NewsNotes
22 and a half minutes with Julia Woertink (Salas) ’99
Associate Research Scientist Manager, Dow Chemical Company
Q&A What’s big in the small world of electronics innards? There are two themes: sustainability and size. We’re always trying to pack more components into the same or a smaller space. These components—miniaturized circuit boards, for example, and flash drives—need to work and communicate with each other. At the same time, they give off heat, which needs to dissipate. So we’re putting them in smaller spaces but we still need to work within their constraints. It’s a dynamic, interesting area.
40
Chances are you’ve got a Webb connection in your coat pocket. Or by your TV. Or on the seat next to you. The connection is Julia Woertink ’99. A chemist with the Dow Chemical Company, Woertink manages a group of scientists and technicians working on new materials for small electronics—everything from cell phones and digital music players to remote controls. While her group is based in Marlborough, Mass., Woertink also works closely with Dow researchers and Dow’s clients in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and Midland, Mich. (home to Dow corporate headquarters, in case you’re wondering). It’s R&D in the global age, for devices that have become ubiquitous.
Webb Magazine • Winter 2013
We also look at the entire lifecycle of a product, from manufacturing to recycling, to see how we can make products that are more sustainable. As one example, we can replace the lead in alloys used to solder components together—tin-silver alloys can be used instead of tin-lead alloys. The amount of lead used in a cell phone is small, but you’ve got to produce a lot of lead to manufacture thousands of cell phones. What’s it like to work with researchers across cultures? Every level of science is about communicating, so we have lots of teleconferences and travel. The need for face-to-face meetings is still huge. Communicating across disciplines can be as challenging as communicating across cultures. Chemists, metallurgists, engineers, and technicians each have their own language. They use different instruments in the lab, and they have their own standards for communicating data. In crosscultural and cross-discipline communication, I often repeat things back to the speaker to make sure we’re understanding each other. What’s been your experience as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field? In college and the workplace, I’ve noticed the underrepresentation of women in research roles. In graduate school at Stanford I led a group dedicated to supporting women chemists—organizing seminars, training sessions and networking opportunities with other women in the field. At Dow, I’m on the leadership team for a similar group.
Council Corner Although my field is heavily male-dominated, I do think this is changing and more women are joining this area. It is a truly global industry, reaching across countries, languages and scientific disciplines. I have not felt that there are significant barriers put in front of me because I am a woman. In my experience, people respond first to the quality of my work and the effectiveness of my team. What was your Webb experience like? I was a day student at Webb for the first year, and I wasn’t really interested in being a boarding student. Then my family moved to Santa Monica and I thought, well, maybe boarding school would be all right. Now, my best friends still are friends I made at Webb. Being a boarding student made the transition to college easier, too. Webb teaches students how to balance student work with extracurriculars. And for you, that was basketball, both at Webb and at Caltech, right? Right. I came to Webb very tall, very awkward and not into sports. Coach Dan Pride kind of scouted me out and told me I could be a great basketball player. He taught me basketball. I hadn’t really thought about teamwork before, but it’s so useful everywhere, not just sports. You put a lot into your academic work at Webb, too. After all, you won the first Unbounded Creativity in Science Award, endowed by Robert Hefner ’53 – and you were the class valedictorian. I had great experiences at Webb in the sciences. I had inspiring teachers who gave me the freedom to discover things. When I went to Caltech, I felt like I’d already done some really interesting research at Webb. The classes at Webb are run much like college courses and emphasize critical thinking. I received the Unbounded Creativity in Science Award for an independent project I completed; I did several of these my senior year. Physics teacher John Ball supported me through these projects and nominated me for the award. He taught me what it meant to be a scientist and inspired me to think creatively and push the boundaries of knowledge through my research. This is something I still do today in my current role, applying my research to enable new technologies in electronics.
he Alumni Council has been hard at work collaborating with members of the larger alumni community, as well as the leadership team at Webb. One of our highest priorities has been Webb’s strategic planning process. At our annual Council retreat (held this year at the new Claremont University Consortium Center), we met with Taylor Stockdale to discuss the school’s updated mission statement. We also shared with him what we, as alumni, believe makes the Webb experience so exceptional. The Council has grown stronger in our resolve to support the school’s goal of graduating men and women of distinction and character. The Alumni Council spearheaded two new initiatives this year, aimed at bringing together alumni with shared interests. The Women of Webb affinity group was launched this summer to bring together Vivian Webb alumnae. The Webb 15 affinity group also launched in August, with a goal of bringing together classes of the last 15 years. These groups have been received with great acclaim, and we continue plans to further strengthen our diverse alumni community. The Alumni Council now has regional representation in most corners of the United States, as well as in Asia. In 2012 alone, regional alumni events took place in New York, Hong Kong, New Orleans, DC, Boston, Portland, and Silicon Valley. Webb will continue its regional outreach in 2013.
L-R: Lee Lee Choi ’90, Bill Halstead ’67, Jose Govea ’74, Chip Greening ’62, Coleen Martinez ’86, Preston Clarke ’98, Janel Henriksen Hastings ’87, Taylor Stockdale, Doug Gregg ’66, Laura Wensley, Ken Colborn ’47, Laurie Lundin ’90, Lisa Miller ’89, Sandra Lee Rebish ’88, Danielle Gordon, Rahmi Mowjood ’90, and Renee Polanco ’94.
As my tenure as President of the Alumni Association comes to a close on June 30, I remain grateful for the privilege of working with an amazing team of women and men who share my love of and respect for Webb. Thank you for the opportunity to represent you. With a grateful heart, Janel Henriksen Hastings ’87, President janelhastings@gmail.com
Julia is married to Jason Woertink ’97. They live in Massachusetts with their twin daughters.
The Webb Schools • WEbb.oRG
41