I suppose you could say I was born into engineering: I grew up in a house my parents designed and built together at a time when shortages of building supplies were still a problem. I literally had my little feet in wet concrete. I began school in a one-room schoolhouse with a pot-belly stove and no plumbing! It made quite an impression, as did the first-ever breaking of the sound barrier over Ottawa when I was in grade two. As a teenager, I was required to pull my weight in the family and I remember my first removal of the mower and installation of the snow blower on our garden tractor with tremendous satisfaction.

When I worked in industry in my early career, I was an engineering analyst. Now, as a professor there are three parts to my position: I teach, I do research and I do administration. At the moment I am the Associate Chair (Undergraduate) in my department. This means I spend a fair amount of time talking to undergraduate students.

There are challenges in every career. There are difficult courses in school: there are decisions to be made about moving or staying in a particular city;  there will be choices  in accepting  or declining career shifts and  balancing family and career. For me, the most significant challenge was adjusting my long term career aspirations when my husband died.

Throughout much of my journey as an adult I was accompanied by Alan Oddy. We met in first-year engineering and married after third-year engineering. We pursued, at the same times, our bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. degrees as well as our respective careers. Combining family and work was a challenge but together we have moved forward, welcoming Sarah in 1989 and our twins, Andrew and Carolyn in 1994.    They are bright, active and thoroughly busy young people. It's amazing to think that Sarah starts her own program in Chemical Engineering this fall.  Alan died in 2001 from cancer so we have had to move on without him.  Our family includes a variety of feathered and furred friends.

I had a number of teachers who inspired me at key times in my schooling but my parents were the most important influences. My mother was a gifted artist and much-loved science teacher. She showed me her love of children and her gift of teaching. My father was a military engineer (mechanical) and an author of military history. From him I learned especially how to cope with change and when I wrote my book, I remembered the long nights he had spent on his books.