Andrea Armani

Andrea Armani

Title
Asst Professor
Organization
University of Southern California
Location
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Andrea Armani
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Biography
Andrea Armani grew up in Memphis, TN. From there, she moved to Chicago, where she received her BA in physics from the University of Chicago (2001) and her PhD in applied physics with a minor in biology from the California Institute of Technology (2007). After spending a couple additional years at Caltech for her post-doc in biology and chemical engineering, she started her current position as the Fluor Early Career Chair of Engineering and an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Electrical Engineering-Electrophysics in the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California. Her research group, which includes undergraduate students, PhD students and post-docs, develops new types of optical devices (like lasers) and uses them to study how biological systems work. This research is very interdisciplinary and requires students to draw on all fields of science and engineering. Armani has received numerous awards, including the ONR Young Investigator Award (2009), the Technology Review Top 35 Innovators under 35 (2009), the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program New Investigator Award (2010), the USC Mellon Mentoring Award for Undergraduate Mentoring (2010), the NIH New Innovator Award (2010), and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2009). She spends her free time with her husband, her two dogs and her cat, and enjoys running in the Los Angeles area.
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Hi! I am currently a college student pursuing a Mathematics degree and I am very interested in a career in engineering, however, I am still undecided about whether or not a career in engineering is for me. I'm looking for something where I can have freedom to choose my projects, and do not have to work under direct supervision. Are there areas of engineering that allow for that kind of independence? If so, would I need to pursue a PhD in order to have that kind of autonomy in the field?

Dear Amanda, This is a very good question, and depending on your year in school, a very timely one as well as applications to PhD programs are due relatively soon. Typically, in industry, the researchers who have PhDs are given the greatest amount of freedom, both in selecting and in managing their projects. Additionally, these researchers will also manage other researchers who will typically have bachelors or technical degrees. However, this freedom is not dependent on the field of engineering that you choose. In fact, to develop a truly innovative product, industry often brings together teams of engineers from different disciplines. For example, one of my colleagues who has a PhD and who works in the biotech industry manages a project which focuses on developing a new type of implantable device. These colleague and her co-workers have PhDs in bioengineering, electrical engineering, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering. I have other colleagues who work in the defense industry and who oversee the development of unmanned or robotic ground vehicles. These colleagues have PhDs in mechanical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, and applied mathematics. If you think you might be interested in engineering, I would recommend participating in research in an engineering research lab at your school. Getting hands-on experience will help you decide if engineering is right for you and, if you decide to go to graduate school, it will strengthen your application. Best of luck! Andrea M Armani