Design World Engineering Diversity + Inclusion October 2023

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WOMEN IN MEDTECH | ENGINEERING DIVERSITY + INCLUSION | CONTENTS

Medical Design & OUTSOURCING HERE’S WHAT WE SEE: ......................................12

INSIGHTS: ...........................................................86

208 women in executive roles at the top medical device companies in the world .........15

Designing the Future of DEI in Engineering ........88

Empowering medtech innovation through diverse leadership

How Ambu seeks to hold its top spot in single-use scopes .......... 16 The secret behind Intuitive’s surgical robotics success .................. 26 Patient-centered VR design fuels Penumbra's Immersive Healthcare future .............................. 36

10 emerging medtech leaders ............................42 Ananya Health wants to bring battery-powered cryoablation to the global fight against cancer ..................... 42 Medasense’s finger probe makes pain management easier for anesthesiologists.............................. 46

Four steps medtech startups can’t put off .........50

Making the Case for DEI in Engineering .............94 Changes in Engineering Demographics .............100 Problem solving in space and life ......................104 Eileen Collins Telecom’s fighting spirit ....................................110 Eugina Jordan From high school interest to test engineer .......114 Kathryn Baisley

Medical device litigator and consultant Ginger Pigott highlights early decisions for startups that could have major ramifications down the road.

Strong engineers aren’t afraid to ask for help .....118 Laine Chan

Medtech founder Jennifer Fried is back with a new startup.............................52

An engineer since childhood .............................122 Nortbera Lu

Explorer Surgical’s former CEO now has her sights set on treating pulmonary embolism with a new catheter system.

Diversity in medtech: Women hold less than a quarter of executive roles ...........57 An analysis of the largest medical device companies shows little progress, with some companies still reporting no women in top leadership positions.

Biosense Webster aims to expand access to AFib care ...........................67 Electrophysiology is "an incredibly vibrant space," said Nikki Sidi, but access remains a challenge.

Accumold - Kayla Whitesel ..................................... 70 Carl Stahl Sava Industries - Chaitali Pawar ............. 71 Confluent Medical Technologies - Jill Ellison ......... 72 Cretex Medical - Lauren Roy .................................. 73 Donatelle Plastics Inc. - Treasa Springett ............... 74 Eurofins Medical Device Testing - Liz Sydnor ........ 75 Flexan - Dani Rojas ................................................ 76 Infus Medical Co., Ltd. - Prim Chanarat ................. 77 Instron - Dania Neiroukh ........................................ 78 Integer - Carol Russell ............................................ 79 Intricon - Sofía Vargas ............................................ 80 LEMO USA, Inc. - Doty Lazareto ............................ 81 Medbio LLC - Monica Restorff ................................ 82 Phillips-Medisize - Bailey Harder ............................ 83 Resonetics - Audrey Bell ........................................ 84

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Let’s address the culture-war issue

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10 • 2023

Allegro MicroSystems - Casey Alvarado .............. 124 B&R Industrial Automation - Kristen Gallett ........ 125 B&R Industrial Automation - Rachel Luczak ......... 126 Beckhoff Automation - Ronda Devereaux ............ 127 Bishop-Wisecarver - Alina Kim ............................. 128 Cinch Connectivity Solutions Inc. Rachael Eustice .................................................... 129 DigiKey NW NM Chapter of Women in Electronics............. 130 LEMO USA, Inc. - Courtney Francis ...................... 131 Mitsubishi - Roberta Talarico Galeno Cavalcanti ..... 132 Rockwell Automation - Linda A. Freeman ............ 133 WAGO Corporation - Alexandra Olson ................ 134 Ad Index ............................................................. 136

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insights

Let’s address the

culture-war issue

W

elcome to Design World’s Engineering Diversity and Inclusion issue, a staff-driven evolution of our popular Women in Engineering issues started in 2018. The editors of Design World are honored to bring you statistics and distilled information on this topic as well as inspiring stories about engineers of various ages, orientations, races and ethnicities, neurodivergencies and abilities, and religions.

Let me be open and honest: Earlier this year, some Design World readers indicated via email-survey responses that they recoil at the idea of an issue about diversity in our industry.

Others more mildly asserted that this publication is unnecessary. So, while we remain steadfast in our conviction that heterogeneous engineering teams are strongest and most just, we recognize that viewpoints and engagement levels greatly vary. We look with this installment of Design World to have a conversation with all our readers about representation and inclusion in manufacturing and automation.

Unfortunately, most politicians have only served to poison conversations about managing societal change to maximize fairness — missing the mark on realworld concerns and solutions or (most heinous) engaging in the common tactic of fearmongering used throughout the years to manipulate those who associate their status and power in society with their demographic origins.

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We believe the hard work and unique talents of individuals, including white heterosexual men, matter far more than demographic origins. This issue, looking at stories of engineers from historically marginalized communities, should be considered as an addition, not a replacement, to the stories of engineers we’ve heard over the previous decades.

We also scoff at strawman arguments from those who oppose inclusion initiatives — arguments that falsely assert manufacturers are somehow being forced to hire anyone other than those maximally qualified and educated to function as good engineers.

The bottom line is that diverse teams make for better engineering design. I invite you to read Caroline Criado Perez’s excellent book, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men for more on this topic. Perez gives numerous real-world examples of how input from female designers yields better end results.

Similarly, our sister publication R&D World has consistently heard from its readers that various types of team diversity are essential to the success of research groups.

Now, if you’re of the mindset that the world has already evolved and this issue is beating a dead horse, I beg to differ.

In an editorial on EVs a few months ago, I mentioned in passing that my husband still drives a gasoline-powered car. That small detail prompted an offensive letter from a reader canceling his subscription because I was a “fagot” [incorrectly

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spelled] and asserting I was going to hell — and that I should keep basic details about myself private, like in the old days.

As someone who can pass for straight and doesn’t have a tattoo that says GAY on his forehead, over the years I’ve heard unaware coworkers, advertisers, readers, and industry contacts say awful things about gay people. So at least for my community, I can say with certainty that there’s much work yet to be done to educate people on others who aren’t exactly like them.

Run through an old exercise with me and picture a doctor and a scientist in your head. How would you describe these professionals? The vast majority of people, even those in minority communities, tend to report they imagine gray-haired white men in lab coats. Did you? Much of what we conjure reflects what we see in life and what we’re shown over and over in the media. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if a young Black girl’s first thought was of an older woman who looked like her in that lab coat? It will take way more than one issue of one magazine, but I hope this is a help — one that inspires and one you will consider with heart and mind that are open and curious. DW

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designing the future of

dei in engineering PAUL J. HENEY • VP, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

E

arlier this year, our parent company, WTWH Media, sent a comprehensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion survey to readers of its engineering publications to get a pulse on where the design engineering industry is. An encouraging statistic from the survey was that many respondents (70%) felt comfortable speaking up about DEI issues at work. This indicates that many engineering professionals feel they can address these concerns openly.

However, things aren’t always smooth.

More than half of the respondents (55%) admitted to witnessing or experiencing discrimination or bias — a grim reminder that, despite progress, issues of prejudice do persist. What’s more, there was a minor, but vocal undercurrent of comments on the survey that were outwardly hostile, conflating DEI initiatives with racism and the hiring of inexperienced people.

“I understand that change, in general, can be challenging or uncomfortable,” said Dr. Cheyenne Ray, PhD, SHRM-SCP, Manager, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Fortune Brands Home and Security. “I think the pushback we hear in the news or see on social media is a loud minority. However, I would challenge people who do not yet see the value in DEI to really understand what DEI work is about. The purpose of DEI work is to create an environment where everyone feels they belong and can do their best work. There are companies out

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there, including ours, that are thriving in that their companies had DEI initiatives in this space.” place, but the fact that 20% were unaware Ray also said that his company has of their company’s stance on the matter been very intent on inviting and listening does underscore a communication gap. to feedback to make sure everyone feels The effectiveness of these DEI initiatives heard. was rated positively, with an average “We conduct a global pulse survey rating of 7 out of 10. Similarly, 78% felt their twice a year, and we use those to help us companies provided ample resources and assess ‘belonging’ for all our associates. support for underrepresented groups.

As a manufacturer, a large proportion of According to Philip Anderson, Argonne our associates are not working at desks, National Laboratory’s Chief Diversity so it takes a lot of effort to reach out Officer/Director and Director of Argonne’s to everyone, but we do it because it’s Leadership Institute, engineering design important to hear from all our associates,” often requires creativity and problemhe said. solving.

Even from a hiring perspective, don’t “Diverse engineering teams bring a be afraid to ask questions. variety of skills and experiences together “I think that a lot of times when we’re that fosters innovation,” said Anderson. trying to strategize on obtaining diverse “It allows the entire team to draw on the candidate pools, we typically have the different experiences of each member. same people sitting at the table, wracking It gives them the power to expand their our brains trying to figure it out,” said thinking beyond just one perspective ...

Robin Cooper-Carter, global director of diverse members give teams access to diversity, equity, inclusion and talent, the next level of thinking that helps solve Danfoss Power Solutions at a recent complex problems.

National Fluid Power Association panel Anderson also thinks that diversity discussion. “When you know that you is important not only for manufacturers, have a gap in your talent, go seek out that but any business that relies on people to talent, that community, and ask them. I mean, I think How eff ective do you believe your company’s DEI that it sounds so simple, initiatives are in promoting a diverse and inclusive but it’s such a missing step. workplace (from 1-10, 10 being highest)?

It’s engaging the voices 1 that you want in your 2 organization, ‘Why are you not here? What can we do 3 to get you? What are we 4 missing?’”

Growing representation The representation of minority groups within the respondents stood at 28%.

While not overwhelming, this number does speak to a growing inclusivity in the field, especially when compared to historical data. Roughly 53% of respondents confirmed DESIGN WORLD

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manufacture, sell, or buy their products or services. Plus, there’s an argument to be made for keeping top talent.

“People are motivated by a sense of belonging, by a sense that what they do has value,” he said. “The adage that people don’t leave companies — they leave managers — is true. If any company wants to attract and keep the best and brightest, they must ensure a safe, equitable, and inclusive work environment.

The concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion apply to all employees, not just those in the minority. Additionally, if they want to sell their products or services, they must understand the people who buy them — and those people are becoming more diverse. Diverse practices help companies gain insight into what is important to a diverse population by tapping into what motivates them.”

When readers were asked about the perceived diversity in their workplaces, they rated their companies at a 7 out of 10. Furthermore, 73% felt their companies genuinely valued and prioritized diversity.

This sentiment resonates with the earlier data, indicating companies’ efforts in cultivating inclusive environments.

From a training perspective, 60% of readers confirmed having received some form of DEI training.

Of those who received training, 70% felt it was effective. And while it was heartening to see that 61% believe that their company’s hiring and promotion practices were unbiased, the 24% who disagreed should serve as an impetus for introspection and review.

One striking statistic that stood out was the 7 out of 10 rating on the importance of engineers having diverse perspectives to innovate 25 and solve problems. This October 2023

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How comfortable do you feel speaking up about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues in your workplace (from 1-10, 10 being highest)?

acknowledgment of the significance of DEI in innovation is a testament to the changing paradigms.

Yet, when it came to whether respondents felt that the lack of diversity in the engineering field was problematic, opinions were divided. Some 42% believed that it was, hinting at a need for awareness campaigns to underline the benefits of a diverse workforce.

“Nothing surprised me [in the survey results], but I was happy to see most of the answers in the 70% range,” said Ray. “From the survey, it sounds like there needs to be more intentionality around administering DEI trainings or creating education and awareness opportunities.”

Ray also said there was an important aspect to positivity that leaders should keep in mind with DEI initiatives.

“A good general rule of thumb would be to start calling people in and not out.

Calling someone in lowers people’s defenses. It shows the person that you are willing to have the conversation in good faith and are seeking to understand while simultaneously putting them in your shoes so that they can then understand. It sets the stage for good, fruitful conversations where no one feels attacked or invalidated,” Ray explained.

Three points of focus True engineering innovation thrives on diverse thought processes, experiences, and backgrounds. From the survey, almost half (42%) of readers believe there’s a concerning lack of diversity within the industry. We dived into the survey’s open responses for clues as to how they thought things could be turned around. Here are three topic areas that were addressed over and over.

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1. The power of education. A prominent theme was ramping up our educational efforts.

• The early bird gets the worm: Introducing kids to the fascinating world of engineering early on can spark curiosity and passion. As one reader pointed out, making engineering “exciting, attainable, and relatable” can be transformative.

• Scholarships and support: More scholarships for STEM fields can bridge the financial gap, especially for underrepresented groups.

• Holistic education: While technical skills are paramount, there’s also a call to introduce engineers to fields outside their domain, like communications and law, to equip them with comprehensive life skills.

2. Broadening the recruitment horizon.

Readers largely echoed that a diverse team starts with inclusive recruitment.

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Diverse pools: Reaching out to non-traditional sources, like the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), can usher in fresh perspectives.

Qualifications over quotas: While DEI is essential, it should not overshadow qualifications. Many stressed that hiring should focus on skills and aptitude at the same time.

3. Making workplaces genuinely inclusive. The workplace itself can be a hotbed for promoting DEI. • Promote from within: Diverse leadership often drives diverse teams. By promoting diverse leaders, the industry can organically drive change.

• Mentorship programs: Programs, especially for minority interns, can provide an invaluable framework for young engineers entering the field.

• Amplifying silent voices: Every team member, regardless of background, brings unique insights. Ensuring that quieter voices are heard can be revolutionary.

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Does your company have any DEI initiatives?

•

Do you feel that your company provides sufficient resources and support for employees from underrepresented groups?

Do you believe that your company’s hiring and promotion practices are fair and unbiased, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or any other personal characteristic?

Inclusivity in dialogues: Including minority groups in discussions, panels, and seminars — this can offer fresh and needed viewpoints.

The future of DEI For smaller manufacturers looking to implement a DEI program, Anderson suggests that leaders listen first.

“Don’t follow the latest trend or article that you may have read online. Plan a program that is unique to your business.

Ask employees how DEI practices can improve the work environment, create better products, or attract more customers. Employees know and are more than likely waiting for you to ask them,” he said.

Ray said that a company new to DEI should start with an Executive DEI council.

“They helped to design our first threeyear road map, which set us on our DEI journey and accelerated our progress,” Ray said. “Additionally, you need their buy-in to drive the function forward. Then there are five things I suggest doing: 1.

2.

Be intentional in your actions.

Use data to drive your decisionmaking.

Avoid performative gestures and do actual work.

Establish relationships with community partners.

Listen to your employees and involve them in the work.”

3.

4.

5.

Ray also feels that aside from the business case, DEI programs are simply the right thing to do.

“Businesses should be paying attention to their policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that they are equitable across the organization.

Businesses thrive when their employees feel valued, feel that they have a voice, can bring their authentic selves to work, and most importantly, feel that they belong where they are,” he said.

And Anderson explained that employee surveys, focus groups, interviews, or listening sessions can help you understand what your current DEI gaps are.

“Then find experts with organizational change experience to help you develop targeted solutions based on the data you collected,” he said. “Along the way, ensure what you put in place is working by communicating as often as possible.

Then, finally, go back and evaluate whether those solutions worked. If you find they didn’t, don’t give up. Just take further action until they do. Once you start, you’re in it for the long haul. DEI is a journey, not a destination.” DW

Have you ever witnessed or experienced discrimination or bias in the workplace based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or any other personal characteristic?

PHILLIP ANDERSON

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CHEYENNE RAY

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DEI in engineering making the case for

MILES BUDIMIR • SENIOR EDITOR

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Despite recent skepticism over DEI initiatives in industry, there are solid reasons for its continuation and expansion on the straightforward basis of simple justice.

T

here has been a lot of buzz surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the United States recently, with most of it coming in the form of a critique of DEI initiatives themselves. Just this year, several states in the U.S. have sought to push through laws banning DEI initiatives or at least severely curtailing their reach.

Most of these anti-DEI measures are aimed at educational institutions, from primary schooling up through colleges and universities. But what about businesses in general — and more specifically the engineering, manufacturing, and tech sectors?

DEI basics First, what exactly is DEI? At its foundation, it is a framework that aims at promoting the fair treatment and full participation of all people, but especially groups who have been historically underrepresented or discriminated against based on any number of factors including their ethnic identity, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

The way most people understand such DEI initiatives is via diversity training programs that companies have implemented over the past few decades. And while there may be some debate about the overall effectiveness of such programs over time, it seems clear enough that the main goal of such programs, being open to and inclusive of people, is praiseworthy and a goal worth striving for.

Particularly in regards to racial discrimination, a recent piece in the Harvard Business Review puts it this way: “Most effective DEI programs use racial data to identify discriminatory barriers that are compromising fairness and meritocracy in the workplace, and to develop initiatives that remove those barriers for everyone.” In this context, it highlights the benefits to companies of such policies for what it says are, at bottom, legal reasons; that is, reducing risk to companies of discrimination suits and claims of a hostile work environment.

Barring justifications that have solely legal benefits, do DEI initiatives produce the benefits espoused? Research from McKinsey & Co. over the past decade has shown that DEI programs do in fact produce positive outcomes. In fact, McKinsey’s research has been based on a wide net of data beyond the U.S., encompassing 15 countries and more than 1,000 large companies. The results show a connection between business performance and diversity. All of which makes the business case for diversity quite robust, with results being replicated in other parts of the world including Latin America and Central Europe.

DEI and engineering So how does DEI look within the engineering world? Long known as a field that skews heavily male and white, there has been some progress in the field becoming more diverse, both in terms

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of racial and gender diversity, although the numbers are still not representative of U.S. population as a whole.

One measure of diversity in engineering is the number of women and minorities in the field. The truth is that due to structural societal reasons, for much of the past century and earlier, women and minorities did not have access to the same educational opportunities that white males enjoyed.

To take the example of women, according to figures available for 2020 presented by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), women number 51% of the total U.S. population, with men at 49%. With regards to the STEM workforce, men accounted for 65% of the workforce, while women represented 35% of the workforce in STEM careers.

When it comes to science and engineering (S&E) degrees, for the year 2020, in the U.S. the number of S&E bachelors level degrees earned by men and woman was a 50/50 split, with the numbers falling off about 5% for women earning masters degrees and PhDs. When race is factored in, again for the year 2020, whites earned 58% of all S&E bachelors degrees with AfricanAmericans earning 9% of S&E bachelors degrees, and Hispanic or Latino making up 17%.

The major engineering organizations in the U.S. have recognized the importance of DEI initiatives and have made an effort to promote diversity within the engineering profession. For instance, the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) defining statement on DEI reads: “The National Academy of Engineering, in unison with the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, embraces the core principles of DEI and celebrates the very differences that make us stronger, smarter, and more effective as individuals, professionals and members of society.”

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That broad understanding of how DEI principles apply not only to our lives as members of society but also in our professional lives is echoed by the National Society of Professional Engineers’ (NSPE) outlook as well. It acknowledges that for a long while the engineering profession has addressed the core issues of DEI via conferences, webinars, and special reports, while understanding that these challenges exist within the larger context of systemic racism in the U.S. The NSPE has asked their members to consider the question that often is raised around these topics; why should I care about diversity in engineering? A large part of the answer involves the value of ensuring that the engineering profession itself is an accurate reflection of society, and that diversity and inclusion are a key aspect of bringing that about.

Ethics and DEI The NSPE goes on to suggest that professional engineers certainly can, and should, contribute to solutions to the problems that DEI issues raise, noting that “The best engineers, after all, are team players, adaptable, tenacious when faced with the most difficult challenges, and dedicated to an ethical obligation that puts the public first.”

The idea of an ethical obligation of putting the public first is in line with the NSPE’s own code of ethics as well as the ethical codes of other engineering

organizations including the IEEE, the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), and ASCE (American Society Civil Engineers), as well as the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) and others. Specifically, each of these organization’s code of ethics places a moral obligation to the public as its highest moral principle. Or in the words of the NSPE’s first fundamental canon of its code of ethics, that engineers should “…hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.”

So one important connection that DEI initiatives have with ethics is recognizing that one of the best ways to achieve DEI goals within engineering disciplines is to have engineers who accurately represent the public; or in other words, that look like that public. And as America gets more diverse, this should make perfect sense as a natural evolution of society.

This issue of representation reflects one of the most basic moral principles, that of justice or fairness. DEI initiatives as a whole are a practical realization of justice, specifically distributive justice.

This sense of justice is concerned with the ways in which a society allocates resources, which includes access to education as well as access to certain jobs including professional careers.

Another relevant moral principle involved is that of care. This principle, broadly speaking, encourages one to consider others. The moral principle of care is expansive and covers not

“Distributive justice is concerned with the ways in which a society allocates resources, which includes access to education as well as access to jobs, including professional careers.” www.designworldonline.com

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only familial relations but extends to friends and acquaintances, colleagues and coworkers, and ideally to humanity more generally; that is, to all human beings one encounters. In the scope of DEI, the principle of care means just that one should consider others (all others), as a standalone moral duty itself, not necessarily tied to any outcomes or benefits.

In other words, the moral principles of justice and care represent two ways that one can show basic respect for another’s dignity as a human being. And in the end, that is really what DEI initiatives are all about; educating us all on how to treat all people fairly so that everyone can freely participate in society to the best of their ability and desire. DW

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sources: Harvard Business Review www.hbr.org/2023/07/how-toeffectively-and-legally-use-racialdata-for-dei

National Academy of Engineering www.nae.edu/271878/The-NAEsCommitment-to-Diversity-Equity-andInclusion

McKinsey www.mckinsey.com/featuredinsights/mckinsey-explainers/whatis-diversity-equity-and-inclusion

NSPE www.nspe.org/resources/pe-magazine/july2020/why-should-i-care-about-diversityengineering

NSF and NCSES www.ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23315/ report/introduction

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Overall, women are paid about $0.80 on the dollar of a man’s wages. That’s according to U.S. Dept. of Labor Women’s Bureau statistics. Female engineers and technical personnel working as engineering managers, mechanical engineers, and electricians enjoyed the narrowest wage disparities.

The most work is needed to address gender-related wage gaps for electrical engineering and production management roles. Image: Dreamstime

changes in

engineering demographics LISA EITEL • EXECUTIVE EDITOR

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www.designworldonline.com

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R

ecent years have seen small increases in STEM-field diversity reflecting slightly more women, minorities, and persons with disabilities than in the past. That’s according to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) of the National Science Foundation.

Nearly a quarter of the U.S. workforce (34.9M people) is now employed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, persons with disabilities, women, and persons from Latino, Black, and American Indian racial and ethnic minority groups remain underrepresented. Increasing the participation of these groups offers three potential advantages: • Larger labor pools benefit employers looking for top talent.

• Diverse workforces leveraging varied backgrounds, experiences, and points of view can spur unique innovations and product solutions.

• STEM work offers high median earnings that can improve the lives of families that would otherwise remain economically disadvantaged.

More specifically, half of the U.S. population ages 18 to 74 years is female but only a third of STEM workers are women. 9% of the population has one or more disabilities — defined as having significant hearing, vision, cognitive, ambulatory, self-care, and independent living difficulties — but are only 3% of those in STEM occupations. (Despite certain perceptions, 18% of STEM workers with disabilities are age 18 to 34; 39% are 35 to 54; and 43% are 55 to 74.)

Underrepresented minorities — Hispanics and Latinos, Blacks, American Indians, and Alaska Natives — are 31% of the total population but only 24% of the STEM workforce.

Most science and engineering (S&E) occupations as defined by the National Science Foundation require a bachelor’s degree — including computer and DESIGN WORLD

Underrepresented minorities account for 37% of the college-age population but only 26% of science and engineering bachelor’s degree recipients.

SOURCE: CENSUS BUREAU 2021 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT OF ITS POPULATION SURVEY

mathematics scientists’ positions; life, physical, and social scientists’ positions; and engineering positions. (Other S&Erelated occupations include technicians, healthcare workers, managers, precollege teachers, and technologists.) Middleskill occupations typically require STEM expertise (as well as licensing, certification, and on-the-job training) but not a bachelor’s degree for entry … most common in the construction trades as well as installation, maintenance, and production roles. One last group of workers is the skilled technical workforce — those in occupations needing advanced technical knowledge but no bachelor’s degree … including computer-support specialists, licensed nurses, industrial engineers, pharmacy technicians, carpenters, and electricians, for example.

Job-function diversity: The skilled technical workforce The skilled technical workforce — those with advanced industry knowledge but no bachelor’s degree — is about half the overall STEM workforce. 57% of male STEM workers are employed here while 65% of women with STEM jobs have a bachelor’s degree or higher education.

Three-quarters of the STEM skilled technical workforce in the U.S. are men.

STEM workers are evenly split between the skilled technical workforce and those with at least a bachelor’s www.designworldonline.com

degree. 72% Hispanic and Latino and 67% American Indian or Alaska Native STEM workers are employed in the skilled workforce. In contrast, just 14% of Asian STEM workers are employed in the skilled workforce. 65% of STEM workers with a disability work in the skilled workforce.

29% of men and 18% of women in the U.S. workforce are employed in STEM occupations.

Over the last decade, the STEM workforce grew from 29.0M to 34.9M so now STEM workers are 24% of the total U.S. workforce. Fewer women than men work in STEM occupations, but their share of the STEM workforce has increased from 9.4M to 12.3M over the last decade.

Men went from 19.7M to 22.6M over the same time.

22.4M White workers are the largest race and ethnic group in the STEM workforce followed by 5.1M Hispanic, 3.6M Asian, 3.0M Black, and 216,000 American Indian or Alaska Native Hispanic workers with Latino STEM workers seeing the highest growth — from 3.1M to 5.1M over the last decade.

39% of Asian workers are employed in STEM in contrast with only 18% of Black workers. 20% to 25% of all other racial and ethnic groups work in STEM. October 2023

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Underrepresented minorities defined above now represent a quarter of the STEM workforce — up from 18% a decade ago. Hispanics are 15% of the STEM workforce but are a quarter of those in lower-paying middle-skill occupations. In contrast, Asian STEM workers are 10% of the STEM workforce but 21% of those in higher-paying S&E occupations.

The bottom line: Earnings in STEM and S&E STEM workers enjoy higher median wage and salary earnings than others — $65,000 versus $48,000 for men and $60,000 versus $36,000 for women.

Asian STEM workers have $92,000 median earnings; White have $66,000; Hispanic and Latino have $45,000; American Indian or Alaska Native workers have $50,000 median earnings in STEM occupations.

STEM workers with a disability have higher median earnings than those in other occupations —$57,000 versus $30,000 — but did not earn as much as counterparts with no disability.

The median earnings for STEM workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher are: • $100,000 for Asian workers; $107,000 in S&E occupations

• • •

$80,000 for White workers; $90,000 in S&E occupations $72,000 for Black workers; $73,000 in S&E occupations $70,000 for Hispanic workers; $75,000 in S&E occupations

The median earnings in the skilled technical workforce are: • $52,000 for White workers • $45,000 for Black workers • $44,000 for Asian workers • $40,000 for Hispanic workers.

STEM workers with disabilities and have median earnings of $89,000 when

Demographic statistics on design engineering and automationrelated functions are part of a larger data set.

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Women are a smaller portion of the science and engineering (S&E) workforce than of the overall collegeeducated workforce.

Image: Dreamstime

employed in S&E occupations; $45,000 in middle-skill occupations; and $53,000 in S&E-related occupations — lower than the earnings of those without a disability only for the latter.

Nuanced field understanding sheds light on disparities STEM occupations include widely disparate jobs in a wide array of fields — including those in the life sciences and social sciences unrelated to the field of design engineering.

Women are 51% of the collegeeducated labor force but only 29% of the college-educated workforce

DESIGN WORLD

in science and engineering occupations.

What’s more, women are: • 61% of behavioral and social scientists • 46% of agricultural, biological, and other life scientists • 33% of physical scientists • 26% of mathematic and computer scientists • 16% of engineers.

18% of social and behavioral scientists are Black, Hispanic, or American Indian or Alaska Native (and Hispanic workers fill 11% of all social and behavioral scientist roles) but only 12% of physical and related scientists and engineers are from underrepresented groups. DW

www.designworldonline.com

Scan the QR code for additional information available at ncses.nsf.gov.com

Scan the QR code for more information on the demographics of part-time STEM work and postsecondary engineering degrees available at designworldonline.com.

October 2023

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solving in space and life RACHAEL PASINI • SENIOR EDITOR

U

nited States Air Force colonel and NASA astronaut Eileen Collins is the first woman to pilot and command a space shuttle mission.

She launched her illustrious career under a glass ceiling, navigating destiny with focus and determination.

“I did not know what an engineer was when I was in high school,” said Collins.

“Back in the 1970s, no one talked about

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engineering careers for women, and I didn’t hear about it for men either. So, I went to college as a math major because I liked problem-solving.”

During undergraduate school, she joined the Air Force to become a pilot around the time when the military started letting women learn how to fly.

“I was in the first class of women to go through pilot training at my base, and www.designworldonline.com

as you can imagine, there were a lot of distractions and side comments,” said Collins. “But I decided I’m just going to focus on being the best pilot I can be and block out distractions that are not contributing to the mission.”

While moving up the ranks, she earned a master’s degree in engineering and studied operations research. She went on to teach mathematics at the Air Force DESIGN WORLD

Academy. Though an arduous journey, her problem-solving skills guided her path.

“Don’t run away from problems.

Don’t fear problems but see them as a challenge,” said Collins. “Identify the problem. If you don’t need to solve it immediately, put it aside, but write it down. Then start attacking that problem because there’s a solution — there’s a solution to everything.”

The Air Force taught Collins how to respond to emergency problems, a tactic she still uses in everyday life.

“People didn’t talk about anxiety while I was in school. Now, they’re willing to talk about what’s making them anxious or uncomfortable. Well, define the problem and then figure out a way to attack it,” said Collins. “I learned this by being an engineer and a pilot. We’re very structured in how we attack emergencies.

The first thing you do is maintain aircraft control. Second, analyze the situation and act. And third, land as soon as conditions permit. I memorized that as a pilot and still use it today because life is constantly throwing things at me.”

Know your systems to be the best Collins was always studious and had a strong desire to master her field. She advises young professionals to follow suit.

“Be the best engineer you can be,” she said. “Know your project, know your system, and study what’s going on in the world that interacts with, affects, or is affected by your system. So, when a problem or an unexpected event happens, you’re the hero who can come in with the answer, suggestion, or solution. That’s the kind of person I try to be.”

Collins felt this way about the space shuttle when she first became an astronaut. She studied constantly, wanting to know everything she possibly could in her head.

“Nowadays, engineers can look just up about anything. But if something breaks DESIGN WORLD

and you’re in mission control or up in the space shuttle, you don’t want everybody pulling out the manual or Googling something. You want to have that information in your head because you, as a human, can apply that information to the problem,” she said.

Collins recalls when she was a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) in mission control, and a shuttle couldn’t close its payload doors to begin its return flight. The flight director kept asking the mechanical, maintenance, arm, and crew systems (MMACS) officer what the problem was and to give him solution options. MMACS kept telling the crew to stand by as he figured out what was happening.

“As a CAPCOM, my job was to talk to the crew. I remember sitting there that day thinking I wish I’d studied more on how the payload

“You can’t put the whole thing into AI and let it run the show. We need to be careful about that.

We always need to have humans at key points coming in with common sense and asking, ‘Is this the direction we really want to go?’

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doors work — everything down to the tiny little micro switches — because I wanted to be the one to come up with the answer.

Well, MMACS finally did. It wasn’t lifethreatening, but the flight director kept asking, ‘MMACS, I need answers. Give me answers.’ You can imagine the tension and anxiety going through the roof,” said Collins. “I remember that because I felt like I had failed. I hadn’t studied that one system enough and wanted to contribute to solving the problem.”

Though Collins always wanted to be the one with the right answer, she emphasized that mission control is a team effort because no one can be an expert in every system. Teams with diverse backgrounds can brainstorm together and come up with ideas to find a solution.

“Getting the right people on the mission is first and foremost. And then you want to be fair,” she said. “My attitude is you want your crew to be happy. And the first way to make them happy is to ensure they have what they need to accomplish the mission.”

Embracing technological change and managing risk As a new generation enters the workforce and more industries embrace AI, Collins

www.designworldonline.com

encourages people to be open-minded to stay competitive while keeping humans responsible for critical decision-making.

“I see change as the second derivative. It is happening faster and faster all the time,” she said. “I entered the workforce in 1978 and thought things were changing fast back then. But no, it’s going at warp speed right now.”

Nonetheless, there’s still a distinct line between the decision-makers and the tools or models used to make decisions.

“Back in the space shuttle program, you always had little pieces of stuff falling off the launch vehicle,” said Collins. “We had a model called Crater that would predict how much damage would result from these pieces that fell off every launch. Well, the model was not very reliable because it hadn’t been around for very long. It was a good model; there just wasn’t a lot of real-world data in it.

But that model was used to make a critical decision, and we ended up having an accident and losing seven crew members on the Columbia in 2003.”

With advancing AI, systems need tons of reliable data for the models to work.

Collins believes there should always be humans involved, overseeing such models’ decisions, ensuring the decision

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makes sense, fits the mission, and is safe.

“You can’t put the whole thing into AI and let it run the show,” she said.

“We need to be careful about that. We always need to have humans at key points coming in with common sense and asking, ‘Is this the direction we really want to go?’”

Parenting from space Collins has two children, now in their twenties. Her son is a senior in college and will graduate with a degree in electrical engineering, and her daughter works in the financial services industry.

“I’m very happy I had children. Some women think, ‘I’m going to go through my career, and I’m not having kids.’ But at my age, it’s important that we have families.”

In the Air Force, Collins couldn’t fly when she was pregnant. She admits that, depending on the career, bearing children can be an interruption.

“Like it or not, it affects our careers,” said Collins. “But I decided I wanted to have a family. I had my daughter between my first and second missions and my son between my third and fourth missions. It wasn’t easy, but I loved it. I used to tell people I got the two best jobs in the world — I’m an astronaut and a parent.”

Collins tells everyone in the workforce that they, too, can be successful in their careers and be good parents. She also acknowledges that parenting was the best training for her to become a shuttle commander.

“Women often ask me, ‘How did you have children and be an astronaut?

How does that work?’ It’s a really good question, and it did work,” said Collins.

“We had a nanny because I often had to work off hours. And my husband, who was an airline pilot, was gone a lot, but he was very supportive. Especially during my missions when I was up in space, he was a full-time dad. We were a team.”

retired from NASA and the Air Force and is now a speaker and author. She wrote Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars and is touring with book signings and interviews to share her story.

“There are things in there for everyone,” she said. “I’m hoping young people in high school and college read it. Even if they don’t want to become an astronaut or pilot or join the military or anything like that, I put a lot of advice in the book to help them decide what they want to do in life and how to handle tough situations.”

Collins continues encouraging young and seasoned professionals in any industry not to shy away from problems and not let problems invoke anxiety. She wants to inspire them to be knowledgeable on their own, stay open-minded, embrace change, and work toward solutions — on the job and in life. DW

Turning another page After a lifetime of accolades, Collins

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Celebrating the Women of Cinch We recognize the dedication and knowledge the women of Cinch provide as essential parts of the team.

Their efforts continue to drive the development and engineering of products built to support Commercial Air, Defense, Space, Industrial, and Transportation applications. www.belfuse.com/cinch

eugina jordan:

Telecom’s

fighting spirit

E

EMMA LUTJEN • ASSOCIATE EDITOR • EE WORLD

ugina Jordan is on a mission to bring women to the telecom stage, figuratively and literally.

One of the most valuable skills is the capacity to be inspired or to inspire others — Eugina Jordan, currently chief marketing officer at Telecom Infra Project (TIP), has the unique ability to do both.

Eugina was born in Russia, where she earned a master’s degree in teaching before moving to Canada to receive her undergraduate degree in computer science. After earning this degree, she moved to U.S. with her ex-husband who refused to let her learn how to drive. By the time she threatened to leave him unless he taught her to drive, it was the

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2001 telecom crash, meaning despite her newfound mobility there were few jobs available. This made it exceedingly difficult to find a job where she wasn’t significantly overqualified. She applied for positions such as receptionist, secretary, and data analyst. She was also financially responsible for her mother back in Canada. Times were stressful, but this did not stop her.

The first company to see Eugina’s potential was Starent Networks, a leading telecom company at the time. Although Eugina was overqualified for the position, the Starent CEO saw what Eugina called a “fire in [her] belly” pushing her toward her career goals. As she relayed to us, he was www.designworldonline.com

“looking for people to help him build the company and he knew I would be able to do it. I became his receptionist, I became his chief of staff, and then I moved into marketing.” This was what Eugina called “falling into Telecom,” but she also considered this her “shot at telecom, and like Hamilton said, ‘I’m not throwing away my shot.’”

To prove this, she began learning.

Staying with Starent through its acquisition by Cisco in 2009, Eugina learned about virtual network cores, later working on optical Wi-Fi before beginning Tomorrow Starts Here for Cisco, a managed cross-functional team of about fifty remote workers. As time passed, DESIGN WORLD

and she moved companies, she created one last startup focused on building the market for Open RAN my style before it was lost in a company sale. With all of this in mind — her love of learning, her graciousness for the opportunities afforded her, her determination — it makes complete sense that at some point in her career, Eugina looked around to see that she was one of few women given a shot, and desired to change that.

“Once you’re in telecom, you don’t realize it, that you’re the only one at the table, the only one on the stage, the only one on the webinar,” said Jordan.

She shared one particularly poignant example of this realization, nearly losing her job. Under a LinkedIn post showing all-male speakers standing together on stage at a recent conference, Eugina left a comment stating, “Though it was a great conference, we need to do better.

If you see them, you can be them.” While another instance of Eugina’s fighting spirit, she was told to remove the comment, or she would be fired.

The silver lining came from her current husband, who told her if she became a martyr for her cause, she could not continue her mission to put more women on stage. As a result, Eugina relented, instead compiling the contact information of her female colleagues who would be interested in speaking or interviewing.

Eugina resolved to, whenever possible, give them those opportunities.

To further this endeavor, she wrote a book. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Eugina read what she estimates were fifty leadership books. “I realized a majority of these books were written by men, but what do they know? They’ve never been the only person in the room.” Her response was, yet again, to act. She decided, “I’m gonna write the book that’s gonna resonate with people like me, underrepresented immigrants, people of color, women.” So, Eugina wrote UNLIMITED: The 17 Proven Laws to Success in a Workplace Not Designed for You — a leadership book about inspiring the underrepresented to reach for roles of leadership and positions of power, released this past in May 2023. You can find snippets of it and other inspiring,

relatable content on Eugina’s LinkedIn page.

Though if you’re just looking for Eugina, you can find her working at TIP in their C-suite. Formed in 2016, TIP’s mission is to make sure that open and disaggregated solutions across ground transport access or automation get developed, tested, validated, and deployed. TIP has open RAN projects, open optical neutral posts, and open Wi-Fi project groups, with a communitybased approach. Participants work within a project group, obtain requirements from mobile operators, and develop joint roadmaps that then become blueprints that get tested, validated, and go on to exchange and be deployed by operator members. There is also TIP Academy to help those who may be behind on new advances so they can learn too. It has courses on open Wi-Fi, open optical, and telco cloud, spanning from beginner to professional, so those interested can keep learning and inspiring as Eugina does.

Eugina will again be on stage in the fall of 2023 at Fyuz, TIP’s telecom conference held in Madrid. DW

Eugina Jordan speaks at Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona.

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Kathryn Baisley, Fluid Power Test Engineer for Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Fluid Power Institute, highlights the importance early exposure to STEM courses had on her education and career choices.

from high school interest to

test engineer MARY GANNON • EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • FLUID POWER WORLD

F

or Kathryn Baisley, a last-second decision to change her major led to a career in a field she didn’t know much about — fluid power.

Baisley is a recent graduate of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, where she enrolled to study biomedical courses but switched to mechanical engineering right before her freshmen year classes even began.

High school exposure to Project Lead the Way courses, which is STEM-focused curriculum, introduced her to the basics of engineering, CAD modeling, and kinematics. A pivotal moment occurred when she attended MSOE summer camp, solidifying her interest in engineering.

“We had a general engineering track, which was kind of cool, just an intro to CAD and how you might model things and the kinematics within CAD, so learning how things would fit together and how you can model that,” Baisley said. “I was a little indecisive about what track I was going to go on, but MSOE had all sorts of types of engineering. So even if you did change your mind once you were in school a little bit, you could still go into DESIGN WORLD

a different area of engineering because they have so many options.”

MSOE is probably the most wellknown university for teaching fluid power courses, but Baisley didn’t have much exposure to the field until much later in her college career. Her education primarily focused on simulation software rather than the intricacies of Fluid Power systems.

It wasn't until she interned at the MSOE Fluid Power Institute in 2019 during her sophomore year that she delved deeper into this specialized field, setting the stage for her post-graduation career.

A career in testing She joined a dedicated team of engineers and researchers specializing in fluid power research. The Fluid Power Institute operates in an industrial facility offcampus, focusing on testing hydraulic components for various manufacturers.

Her unique perspective and fresh ideas brought a new dimension to the institute's research projects.

As an intern, and now as a test engineer, Baisley’s journey was always very hands-on. She actively participated in the entire lifecycle of research projects, from design to implementation, troubleshooting, and improvement. This www.designworldonline.com

approach allowed her to develop a deeper understanding of fluid power systems and their applications.

“Working in the shop, running the tests, it's really cool being able to see it start from the ground up. Being here for the design phase and then all of the builds and getting it online, implementation, it’s great to see how things change throughout that process too,” Baisley said.

“We'll be planning something for months, and then once we start working with it, we're like, ‘There's a better way to do this.’”

One of the standout projects in Baisley's career has been the development of a piston test rig designed to evaluate piston seals for Hallite. This project involved not only mechanical aspects but also required her to delve into the realm of electrical engineering.

She built the control cabinet for the test rig. An electrical engineering student and staff electrical engineer did most of the PLC programming. However, by the time the test stand was operational, both of them were gone, so she had to finalize things with the PLC programming, which was a first for her. The project's complexity pushed her boundaries, from brazing tubes to field wiring and calibration.

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Having worked in the fluid power research field for a few years now, Baisley said she wishes she had more exposure to the industry in her undergraduate years.

“I feel like it's definitely an area of engineering that doesn't get a ton of attention. I guess now, everything is sort of moving towards robotics and AI, and that's what the kids in school are really more excited about,” she said. “But being in that mindset about what I could do in the fluid power world throughout all those classes in school, It would've been kind of cool to know what's out there and how the stuff that I was learning would be beneficial in the real world instead of just whatever we're applying it to in that class.”

Empowering future engineers Baisley’s journey highlights the importance of encouraging young people, especially women and

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minorities, to consider careers in engineering. She acknowledges the existing gender disparity in engineering but emphasizes the need to start early in exposing children to technical and hands-on experiences. She believes that practical, real-world projects can inspire and build confidence in young minds, helping them see the value of their technical education.

“Starting when kids are young in school and just showing them a more technical side of things, a more hands-on side of things is so necessary,” Baisley

said. “I feel like it's really daunting when you're just learning all of the theory and never knowing how it's going to be applied.

She thinks bringing back more shop and technical classes back into high schools gives you a more objective way of learning. “Seeing what you could actually be capable of if you have the technical background and why that math stuff would be good to know and how you can apply it, allows you to objectively build something and it's working,” she said. “No one can tell you that it's wrong, the proof is right there.”

Baisley's message to aspiring engineers is clear: “don't expect to know everything right out of university. Learning is a lifelong journey, and engineering is a dynamic field that continually evolves.

Confidence is built through experience, and every engineer starts by learning something Know that you're not going to know everything on your first job and that going to a university is just the beginning of a lifelong path of learning,” she said. “You're always going to be picking up new things.

It's just kind of the base for what you could do with the rest of your career.

Don't expect to know everything just because you graduated from university.”

An open future What’s exciting for Baisley, is that she is constantly learning something new. For example, while cleaning one of the test stands with varnish cleaner, all the seals started eroding and melting. It quickly showed that the seals in the stand were

“Starting when kids are young in school and just showing them a more technical side of things, a more handson side of things is so necessary” www.designworldonline.com

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not compatible with the varnish remover, which she didn’t know until they started to fail.

“I think it's kind of amazing how much a seal will impact a system and just how many different parameters there are to test,” she said. “Before I was ever involved in fluid power, I wouldn't have thought that so much went into this little seal design, whether it's rod seal leakage or the friction, how it interacts with the material of the rod, the surface finish, but different kinds of oil and how much that affects something.”

Looking ahead, Baisley sees exciting prospects for fluid power research. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into data collection and analysis is on the horizon.

Fluid power systems generate vast amounts of data during testing, and AI can help engineers identify trends, correlations, and hidden insights within this data.

“Right now we're just sort of manually going through all the data that we collect. I think one of the graduate students is working on a better way to see trends because after we've tested upwards of two million cycles on

that rod seal test with all different sorts of seals, we’ll have data from repeated tests, taking into account the surface finish of the rods, what temperature we're running at, what other seals they're running with, if that has any effect on it,” she said.

“It might be helpful to implement AI with that so you can look at all the different variables and see what had the most impact or any trends that maybe wouldn't be obvious to a graduate student looking over all that data,” Baisley said. “And data, it is so important. You have all this data you're collecting, but if you're not doing the right things with it, it's kind of a waste of time.” DW

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laine chan:

Strong engineers aren’t afraid

to ask for help PAUL J. HENEY • VP, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

S

olving problems first drew Laine Chan to engineering. As a young girl, she loved working on puzzles, playing with Lego blocks, and helping her dad assemble Ikea furniture. She also had a natural affinity for math and science, so engineering seemed to be the clear next step for her.

“Both my father and grandfather are engineers, so I like to say I was born to be an engineer,” Chan said. “I grew up in metro Detroit, and they both worked in the automotive industry. I remember doing engineering and science camps as a child and loved doing hands-on work.

My father, in particular, always told me that I would be great in whatever I decided to do. He never put limitations on me, and that helped me to see that engineering would be a good path for me.”

Chan attended the University of Michigan, earning both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical

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Engineering there. She currently works as Learning and Development Manager and Senior Mechanical Engineer at SLB in Houston.

She recounted the story of her work as a modeling and simulation engineer working on FEA of elastomers as a highlight in her career thus far.

“This was a support role where other groups would contract out simulations from us. The simulation I completed is my most complex one to date. It took weeks of modeling, repeatedly running the simulation to determine the appropriate displacements and time steps, and getting help from coworkers when I would get stuck,” she said. “Ultimately, it led to successful physical testing of the elastomeric parts I designed and then to a mega tender contract from a high-profile client. At SLB, we place a big emphasis on learning and mentoring, which go hand in hand. I’m sure a more experienced www.designworldonline.com

engineer could’ve completed the simulation faster than I had, but as the first ‘fresh-out’ engineer who needed to learn FEA, I was able to give my coworkers the opportunity to practice their mentoring skills.”

It hasn’t always been easy for her, though. Her biggest career challenge was being a Field Engineer in the Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador. Chan noted that she doesn’t come from an operations background; all her work experience previously had been in design or material testing.

“I struggled with learning how to troubleshoot all of the tools, especially in Spanish, which I didn’t speak before arriving in Ecuador. To overcome this, I got a Spanish tutor; I spoke as much Spanish as I could; I studied past jobs with a senior engineer. During pre-job meetings, I would ask about any issues that had been encountered in the past with the specific DESIGN WORLD

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equipment and how it was dealt with.

You can’t always solve your problems by devoting extra time to an issue, but for this problem, I knew it could. In the end, I did my ‘break out job’ (the job to become a supervisor) with four months of field experience as the second hand, which was one of the fastest in the location.

Being a field engineer is tough work, but I’m really glad I went through it because it taught me that I can achieve and endure anything I put my mind to,” Chan said.

Thinking diversity Chan strongly believes in outreach. She explained that people can’t hope for things they don’t see or know about.

Thus, if children aren’t exposed to engineering, they’ll never know it’s a possibility. In addition, if youth do not see engineers who look like them, they’ll never believe it’s an option for them.

She explained that diversity of thought is a key reason to encourage diverse teams in the engineering world.

“It’s so important to have people who approach the same problem in different ways because you arrive at the better solution faster. If you have two people who come from the same educational background (i.e., taught to solve problems in the same way by the same pedagogy), they can miss a crucial detail,” Chan said.

“The problem might be solved, but it might not be the best solution. And this missed step will only get pointed out in a technical review. But if you have someone who thinks differently, they will point out what you’re overlooking at the beginning, and you can go into your technical review having already thought of multiple options.”

And for newer engineers just entering the field, Chan stressed the importance of finding a mentor, even if that’s just a friend who also works in the industry.

“At times, I still struggle with feeling silly for not knowing something,” she said. “But most of the time, when I ask a question, people are more than happy to

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help. As long as they have time, I’ve found that most people want to help in any way they can. They take pride in being able to help and that they are seen as someone who takes time to mentor others. You should put in some time to try to find an answer yourself, but there’s a fine line with spending too much time on a single problem. In college, my classmates would always say, ‘engineering is a team sport,’ and that sentiment doesn’t go away in the workplace. You are a team that is working collectively to solve certain problems.

You all have your role on the team, but those overlap. Find where they overlap and seek to learn the best way to do your role and also broaden yourself to tasks outside your role as well.”

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“It’s so important to have people who approach the same problem in different ways because you arrive at the better solution faster.”

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Another suggestion Chan has for younger engineers is to peer review everything you can; she will ask coworkers to read through a report she’s written or watch a dry run of a presentation before she gets to the official review. Using this technique, she explained that she can minimize any embarrassment for having missed something small or what she later perceives as obvious.

“Thinking about my career to this point, the most successful times have been when there was someone I felt completely comfortable with, to ask any question, without worry of judgement. Part of that is feeling safe in my group, and another is being able to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible. My biggest takeaway is that you won’t get far

on your own. When you reach a goal or a career milestone, you aren’t up on some pedestal by yourself. If you look back, there are dozens of mentors, managers, and friends who helped you reach that point. Lift some of them up there with you, and pay forward the generosity they’ve given and you’ve undoubtedly received,” Chan said.

Looking ahead Chan expressed that she would love to do more in the engineering education space.

“There are two parts to engineering education that I’m interested in: One, figuring out how universities can be more equitable in their teaching methods. Not everyone learns the same way, and how can we help students learn in the way that’s best for them? If I were to ever go

Diversity Drives Innovation We’re at our best when we surround ourselves with people who have different backgrounds and lived experiences, providing fuel for ideas that spark innovation.

At Allegro, we’re committed to creating an environment that ignites new ideas and empowers everyone to reach their full potential. The diversity of our people, together with their unique ideas and perspectives, drives us to work together toward Allegro’s vision and mission.

With more than 30 years of experience developing advanced semiconductor technology and application-specific algorithms, Allegro is a global leader in power and sensing solutions for motion control and energy-efficient systems.

Through our innovations in e-Mobility, Clean Energy and Automation, we are helping move the world toward a safer, more sustainable future.

back for a Ph.D., I would like to get one in engineering education,” she said. “And two, working to get children excited about engineering at an early age. How do we infuse engineering into more schools from elementary through high school? How do we provide accessible opportunities for children to dream about becoming engineers? One day, I would love to either start or work with a non-profit with this goal.” DW

an engineer since childhood MARTIN ROWE • SENIOR TECHNICAL EDITOR • EE WORLD

"I

like to destroy things and rebuild them," said Zhuofan (Norberta) Lu. Spoken like a true engineer. After all, who doesn’t like taking things apart?

Currently working toward an MS degree in robotics engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Norberta is interning for summer 2023 at Transaera, a Boston-area startup developing cooling systems that use less energy than today's air conditioners.

Norberta earned a bachelor's degree from WPI in robotics and mechanical engineering in 2022.

What piqued Norberta's interest in engineering? "My grandfather worked as a radar engineer for the Chinese Air Force.

He taught me to take things apart to see how they worked. He also taught me gardening and farming as well as physics and chemistry."

Norberta started her engineering career as a child by taking her toys apart. As she got older, she moved on to remote controls and small TVs. "Things that look magical are actually physics," she said.

At Transaera, Norberta is working as a test engineer developing tests for the company's prototypes. The cooling system is based on a novel material that absorbs moisture from the air. That lets the system cool more efficiently because it doesn’t first have to reduce humidity before it can cool the air. Heat generated from the system then dries the material for the next cycle. The test system Norberta worked on uses an anemometer and other sensors connected to an NI data-acquisition system and LabVIEW to measure the temperature, humidity, and pressure of the flowing air.

For her bachelor's degree senior design project — Major Qualifying

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Project (MQP) in WPI speak — Norberta and her project partners Olivia Petropulos, Karina Mirochnik, and Hannah Brooks developed a free-space coupling system for laryngeal laser surgery.

The project's goal was to improve the process of coupling light to a customized thin fiber, which enables surgical laser steering while retaining enough optical power for desired tissue damage.

The photo from 2021 shows the project, which the MQP team had to complete during the COVID-19 pandemic, making the project even more of a challenge.

Given her lifelong desire to assemble and disassemble things, Norberta was driven to study engineering. She

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understands the value of diverse project teams. "People with different backgrounds approach problem solving differently," she said, "especially when it comes to user needs. Diversity in project teams broadens the team's perspective.

Not only do you need different backgrounds, but you also need people with different skills to solve problems."

To learn about universities and companies, Norberta attended open houses. While she's seen universities come to high schools and companies come to universities seeking graduates, she still sees a lack of people from underrepresented communities attending, coming to learn what these organizations do.

www.designworldonline.com

As a student, project-team member, and as a working engineer, Norberta never hesitates to ask questions and will continue to do so throughout her career.

"If you don’t know something, ask. There are no stupid questions. You'll never know everything so always ask."

Although she's working for a startup developing more efficient cooling systems, Norberta's passion is for designing and testing medical devices as she did with her MQP. Designing medical devices is what she'd do if she had unlimited time. While she's not designing medical equipment now, she hopes to work in that field after graduating with her master's degree in 2024. DW

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2023 Casey Alvarado Sr. Analog IC Design Engineer Allegro MicroSystems Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (BSEE) Imperial College, London (MSEE)

Casey Alvarado is currently a Sr. Analog IC Design Engineer for the Magnetic Position Sensing team at Allegro MicroSystems.

Casey is a graduate from Imperial College, London (MSEE) and Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (BSEE). She comes to Allegro with nearly 4 years of professional experience at SRI International where she was an analog team lead and was a chip-lead for 4+ analog ASIC products from definition to validation.

In her current role at Allegro, Casey is responsible for block-level and chip-level design development in our burgeoning Inductive Interface IC portfolio. Casey enjoys exploring new places and cultures, watching movies, and running long distances.

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What makes your company inclusive or supportive of diversity in engineering?

I’ve only been with Allegro for a short time, but one of the big things that has stood out to me is the multiple ways Allegro celebrates women around the globe whether it’s various events, ERGs, and employee recognition and support. Another is the meritocratic approach that is taken to pitching ideas and discussing solutions. Everyone’s voice and input are valued equally regardless of gender, age, or ethnicity. It feels great to work for a company that values their employees and provides the tools and support needed to succeed.

Describe a recent company project (in which you were involved) that went particularly well. How did you and your team go about ensuring success?

So far at Allegro I’ve completed one design block for a power management unit that is going to be used in multiple Allegro products across multiple product families. From a design standpoint, there is a fair amount of difficulty in creating these types of blocks because it’s hard to predict what you’re going to need in the future. My team and I did a great job of considering and detailing requirements for the current and future parts this particular block will go into. I was also able to lean on the more experienced engineers on my team and ask questions as needed.

What first drew you to engineering and the automation industry?

From a young age my parents worked long hours, which meant that I was in virtually every after-school program available. The one that stuck with me was the robotics club. We did everything from building robots out of Legos to writing code and programming the robots, and it was at this point that I realized I wanted to be an engineer. When it comes to automation, I’ve always known that I wanted to use my engineering skills to help better the world in some way. I love that my work contributes to the advancement of electric vehicles and ultimately driving the world towards a cleaner greener future via Allegro’s tech.

Describe your biggest career challenge and how you solved it.

At a previous job, I got a part back that did not come anywhere close to the simulation performance we expected during the design and testing stages. As the designer, it was my responsibility to find the problem and fix it. I immediately began debugging the part and was able to help our model professionals improve their current practices and resolve the problem. It felt great to leave a lasting impact and positive legacy and to walk away with immense technical skills.

What career advice would you give to your younger self?

I would go back and tell my younger self that it’s ok to take a deep breath and to not panic. It’s so easy to overlook or miss something when you start to get nervous or anxious about something, and sometimes it’s ok to get up and walk away to give yourself time to think.

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2023 Kristen Gallett Application Engineer B&R Industrial Automation Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Purdue University

Kristen Gallett joined B&R in 2019 after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.

She is now an Application Engineer based out of the Chicago suburbs in Illinois. In this position she supports several regional customers with troubleshooting, day-to-day support, and solution development using a variety of B&R technology. Her current primary focus is long-term customer care and the development of maintainable software architecture in ongoing projects.

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What makes your company culture inclusive?

The culture at B&R is collaborative and generally friendly. Within my region, individuals create a supportive environment by getting to know and value each other as people rather than just employees. On a broader level, B&R is a member of the ABB group which has a network of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) called Encompass. These groups lead diversity initiatives and support an inclusive environment for a variety of identities, many of which are underrepresented in engineering and automation.

I serve as communications chair on the board of the Encompass Pride ERG specifically for the LGBTQ+ community to help expand inclusivity and sense of belonging for all employees.

What first drew you to engineering and the automation industry?

In high school I was guided towards engineering because of my interest in math and science. Upon entering college, I did not have a clear end goal for my career, but I knew I loved learning how things worked, so I chose mechanical engineering for its versatility. I appreciated that an engineering education would give me the skills to approach all sorts of problems, regardless of where I decided to apply my efforts in the future. When it came time to look for jobs, I enjoyed a range of experiences from multiple internships and gravitated towards automation and manufacturing to continue solving problems within a variety of industries.

What is your biggest career challenge?

My biggest career challenge has been personalizing my place in engineering.

I have found that more technical spaces tend to be less welcoming towards underrepresented groups. Whether conscious or not, familiar voices are often given priority and authority while less established voices are met with skepticism and scrutiny. In these situations, I must work to earn the baseline amount of respect that others gain just to fit into expectations. For example, there was a period when I was bypassed by team members, and my contributions were ignored or attributed to other co-workers. Situations like this arise for any minority group, and the day-to-day effort of defending yourself makes it more difficult to confidently establish yourself in a technical career. By necessity, I have become more confident in advocating for myself and disrupting biases. I have learned to focus on my teammates’ support, and I have become more involved in DEI initiatives to support others whenever possible.

What career advice would you give to your younger self?

Explore a variety of opportunities. Talk to friends, family, colleagues, and strangers about what their jobs are really like. Seek out areas of work that you enjoy and topics that spark your interest. Identifying those pieces of any job will help you craft a unique career that focuses on what is most valuable to you.

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2023 Rachel Luczak Application Engineer B&R Industrial Automation Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Milwaukee School of Engineering

I am an Application Engineer working in the Milwaukee Office for B&R Industrial Automation. I work with customers in the US Central Region on projects ranging from paper converting, to machine line tending, to rock crushing. I have been a part of B&R since graduating from Milwaukee School of Engineering in 2017, where I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering.

Talk about the culture at your company. What makes it inclusive or supportive of diversity in engineering and automation? What efforts does your company (or individuals at your company) make to recruit or support people from backgrounds currently underrepresented in engineering and automation?

I fit right in as part of the team here in the Milwaukee office. I have been working here for six years, and I feel that my voice is heard and respected amongst the B&R community. I appreciate how the company gatherings create such a comfortable environment for coworkers and customers. It allows us time to really get to know each other better and be able to put a face to a name, since most of us work in different states.

Describe a recent company project (in which you were involved) that went particularly well. How did you and your team go about ensuring success?

My favorite project I have worked on involved commissioning a B&R SuperTrak.

This project went very well because I had a strong working relationship with the customer. They were willing to learn our new software and understood that there would be challenges along the way. We had a realistic understanding of the timeline, and we were able to collaborate in a way that helped us face challenges quickly and effectively. We shared a mutual respect that simplified and improved communication. We had a smooth delivery of the project, and I have since helped them with commissioning an additional B&R SuperTrak machine!

What first drew you to engineering and/or the automation and manufacturing industry?

I enjoyed and excelled in math in high school. There was always a correct answer, and I liked the process of finding it. Math was always right or wrong, with no opinion involved. This problem-solving mindset translated well to my college engineering work.

Describe your biggest career challenge. How did you solve it — or what was the outcome or lesson learned?

My biggest challenge is not letting my customer’s perception of me define me.

I may get asked if I am the only engineer on the project or ignored if a male coworker is present. Instead of reaching to shake my hand, someone may wave to me then shake my coworker's hand. I must work hard mentally to not let that effect how I see myself, and I have to work harder to prove to people that I am just as good as my male coworkers. To address these problems, I redirect questions to work that I can do, insert myself into conversations, and initiate the handshake.

What career advice would you give to your younger self?

Don’t be afraid to try a new thing.

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2023 Ronda Devereaux Sales Engineer Beckhoff Automation

I started my career working at Autoliv, an airbag manufacturer, as an electronic technician in 1988. I had my AS in electronics and was the first woman they hired on the maintenance team. I started learning how to program PLCs, got my BS in Electronic Engineering and then moved into a controls engineering position at that company in 1991. In 1999, I worked for ATK (aerospace and composites) doing building controls/energy management for five years. After a big layoff, I was back at Autoliv working in controls for a little over a year. Then, I spent 13 years in a hybrid sales/ applications role supporting five outside salespeople in automation applications. That company was sold, and I moved to another distributor in Utah handling outside sales for more than three years. Then I was contacted

by Beckhoff about job opportunities. I started at Beckhoff as a Sales Engineer in July 2022, and it has been such a great move to continue my journey in the automation field. In total, I now have over 35 years of experience in the industry.

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What makes your company’s culture inclusive or supportive of diversity in engineering?

I have been blown away by the culture at Beckhoff. During most of my career, I was typically the only woman in the room. That is not the case at Beckhoff.

Here in the U.S., we have women sales engineers, application engineers, training engineers, application development engineers, and various supporting technical roles. Beckhoff USA also offers industrial automation internships every year, and nine out of the 20 interns this year were women — eight of whom received job offers from us. We are also starting a woman-led BE Empowered program to create resource groups focused on promoting and advancing the careers of women. We are always on the lookout for capable minds with diverse backgrounds.

What first drew you to engineering and the automation industry?

Growing up, I was quite a rebellious teenager. When I was 18, my stepdad told me if I took a year of electronics at the local community college, he could get me a job making $6.50 an hour. That was a lot of money in 1983. I was always good at math, so I said OK and off I went. I ended up getting my associate’s degree before going to work in the automation and controls field. That first job at Autoliv paid for me to further my education and get my bachelor’s degree.

In that era, engineering wasn’t something that was promoted to girls, especially here in Utah. Without that conversation with my stepdad, I don’t know if I would have ended up where I am today. I have three daughters. Although none of them went into engineering, two of them were STEM majors. I know the example I set for them allowed them to choose whatever field interested them rather than them choosing what seemed easiest, familiar, popular, or “expected.”

Describe your biggest career challenge. How did you solve it — or what was the outcome or lesson learned?

I think my biggest challenge was making the decision to move from a controls engineering role into a hybrid sales/applications engineering role when I moved into distribution. When my girls were young, I was lucky to have a lot of support, as my spouse stayed home with them for over 10 years. As a salaried controls engineer, working in manufacturing required a lot of extra unpaid hours, and my spouse started looking to get back into the workforce. Moving into the hybrid sales/applications role was a big change with many unknowns, but it led to a much better work/life balance and higher pay to support our family.

What career advice would you give to your younger self?

Celebrate your achievements! I tend to make a goal and then to just move on to the next one once it’s achieved. Frankly, I don’t celebrate victories enough and encourage all the talented women out there to do the same. Also, stay curious about everything and always trust your gut.

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2023 Alina Kim Manufacturing Engineer Bishop-Wisecarver B.S./M.S. Mechanical Engineering UC San Diego / Santa Clara University

I graduated from UC San Diego with a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and also went on to pursue my Master’s at Santa Clara University. I started off as a Test Engineer at a defense company and am now working as a Manufacturing Engineer at Bishop-Wisecarver, a company that produces linear motion solutions.

What makes your company’s culture inclusive or supportive of diversity in engineering and automation?

Bishop-Wisecarver (BWC) is a huge advocate for diversity, particularly supporting women in manufacturing and tech and reaching out to the younger generation. BWC recognizes the importance of diversity within the internal team and that it matters who we work with externally. Besides supplier diversity, BWC also supports STEM-based programs that celebrate a diverse set of students and organizations, like MakerGirl and Girl Garage, and sponsors diverse local high school FIRST teams and Engineering Summer Camps in our community.

Describe a recent company project (in which you were involved) that went particularly well. How did you and your team go about ensuring success?

Our team has had a goal of upgrading a substantial part of our production line to achieve improvements in various operations, including not only the work center(s) of focus, but downstream processes as well. This involves understanding the details of the equipment in addition to striving for improvements in function and minimizing operator handling time. Our team has done an excellent job in taking what exists, working with external subject matter experts, learning, and adding new technology, and overall reducing obstacles experienced by our colleagues who operate the equipment.

What first drew you to engineering and the automation industry?

I have always enjoyed and been interested in math, science, problem-solving, hands-on work, and experimentation, so I knew since my youth that I would choose a career in this field. As a student and young engineer, my knowledge of industries and careers available to engineers was a bit limited, but I recognized that it could be very fulfilling and wanted to take on the challenge of engineering.

What has been your biggest career challenge?

In my career, I experienced a lot of self-doubt in my abilities and wondered if I could survive and thrive in a male-dominated environment. But by forging ahead through my struggles, I have gained confidence in my capabilities, appreciate my role in my immediate group or company’s success, and experience firsthand the value of representation. Through overcoming obstacles and learning from previous accomplishments, I can confidently say that my work and efforts matter, and am motivated more than ever to take on bigger challenges.

What career advice would you give to your younger self?

Don’t be afraid to fail or ask questions. Strive for progress, not perfection.

Continue to learn from mistakes and use that growth in future applications and circumstances. Becoming integrated is imperative to broadening your horizons and advantageous to building relationships. Lastly, be curious and explore what is out there, whether it be industry types, new technologies, resources, etc.

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2023 Rachael Eustice Procurement Manager Cinch Connectivity Solutions In. Bachelors of Science Human Resource Management & Business Management Minnesota State University, Mankato

I started my career in production in Waseca as a temporary employee while pursuing my two-year associate degree. I quickly learned the challenges of manufacturing and how it had tentacles into many aspects of what I was learning in college. My work on the floor incentivized me to go forward and earn my bachelor’s in business and human resources management while continuing to hold various positions at Cinch, managing working and being a full-time student. I have progressed through various positions from production to IT, and several positions of increasing responsibility in Supply Chain to my current role of Procurement Manager.

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What makes your company’s culture inclusive or supportive of diversity in engineering?

One of the four core values at Bel Fuse is related to building an inclusive workforce that consists of a broad collection of backgrounds, cultures, skillsets, and perspectives. We have a variety of different engineering opportunities available throughout the organization ranging from an intern role to design engineering, for example. Within our hiring process we build in a variety of different levels of interviewing to be sure that we are capturing all different perspectives during our hiring and recruiting process to help reach all facets possible for the position being filled.

Describe a recent company project (in which you were involved) that went particularly well. How did you and your team go about ensuring success?

I was recently involved in a project that was outside of my standard business scope and with team members from various global locations and with different backgrounds and experiences. We were tasked with identifying best practices and helping to develop three different HR focused programs, although none of us had direct HR experience. As a team, we grew throughout the process to better understand regional differences and where we would need to allow flexibility. Each of the team members had vested interest in setting these programs up for success, as they would directly impact them and their teams. We did a great job collaborating and approaching the project with a open mind to see all points of view.

What first drew you to engineering and the manufacturing industry?

Honestly, I was not originally drawn to manufacturing right out of the gate. After working in assembly as a temporary summer assembler, I realized there are so many different aspects to manufacturing that are needed to support the overall business flow. In manufacturing, your options are endless — from direct manufacturing operations or engineering to accounting or supply chain. If you have the drive to learn, you could take your experience in manufacturing and grow to be a part of any of the key business areas.

Describe your biggest career challenge and how you learned from it.

One of the largest career challenges I have faced is how to smoothly transition into new roles as I continue to prosper within the organization. Moving from production to management comes with challenges of how to approach situations differently and with a different mindset. The biggest lesson learned is to never be afraid to ask questions or find a mentor co-worker you can relate to.

What career advice would you give to your younger self?

If I had to give my younger self career advice, I would tell myself two things: take every opportunity presented to learn or experience new things both professionally and personally, and do not be afraid to fail.

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2023 NW MN Chapter of Women in Electronics DigiKey

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In 2018, under the stewardship of executive vice president of operations, Linda Johnson, DigiKey started a NW MN chapter of Women in Electronics (WE), a community of women in the electronics industry committed to working collaboratively with their male counterparts to advance opportunities for women in the electronics and related industries. Since then, membership and participation has continued to grow within DigiKey bringing increased networking and learning opportunities with it.

Women in leadership positions at DigiKey have already had a massive impact on the success of the business and the industry. Take VP of operational excellence & trade compliance, Teri Ivaniszyn, who is responsible for setting up the largest Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) in the United States. Or Missy Hall, who is responsible for growing the DigiKey Marketplace offering from a $0 to $75 million business in just three years.

Employees at DigiKey's headquarters face the unique hurdle of being tucked away in the northwest corner of Minnesota. Being that far removed from other tech hubs means it is harder for the team to attend industry networking events, leadership speaking tours, and participate in cross-business mentorship programs, which is why the WE chapter has been such an important initiative.

The responsibility of being a major local employer is not lost on leadership and this WE investment is an initiative that is paying dividends for the broader community.

The Thief River Falls chapter of WE chapter is a dynamic group that supports its members and the community at large in a number of ways.

First, there are monthly trainings. One attendee noted that, “The way the information is presented keeps it at the forefront of your mind,” which has helped many feel more confident in their communications and more empowered to bring their ideas forward.

Then, the mentorship program has been an invaluable resource for many.

It connects women in different roles and stages in their careers and promotes collaboration, support, and career development opportunities. It’s become a place for many to be able to feel safe and discuss challenges they’re facing with someone who has an outside perspective. Furthermore, it has opened doors previously unavailable to many. Some employees, once mentees, are now looking to become mentors and help encourage the next generation of women in tech.

Attending the annual WE conference has also given DigiKey employees a sense of camaraderie with others in the industry. The feeling is that all titles go out the door and we just enjoy being together. Said one employee, “I don't think I've ever been to a conference where I've felt more kinship with people. It was amazing and it was immediate. It didn't matter who you are. I sat with competitors at my table.

Didn't matter. You were there as women learning about leadership and supporting each other in the industry, and it was really special.”

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2023 Courtney Francis Territory Account Manager LEMO USA, Inc.

Courtney Francis is an accomplished Regional Sales Manager with considerable experience in the sales industry and expertise in electronic and fiber optic connectors and cable assemblies.

Having a background in auditing, training, and sales & marketing, Courtney has spent the last 6 years tailoring herself to one day inspire and lead others. In her current role, Courtney travels extensively and oversees seven state territories, where she handles a diverse range of customers, distributors, and representative accounts. She is responsible for budgeting, developing, and maintaining sales plans to meet sales goals and collaborates across territories.

One key responsibility is providing technical support and facilitating the design-in of products into new and existing customer applications.

Courtney is an active liaison in all negotiations, managing incoming leads, assisting with quoting, expediting, policies, and contracts.

She represents her company at tradeshows, sales-related trade organizations, and customer events, and is dedicated to promoting her company’s products and services and building strong relationships with potential and existing customers.

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What makes your company’s culture inclusive or supportive of diversity in engineering?

LEMO operates in more than twenty countries and values diversity as a strength! With a vigorous interviewing and onboarding process, LEMO hires only those who embody the very core of the LEMO group — Passion with respect to the individual, Excellence in performance, Efficiency in our reliability, and above all the Know How, unsurpassed quality and innovation. These core values start with our employees and trickle down into our products.

Describe a recent company project (in which you were involved) that went particularly well. How did you and your team go about ensuring success?

In a recent company project, my team and I embarked on distribution rounds to provide brief product training and company overviews to new hires. To ensure the success of the project, we adopted a meticulous approach. I took the responsibility of extensively preparing for the trip by identifying the LEMO products that were most relevant to each distributor's customer market segments. This aided my team in tailoring our presentations. Our thorough preparation, careful planning, and strategic execution resulted in positive feedback from the participants.

Furthermore, our distributors have experienced increased awareness and sales of LEMO products because of our efforts.

What first drew you to engineering and the manufacturing industry?

I was looking for a change from the medical industry. Through networking, I found electronic components. Having started in inside sales for a distribution company, I began a hybrid role with exposure to the field. Once exposed to the application side, the ingenuity and masterminds behind our ever-evolving world of electronics, I knew exactly where my passion was. From downhole to outer space, and everything between, I suddenly wanted to be the lady with the answers, a solutionoriented trusted advisor in all thing’s connectivity. It has been uphill ever since!

Describe your biggest career challenge and how you learned from it.

There are points in your career where being a team player and overextending yourself for too long can stagnate your professional goals. Learning to find my voice and becoming more diplomatic opened new doors for me. By finding the right balance between collaboration and personal growth, you can navigate your career path more effectively and achieve your goals more efficiently.

What career advice would you give to your younger self?

Find something that challenges you! Discipline is the true key to success. Never be the smartest person in any room. Establish relationships at all organizational levels and always seek out a mentor. Create short to long-term goals to hold yourself accountable.

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2023 Roberta Talarico Galeno Cavalcanti Application Engineer Mitsubishi

I graduated from Centro Universitário da FEI in Brazil as an Electrical Engineer and later received a marketing degree, post-graduation, from FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas), also in Brazil.

Then, I studied Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology - Automation and Robotics at Centennial College in Canada. I started my career as a Field Service Engineer supporting CNC machines, then moved to sales, holding positions as Product Manager and Product Engineer. I then moved to Canada to start my career working as an Automation Technician in Maintenance, which led me to my current position as an Application Engineer.

Talk about the culture at your company. What makes it inclusive or supportive of diversity in engineering and automation? What efforts does your company (or individuals at your company) make to recruit or support people from backgrounds currently underrepresented in engineering and automation?

Being a female engineer is not as common, and unfortunately, very few of us opt for a technical career. However, at Mitsubishi Electric, I feel that regardless of my gender, race, or age, they treat everyone fairly and with respect, and everyone has access to the same opportunities. The Mitsubishi Electric culture fosters teamwork so everyone is approachable and willing to collaborate and share knowledge, which makes for a comfortable work atmosphere.

Describe a recent company project (in which you were involved) that went particularly well. How did you and your team go about ensuring success?

As an application engineer, I had the pleasure of contributing to several different projects, supporting end users and OEMs. But one interesting project that went really well was the deployment of Mitsubishi Electric servos to activate a hydraulic actuator. In this project, I worked with some brilliant engineers and experienced our servos’ capabilities. The key to the success of this project was to understand the customer’s needs and to have very experienced engineers involved.

What first drew you to engineering and/or the automation and manufacturing industry?

I loved math since a very young age, and in high school, I was fascinated by physics. However, I was a bit apprehensive about entering a male-dominated career, and I had no idea if it would be possible to work in this field after graduation. Many members of my family work in healthcare, so at first, that seemed like the obvious choice for my career path, and I almost enrolled in medical school. However, at the very last minute, I decided to study engineering.

Describe your biggest career challenge. How did you solve it — or what was the outcome or lesson learned?

My biggest career challenge was moving to Canada and starting again from scratch. It was a difficult decision that took me years to research and understand the process. But when the time came, I did not make any big ambitious career goals. I had small, short-term goals and always chose to work and study what I loved. And suddenly, everything started to work accordingly.

What career advice would you give to your younger self?

Study and do work that makes you happy. Also, be persistent; don’t expect to know everything at once, the knowledge comes gradually.

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2023 Linda A. Freeman Industry Manager Rockwell Automation Bachelor of Engineering, Electrical Georgia Institute of Technology

Linda Freeman is an Industry Manager at Rockwell Automation in the global sales and marketing organization currently focused on digital transformation, robotics/automation, safety, and cybersecurity for the amusement, airport, and warehouse/logistics industries.

Over her 27+ year career, Linda has worked in multiple manufacturing industries and other sectors, such as onboard marine applications and NASA space launch programs. Linda has found a career in technical sales to be the perfect blend of helping people solve problems and tackling technical challenges. She recognized the unique challenges of safety and cybersecurity applications and became certified by TÜV Rheinland as a Functional Safety Engineer and a Cybersecurity Specialist. She is also passionate about creating the next generation of technologists, so she mentors young professionals and volunteers with organizations like FIRST Robotics. Recognized for her devotion to STEM career mentoring and advocacy, she was selected as a Fellow at Society of Women Engineers.

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What makes your company’s culture inclusive?

A commitment to integrity, diversity, and inclusion is the first tenant of our strategic framework. Rockwell Automation identified the unique needs of different employee communities and created Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to provide specific support for those communities. We have ERGs for women in the field, women in business units, parents and caretakers, young professionals, and many others. I participate in multiple ERGs and find knowledge and support that positively impact my experience as an employee. Whether I seek coaching to map career goals, support for a challenge, networking with female engineers, or advice about work-life integration, I have many people and places to go for support.

How did you and your team ensure a recent project’s success?

My division went through a transformational reorganization that changed all lines of management and areas of responsibility. I was an instrumental team member in creating the new organization and onboarding the new team. My partner in the reorganization is also a female engineer, and we married our technical mindset of solving problems with compassion to create a transition plan to surface employee concerns, address issues, and ensure constant communication. Organizational change can be emotionally difficult for employees, and I am very proud of our new team’s success and the sense of belonging she and I created.

What first drew you to engineering and this industry?

During college, I worked an internship with Procter and Gamble. I found it thrilling to watch raw materials be delivered, and hours later, a product was created that I use in my home every day. The automated machinery was magical, and the technicians and engineers who worked on the equipment were magicians. I instantly became hooked and wanted to work in industrial automation. I chose a career with Rockwell Automation because we enable so many different industries with automation — every day at work is like an episode of “How It’s Made”! Seeing how our technologies expand human possibilities provides me with a high level of job satisfaction. I love being part of the solution that creates and moves goods to consumers faster, ensures your baggage makes your flight, and provides safe memories for families on vacation at theme parks.

What was your biggest career challenge?

I suffer from a desire to be perfect. Starting my career in the 1990s, when female engineers were a minority, I felt I had to prove myself. I also felt that before I could take a role change, I needed to have all the skills of the job description — a common mindset of females. A mentor pointed out my flawed thinking. Done is better than perfect, and a male would apply for a role where he did not have any of the skills. Those two mindshifts empowered me to remove the personal stress of trying to be perfect and to take on stretch roles.

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2023 Alexandra Olson Electronic Design Engineer WAGO Corporation Computer Engineering Degree UW Madison

Alexandra Olson was hired at WAGO as an Electronic Design Engineer in July 2023 after earning her degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison. She works with WAGO’s Custom Design and Engineering Team helping developing specific products for customers and their needs.

Talk about the culture at your company. What makes it inclusive or supportive of women in engineering and automation?

WAGO is a very friendly and inviting place to work. If I have any questions about processes or something I need help with there is always someone who would be willing to help or answer those questions. I don’t know that I’ve been working here long enough to say that there is any one thing WAGO does, I would say it’s more the attitudes of the people who work here.

Describe a recent company project (in which you were involved) that went particularly well. How did you and your team go about ensuring success?

Recently I have been working on a prototype project that will be shown in an upcoming trade show, the problem was the limited time we had to get the prototypes designed and built in time for the show. I think it went so well because the people here helped when asked and were willing to lend a hand when needed.

What first drew you to engineering and this industry?

I knew I was going to be an engineer when I was 10 years old and asking my parents if I could take apart the old electronics in the attic so I could learn how they worked. I have always wanted to know how things work and that is what brought me to engineering.

Describe your biggest career challenge. How did you solve it — or what was the outcome or lesson learned?

I am just starting my career so I can’t say that I’ve had any major challenges, or at least I haven’t encountered anything that couldn’t be overcome by simply taking a moment to think through the problem.

What career advice would you give to your younger self?

Right now, I am very happy with the way my career has turned out, at this point I would tell my younger self to not be so nervous.

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Medtech conversations to inspire the next generation of devices

Sponsorship opportunities are available for future DeviceTalks and Robotics programs.

For more information, contact Colleen Sepich. 857.260.1360 | csepich@wtwhmedia.com

WOMEN IN MEDTECH | ENGINEERING DIVERSITY + INCLUSION | AD INDEX

Accumold ......................................................................... 35 Advanced Powder Products ........................................... 38 Allegro Microsystems .................................................... 121 Altech Corporation ........................................................ 8, 9 B. Braun ........................................................................... BC Bay Associates Wire Technologies, Inc. ......................... 30 Beckhoff Automation ...................................................... 91 Biomerics .......................................................................... 61 Bishop Wisecarver ......................................................... 113 Carl Stahl Sava Industries ................................................ 20 CGI Inc. ............................................................................. 87 Cinch Connectivity Solutions .................................. 10, 109 Cirtec Medical .................................................................. 53 Clippard .............................................................................. 7 COMSOL .......................................................................... 63 Confluent Medical Technologies.................................... 18 Cretex ............................................................................... 29 Digi-Key Electronics .......................................................... 1 Donatelle ............................................................................ 5 Encoder Products Company ......................................... 117 Eurofins Medical Device Testing ...................................... 2 Filmecc USA, Inc, subsidiary of Asahi Intecc USA......... 24 Flexan ............................................................................... 23 Hobson & Motzer ............................................................ 14

Infus Medical .................................................................... 65 Instron ............................................................................... 34 Integer .............................................................................. 58 Interpower ........................................................................ 69 Intricon.............................................................................. 45 John Evans’ Sons, Inc. ..................................................... 41 Johnson Matthey ............................................................. 32 LEMO USA ................................................................. 56, 97 maxon ..........................................cover/corner (MD&O), 3 Medbio ............................................................................. 51 MICRO Medical ............................................................... 25 Mitsubishi Electric Automation ...................................... 93 New England Wire & Tubing Technologies .................. 19 OKAY Industries ............................................................... 43 Phillips Medisize .............................................................. 13 PSN Labs .......................................................................... 31 Resonetics ...................................................................... IFC Rockwell Automation .................................................... 107 Saint-Gobain .................................................................... 55 Senko Advanced Components....................................... 44 SigmaTron ........................................................................ 47 Tegra Medical ................................................................ IBC Viant .................................................................................. 66 WAGO Corporation ........................................................ 99

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Medical Design & Outsourcing

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DESIGN WORLD

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CEO Scott McCafferty smccafferty@wtwhmedia.com 310.279.3844 @SMMcCafferty

VP of Sales | Publisher Mike Emich memich@wtwhmedia.com 508.446.1823 @wtwh_memich

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CFO Ken Gradman kgradman@wtwhmedia.com 773.680.5955

MD&O_FP_strong woman_09.2023_pdfx1a.pdf 1 9/14/2023 3:07:58 PM

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Protecting caregivers, treating patients and delivering confidence.

It starts with decades of product development expertise. Our vast catalog of standard components can be customized to generate endless possibilities for sets and kits. We put in place processes for ensuring stringent quality levels, managing volumes of documentation and tracking all project details. Add in a full suite of capabilities, and you have a turnkey solution that’s more like a partnership for creating confidence.

B. Braun Medical | OEM Division | USA | us.bbraunoem.com | 1-800-359-2439 ©2020 B. Braun Medical Inc. Bethlehem, PA. RX only. All rights reserved. OEM 16-5563 05/20 LMN

MEDICAL DESIGN & OUTSOURCING | 9" X 10.875" | BRN2608