience and a lot of 2 a.m. phone calls to her parents helped her get to the end with an undergraduate degree from Ohio State.

Directly after, she worked in industry doing manufacturing at a fascinating place, but realized it wasn’t the path she wanted. She was on track to be a CEO by the time she was 30, but after three years of this lifestyle she knew it wouldn’t make her happy. Shortly after, she returned to school for her master’s degree. When she called her parents to tell them, she said, “I didn’t know why, I couldn't tell them why, but knew it was the right thing to do.”

During her time getting her master’s degree, she had an opportunity arise where she was offered to help co-teach with one of her mentors. She fell into this teaching position and quickly realized she was hooked.

“Within day three, maybe day four, I had an absolute natural high being in a classroom,” she said. “This was something I’ve never experienced before. I’ve never been good at putting words to it but describe it as drinking too much coffee.”

At the beginning, she even thought it was just coffee. When she still felt this way after having no coffee that day, she realized it was a natural chemical high.

Shortly after, her mentors asked if she had considered doing her PhD ,and she was hooked. She knew she wanted to teach college.

Her advice to her younger self would be to “be authentic; don’t believe everyone saying who you’re supposed to be but know that you can lead authentically, teach authentically.” She shares this advice with others often by telling them their teaching should reflect who they are, rather than trying to teach like someone else.

She also would tell her younger self to be patient, and she had no idea how much more she had to learn as an entry-level engineer. She learned that it was OK to not know things. One hope she has for the future of engineering is for female students to realize how they can bring balance to engineering.

About the Author

My name is Mia Miller, and I'm a senior studying mechanical engineering with a business minor. I am the president of CU's Society of Women Engineers chapter, as well as a student apprentice for MCEN 2000. I'm currently interning for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and look forward to continuing to work in the energy sector after graduating with my master's degree in May 2022. I chose to interview Daria Kotys-Schwartz because she cares so much about her students. I've gotten to interact with her throughout my senior year for my senior design course and admire her support for her students. She is so energetic in the classroom — even virtually — and helps students stay passionate about their project even through these trying times. She will always go the extra mile to help and is truly an amazing member of our faculty.

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Choose to Challenge: JoAnn Silverstein

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Choose to Challenge: JoAnn Silverstein Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 03/07/2021 - 17:00

Keith Molenaar

JoAnn Silverstein Is a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is a professional engineer, and her work focuses on water and wastewater treatment process analysis.

Silverstein has received numerous awards throughout her career including the Distinguished Engineering Educators award from the Society of Women Engineers and recognitions from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists.

Highlights

Inspired by parents who worked as civil servants
Earned BA in psychology from Stanford, engineering degrees from UC Davis
Started at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ in 1982
First female department chair in CEAE
Advocates for the advancement and equity of women in engineering

She has a unique interdisciplinary education. She received her BA in psychology from Stanford University in 1967. She then went on to receive her BS, MS and PhD degrees in civil engineering from the University of California, Davis in 1977, 1980 and 1982, respectively.

Silverstein has a heart for serving others that was instilled in her by her parents. Her father and mother both worked for the federal government in Washington, D.C., throughout World War II and afterwards. Her father was also the mayor of Falls Town, Virginia. The backdrop of civil rights and community activism led her to pursue a career path in which she could make a positive impact and improve the quality of life at a community scale.

After receiving her psychology degree from Stanford, she worked as a consultant in community development in the San Francisco area for a number of years before returning to school to pursue a career in engineering. While she said she enjoyed working as a consultant, she felt that she could do more to make change. She decided to take a risk and return to school for a second bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

She found that she had an aptitude for engineering in her classes and her internship at the Department of Water Resources in California. Her colleagues, friends and professors encouraged her to continue studying until she ultimately finished her PhD through a Chancellor’s Fellowship at the University of California, Davis.

Silverstein started a position at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ in 1982. At the time she was only the fourth female tenure-track faculty member in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ, she said. She has been an advocate for women faculty since she arrived.

“Part of my commitment to diversity is my background,” she said. “Growing up in a family of public servants in the backdrop of the civil and women’s rights movements led me to get involved in equity issues across campus.”

She served on the Boulder Faculty Assembly women faculty committee and was part of the first campuswide pay equity survey.

Silverstein’s career path has taken her into leadership. After becoming the first female full professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, she was elected as the first female department chair. She now serves as the associate dean for faculty advancement for the college, where she leads the faculty hiring, mentoring, promotion and tenure processes.

Silverstein has broken down many barriers for women in the college through her actions, mentoring and leadership. In reflecting on the changes in the college, she said she is thrilled to see the rise of women students and faculty.

When asked if she could have imagined seeing 45% female students in our first-year class as we are nearing in 2021, she said, “Yes, I could imagine it. We must imagine things before they happen, and it has always been my goal to see it happen. What perhaps surprises me more is the fact that we have grown to 25% female faculty over the course of my career, and they are participating in meaningful leadership positions.”

Given this much change over Silverstein’s career, she said she is excited about what the future holds for our current class of extraordinary women engineering students.

About the Author

Keith Molenaar is the K. Stanton Lewis Professor of Construction Engineering and Management and interim Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. He earned his BS in architectural engineering in 1990 and his MS and PhD in civil engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1995 and 1997, respectively. JoAnn Silverstein has been a key mentor, role model and colleague throughout his career.

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Choose to Challenge: Angela Thieman Dino

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Choose to Challenge: Angela Thieman Dino Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 03/07/2021 - 17:00

Sasha Hall

Angela Thieman Dino is a senior instructor in the Engineering Leadership Program. She pulls from her experience and background as an anthropologist and integrates the lessons she has learned into her teaching, specifically focusing on the connection between technology and culture.

Thieman Dino on Torreys Peak

Highlights

Earned PhD in cultural anthropology from ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ
Previously worked in international human rights
Senior instructor in Engineering Leadership Program
Focuses on the connection between technology and culture
Urges students to overcome self-imposed limitations

The story map of her career and life journey was not one that she expected, but at every choice and turning point, she tried to remain true to her principles and curiosities. This, in addition to the inspiration she took from her mentors who modeled alignment of career and life aspirations, led her down the path of co-creating a program that has shaped and influenced numerous engineering students and leaders.

After graduating from college and while pursuing her PhD in cultural anthropology, she worked in the field of international human rights in areas like Bosnia and Denver. But her life and career took a different turn when she received a call from an old classmate from CU, and her journey to teaching engineering students began.

Thieman Dino found a home within engineering and connection to engineering students that she never expected. It has allowed her to guide students in understanding not only the larger context of engineering within communities and culture, but also what engineering can mean on a personal level.

Through her courses, she encourages students to liberate themselves and develop “a kind of original thinking that is actually quite rare, even in college,” she said. “You aren’t just mastering something that somebody else already discovered, but you are truly discovering an insight for yourself.”

Thieman Dino provides the opportunity for her students to overcome the obstacles that are created by self-imposed limitations and recognize that a commonly walked, well-articulated path, might not be the most rewarding. Her vision for the future of the Engineering Leadership Program is that it will become a home for its students and provide a caring community “where we do find the courage and the challenge to imagine and pursue what otherwise we may not.”

About the Author

My name is Sasha Hall, and I am a senior studying computer science with minors in business, computer engineering, and leadership studies and a certificate in engineering leadership. When I first took a class with Thieman Dino, I didn’t realize how important the lessons she taught would be throughout my college career and my life. She inspires people to believe in themselves, pursue their passions and dreams, and connect with those around them in a way that has had such a profoundly positive impact on my life. I couldn’t imagine that I would be the engineer, leader or person that I am today without having learned so much from Thieman Dino, and I am so thankful to call her my teacher, my mentor and a role model.

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Choose to Challenge: Stephanie Bryant

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Choose to Challenge: Stephanie Bryant Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 03/07/2021 - 17:00

Sarah Kim

Stephanie Bryant is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and has been a part of this university since 2005. She currently serves as the associate director of the Materials Science and Engineering Program and has recently been elected to be the director starting in July.

Her research explores biomaterials for functional regeneration, specifically in designing hydrogel-based materials for musculoskeletal applications. Her group also focuses on leveraging material design to guide cell development and creating temporary scaffolds that can dissolve into the body once the cells are grown and effective.

Stephanie Bryant takes a photo with her mom.

Highlights

Inspired by family connections to pursue a STEM career
Earned degrees from University of Texas at Austin and ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ
Research explores biomaterials for regeneration
Hopes to see greater diversity within the university in the future

Coming from an academic family with backgrounds in biology and math, Bryant has always enjoyed math and science, particularly chemistry. A conversation with a relative who was an electrical engineer at NASA became the catalyst for Bryant to study chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. After completing her undergraduate studies, she continued into graduate school at the University of Colorado Boulder and even completed a postdoc at the University of Washington before returning to ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ as a professor.

Bryant said she has always been thankful for her support system throughout her career, especially her mother, who helped instill many important values. Her mother was an engineer herself and was even the first female manager at the telephone company she worked for. However, she experienced struggles including not being listened to by her male colleagues and not being taken as seriously as her other colleagues. Because of these experiences, her mother was steadfast in supporting Bryant and encouraged the mindset of being able to accomplish anything she felt strongly about.

Because of her determination and perseverance through difficult situations, Bryant never thought about the disadvantages when she was going through them. She explained that it was not until reflecting on those times years later that she realized there were some situations that may have been more difficult and saw those situations in a different light.

In the future, Bryant said she hopes to see a lot more diversity in the department and the university as a whole. She explained that the university should be more representative of the broad community in Colorado and emphasized the importance of having different perspectives, especially in engineering where problem-solving is the focus. She hopes that CU will continue the mentality of wanting to help others and succeed together as a community.

About the Author

My name is Sarah Kim, and I am currently a senior studying chemical and biological engineering and minoring in biomedical engineering. I chose to interview Stephanie Bryant because she was such an accomplished professor in my department, and I wanted to learn more about her journey in biomaterials and tissue engineering.

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Choose to Challenge: Malinda Zarske

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Choose to Challenge: Malinda Zarske Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 03/07/2021 - 17:00

Erika Antunez

I was able to speak with our very own Malinda Zarske with the Engineering Plus Program. In the classroom, she is the type of professor that does more than teaching you what the book states. She is a professor that loves to get to know her students. Yet the path for Zarske did not always lead to engineering.

While in undergrad, she was still a part of STEM; her focus was on the environment. Zarske had exposure to STEM fields through her family, yet there was a desire for more interaction with others. She was able to find that here in Colorado, where she found interest in environmental engineering. It was not until after undergrad that the pieces of what she really wanted to do began to come together, through a great opportunity of earning her master’s while being able to teach the youth of Boulder hands-on engineering. This led to a revelation that engineering was more than what is usually presented, she said. This made Zarske determined to help students understand how engineering is a helping profession and how it can be used for the good of the community.

Highlights

Chose academic work based on her appreciation for teaching and working with others
Earned a PhD in environmental engineering from ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ
Currently an associate director and senior instructor in Engineering Plus
Encourages students to fight “imposter syndrome”

For Zarske, engineering was not a straight shot. Rather, there were a lot of variables that really made it the profession for her. She liked working with other people and liked teaching, which led her to work as a professor.

When questioned about what she would tell her younger self, Zarske said: “It’s OK to be me. Sometimes we might walk into a space and feel like an ‘imposter,’ and we don't recognize we are all on the same boat. Own it.”

That advice is something we as engineering students should be telling ourselves now! There is no reason to feel like an “imposter” since we all have strong and weak suits, and it is great to “own it.”

Zarske expressed that there is so much you can do with an engineering degree. That is what she likes about Engineering Plus, she said: there is no reason to restrict oneself to just one field. E+ allows for the expression of oneself.

Being a woman in STEM can come with its own hurdles. Zarske was not immune to this herself, from doubting faculty in her undergrad, to a professional setting in which she was one of few women around, there was a need to make her credentials known. Yet these hurdles did not stop Zarske from pursuing what she loves now, which is having the ability to teach and communicate with those with similar interests and building a positive, helping community.

When asked what she thought the future of engineering looked like, Zarske said she is proud of the humanity of the students she has at CU.

“The fact that our students at the College of Engineering want to go out and make the world a better place,” she said. “The students I work with aren't going out there just to develop the next cool new product. I am seeing students who are going to go out and do amazing things and save our communities. You all want to help people.”

Zarske herself is a great advocate for what the E+ program is all about. Not only does she have an interest in engineering, but there is more to what she likes to give, and that is teaching. Zarske is a personal professor who looks out for the good of her students, a great advocate to never restrict oneself, and a great example that no hurdle can stop you from your destination.

About the Author

I am Erika Antunez, a second-year E+ electrical engineering student at the University of Colorado Boulder. In celebration of women in the month of March, I decided to interview a woman of STEM, our very own Malinda Zarske, associate director and senior instructor with the Engineering Plus program.

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Choose to Challenge: Julie Steinbrenner

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Choose to Challenge: Julie Steinbrenner Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 03/07/2021 - 17:00

Mia Miller

As a sophomore in high school, Julie Steinbrenner really had never heard of engineering before.

She knew she enjoyed math and science but hadn’t been exposed to the concept of engineering. She moved from Illinois to Colorado between her sophomore and junior year and was exposed to the idea of prepping for college and taking more challenging courses.

During this time, she was invited to a Women in Engineering day hosted at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ. She was able to attend the event (located in the Discovery Learning Center) with her teacher and a few other students from her high school classes. The volunteers at this event shared what it was like every day to do engineering, and Steinbrenner loved everything she heard. She was drawn to the idea of getting to solve puzzles all day and making an impact with her career.

Highlights

Earned degrees in mechanical engineering, humanities with a French minor
Conducted research in Switzerland
Worked in research and testing for Parc, a branch of Xerox
Encourages students to take the atypical path
Foresees engineering becoming more interdisciplinary in future

Soon after, she attended Valparaiso University, where she graduated with a mechanical engineering degree, a French minor, and an associate’s degree in humanities. She was really passionate about engineering but also enjoyed her other passions and wanted to remain well-rounded.

She was incredibly inspired by her thermodynamics professor and worked with him in Switzerland doing research. This is when she started thinking more about graduate school and eventually a PhD.

When she graduated from Stanford with her PhD, she originally worked in industry doing research and testing for Parc, a research branch of Xerox. She enjoyed her time at Parc but was offered a position at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ when her fiance (now husband) applied to NIST and a CU faculty position. She quickly accepted and looked forward to continuing to work with students through teaching and being a key contributor to mechanical engineering’s senior design program.

Steinbrenner previously had experience teaching students from under-resourced high schools in a college preparatory program and said she really missed the connections with students.

Students who get the chance to take a course with Steinbrenner see how passionate she is about being a professor every day she is in the classroom. While some people have questioned why she would take the route of teaching with her background, she said she doesn’t regret a bit of it and knows she is doing what she loves.

Steinbrenner said she believes there’s “nothing more fulfilling than empowering other people, and that’s the amazing thing about being a professor.”

If she were giving advice to her younger self, Steinbrenner said she would encourage herself to take the atypical path. There were a few times that she took the typical path and didn’t get the unique exposure that would’ve come from expanding her horizons, she said.

“Do the things you think are important for yourself and watch how it shapes your career,” she said.

In the future, Steinbrenner said she hopes to see engineering continue to be more interdisciplinary. As the world is changing and the way we look at technology is changing, conversations about ethics, big-picture ideas and thoughtfulness will be heavily integrated into the design and work of engineers.

About the Author

I'm currently a senior studying mechanical engineering with a business minor. I am the president of CU's Society of Women Engineers chapter as well as a student apprentice for MCEN 2000. I'm currently interning for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and look forward to continuing to work in the energy sector after graduating with my master's degree in May 2022. I chose to interview Julie Steinbrenner because she has been such an impactful person in my life. I've worked closely with her through MCEN 2000 as well as senior design, and her dedication to her students is inspiring. She is always willing to meet with students and help provide them advice on all sorts of topics. I was honored to have the opportunity to interview her and share her story.

As a sophomore in high school, Julie Steinbrenner really had never heard of engineering before.

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Choose to Challenge: Angela Bielefeldt

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Choose to Challenge: Angela Bielefeldt Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 03/07/2021 - 17:00

Yamelit Medina-Lopez

Q: Can you tell me about your journey as an engineer, and people who have been mentors?

A: I was around engineering things as a child, but I didn't label it as engineering. I love math and science, but I also loved everything else—poetry, reading. The turning point was I always knew I wanted to go to college, but I also knew that I had to pay for college. So when it came to applying for a job, I applied for an engineering fellowship, and you just had to write an essay.

There was a STEM program for women, so they brought in a bunch of us after our junior year of high school to do research, and I matched with Audrey Levine. The moment I got into her lab, I felt like I belonged. I worked closely with Anne, one of the graduate students in the lab. She was my mentor. She showed me how to do everything in the lab. I wanted to be a graduate student, and hearing her stories made me excited. The people I met there were my contacts. She helped me get my first internship in Virginia.

Highlights

Research experiences motivated her to become an engineer
Worked in private industry and consulting before graduate school
Fought isolation and snide comments as a woman in STEM
Focuses on engineering education research
Believes engineering will be more people-focused in the future

After getting into Iowa State, I was thinking about mechanical and aerospace engineering, but after learning more and working in the lab, nothing sounded better than civil and environmental engineering.

I had to think about what I wanted to do after college. I loved working in a private agency and consulting, but all my role models went to grad school, and it seemed easy to keep going and get scholarships, so that is what I ended up doing in Seattle.

I finished my master’s, and I was about to take a job in Salt Lake City, but then my faculty member for my PhD was very persuasive and showed me a three-page-long list he made for reasons I should stay. The fact that he invested so much time thinking about it and saw something in me that I would make a good faculty member, even if I didn't see it in myself, made me want to give it a try.

At a dinner party, I met Marc Edwards, who was working at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ, and suggested I should come out here for a job. When this position opened up, he emailed me and said “You should apply,” so again it was like a mentor giving me the push to apply, because I don't think I would’ve done it myself. This happened when I had been a PhD student for five months, so I took this application as a practice since I was nowhere close to being done. But then they offered me the job and said they would wait an extra year. So I had to finish my PhD in two-and-a-half years, which was really stressful. And here I am!

I moved from an environmental engineering laboratory to engineering education research. The first year I taught, it was stressful. I had no teaching experience. I went to a weeklong retreat during the summer during my first year, and they showed us how to teach as much as they could for one week. I didn’t know I would love teaching, but I did. I found engineering education research to balance the different aspects of my job.

Q: What challenges have you overcome as a woman in STEM?

A: Isolation. It was the late 1980s, so the school was very male-dominated; less than 10% of students in STEM were women. I took a class about women engineers, and there were about 60 students in my class, and it was nice to know there were women out there also.

But in my classes, there was one other woman or none. In my dorm, where study groups were formed, there were two other women engineering students. One was my roommate, and she dropped out because of calculus. She left because she got a C and that wasn't good enough for her. The other girl wasn’t there for all the semesters.

It was isolating because people would start partying on Wednesday, and I would be like, no, I have to study, and I didn’t have a study group while the guys’ floor downstairs had a whole bunch of study groups.

Some guys were negative. There was an incident where we had to set up a tripod outside, and they set it to their heights, up tall, and I couldn't reach it. They said, “Well you should’ve worn your high heels today,” or just snarky remarks: “It’s so cool you’re an engineer because when your husband gets home from work you can talk to him.” No, dude, I am going to get a job.

They would just assume you were there to get a husband, so you had to have thick skin. But I think I learned this from my mentors. They were assertive, and my mentor told me a story about there only being one restroom in the whole building for her, and when she brought it up, they just told her to go down from the sixth floor to the second, but she didn’t let down.

Q: What do you anticipate for the future of CU Engineering?

A: I think it's on the new generation that it's getting better, slowly, evening out the work field and industry within specific fields. Engineering will be more about people and less about stuff. Why do we want technology, and thinking about the next step? What can we, engineers, do for society and the environment? Sometimes there is a disconnect between hard work and realizing our limitations. If I look at someone and assume they need X or Y, think about why they would need that. Let's ask them, and listen to them genuinely. Things would work better if we worked with communities and different professions.

About the Author

I am Yamelit Medina-Lopez, and I am a third-year majoring in Engineering Plus with an emphasis in mechanical engineering and a concentration in STEM education. I chose the Engineering Plus program because of the supportive community and all the great professors. When I learned about the opportunity to interview a woman professor in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, I was really excited to be able to talk to Professor Bielefeldt and learn more about her and her story.

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