What I Do I work on commercial Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) equipment. This is the equipment on the roof of commercial buildings, and by the windows of classrooms and hotel rooms. I measure how loud they are, predict how loud they'll be in an actual installation, and try to make them quieter.
Why Engineering? I wanted to make things better, and I liked solving problems and working with others.
School Days I earned a BS in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Illinois and then a MS in Acoustics from the Pennsylvania State University. I had scholarships in my department at the University of Illinois, and a Graduate Assistantship which paid all my tuition, room and board at Penn State.
My Day At Work Acoustics is everywhere. I've worked on tiny hearing aid microphones and on massive (13 m x 13 m) doors so you run a jet engine in a test cell and still communicate in the next room. Sometimes I'm problem solving why something is making noise. Other times, I just measure how loud it is. And then I also try to predict how loud a similar unit will be - maybe a bit bigger or smaller, or the fan changed, or…
Best Part I like getting to work with all sorts of things - I'm still learning new things at work, and balancing what is good for acoustics with other areas - cost, efficiency, environmental load, etc.
Proud Moments I'm most proud of designing the acoustics of the Joint Strike Fighter LiftFan (TM) test cell. There were a lot of challenges - it had a lot of different test configurations, and I needed to get it from 167 dBA in the test cell to 70 dBA in the control room. It met all requirements, and was completed 14 months after the project kicked off.
Challenges Technically, learning about other areas of engineering so that my team can come up with the best solution. I've had to learn aeroacoustics, international standards and laws, building construction details, how people respond to various sounds, and how to build a part that I need. I've had some co-workers who weren't convinced that I was a real engineer, especially after I took a few years off after my kids were born. Lack of bathrooms in a lot of engineering spaces, although it's getting much better.
My Family My family is very geeky - one grandfather, one sister, my brother and my husband are all engineers. But we're also very musical - I play bass clarinet and other single-reeds in community orchestra and community theater. My husband sings in 3 choirs and performs in the community theater. My daughter sings in 2 choirs, and my son is principal viola of a small orchestra. I also lead a Girl Scout troop that I started when my daughter left for college - they are now in High School, and working on their Gold Awards.
Dreams and Goals In the short term, I want to get up to speed on Trane products - I've only been here a little over a year. In 10 years I hope to retire.
Want to be an Engineer? Expect to have failures - if you don't, you are not doing anything new. Learn from them and try not to repeat them. You don't have to be a math or science whiz. It's more important that you are curious and persistent. Communication is important - if you can't communicate your idea to others, or understand other's requirements, your product won't happen.
Hobbies I love traveling - I've visited 47 states and 13 countries. I have 3 cats, and they don't like hearing me practice any of my musical instruments.