Barbara Woodworth

 

DESPITE ADVANCEMENTS BY WOMEN ENGINEERS IN THE ENERGY SECTOR, THE FACT REMAINS THE FIELD REMAINS MALE DOMINATED. THERE’S GOOD NEWS, HOWEVER, AND TIMES ARE A CHANGIN.’ TODAY, WOMEN ARE MAKING HEADWAY AND BECOMING MORE OF AN INTEGRAL PART OF THIS SECTOR. THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE) AND THE WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL ON WOMEN AND GIRLS LEADS IN SUPPORTING THE ADVANCEMENT OF FEMALES IN STEM DISCIPLINES, WITH INCREASED FOCUS ON INFORMING FEMALES ABOUT THE WIDE VARIETY OF JOB CATEGORIES THAT EXIST IN THIS ARENA. AND WHILE ENERGY HAS TAKEN A RECENT DOWNTURN FROM 2013 - WHEN THE US ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION PUBLICATION TOUTED THIS SECTOR –THE FOUR WOMAN ENGINEERS PROFILED BELOW MAINTAIN A POSITIVE VIEW OF THEIR CAREERS WITHIN THE ENERGY DOMAIN.

 

NAJELI DONAHUE, LUMINANT

 

In true engineering fashion, Najeli Donahue, Luminant senior engineer, planned her career path at an early age. Her blueprint to success began in high school when her physics teacher encouraged her to attend engineering summer camp. With the groundwork laid for an engineering career, she was accepted into the civil engineering program at the University of Texas at Austin and completed two internships at Luminant’s Three Oaks Mine. “My internship experience was invaluable and gave me insight into various projects and intricacies about what it takes to keep a mine running,” says Donahue. “Each day was a new experience. Whether I was working on long-term projects, such as future pit locations, or day-to-day operations and logistics, it was exciting to know I was involved in powering Texas.”

 

Following graduation, Donahue began the next phase of her career as an associate engineer at Three Oaks Mine. She obtained her professional engineering license in 2013. She now focuses on reclamation projects.

 

Pleased to join Luminant (www.luminant.com) because of the company’s outstanding environmental record, this Dallas, TX-headquartered company is the largest power generator in the state with a diverse mix of energy sources, including coal, natural gas, nuclear and renewables. It is the largest coal producer in Texas and the ninth largest producer of coal in the United States. For more than 40 years, Luminant has set the standard in land reclamation, restoring over 77,000 acres of mined land, planting over 37 million trees and creating or enhancing more than 5,100 acres of wetlands, ponds, and stream channels.

 

Today, Donahue designs water structures to assist in mining and post-mining reclamation. “Some designs include permanent impoundments, drop structures, sedimentation ponds and water diversions,” she says, noting that these projects are part of the company’s commitment to reclamation excellence. For Donahue, the mining industry has provided several positive career experiences. “Since I work in a competitive market, I have the rare opportunity as an engineer to design my project, watch the construction process, and typically see it completed within a few months. I enjoy seeing my projects come to life,” she adds.

 

Donahue believes there are numerous opportunities for female engineers in the energy sector, including rapid career advancement and continuous learning experiences. “I encourage new engineers to stay motivated, energized and to keep an open mind,” says Donahue. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions and make suggestions. Just because something has been done one way for a long time, doesn’t always mean it can’t be improved.”

 

In fact, Donahue takes continuous improvement in stride – literally – as a competitive triathlete. This summer, she will begin her weekly training regimen – biking 50 miles, running 15 miles and swimming two miles – to gear up for the 2016 Longhorn Austin Half Marathon. Her triathlon team competes in events to raise funds for blood cancer research through the Go Mitch Go Foundation.

 

MUIBAT GBADAMOSI, ROYAL PURPLE

 

Muibat Gbadamosi is a seven-year employee at Porter, TXbased Royal Purple LLC Brand, which is a subsidiary of Indianapolis, ID-headquartered Calumet Specialty Products Partners (www.calumetspecialtyproducts.com)

 

As R&D manager, Muibat Gbadamosi has earned a Ph.D. degree in lubrication chemistry with Chemo metrics, an MS degree with merits in industrial data modeling, and a BS degree with honors in analytical chemistry from De Montfort University Leicester, United Kingdom.

 

Royal Purple, she ex plains, was founded as an industrial lubricants company in 1986, when asked by an oil production company to solve chronic bearing failures in their large compressors. With no lubricant available, Royal Purple founder, John Williams, put his extensive background to work in developing a new lubricant technology. “Today Royal Purple (www.royalpurpleindustrial.com) is widely recognized as a superpremium line of consumer automotive products and as a leading primary lubricant supplier to industrial markets,” says Gbadamosi, mentioning that the company continues to grow nationally and internationally. Royal Purple was acquired in 2012, by Calumet Specialty Pro ducts Partners, a Fortune 500 company and leading refiner and processor of specialty hydrocarbon products.

 

With her graduate studies linked to the energy-related industry, Gbadamosi re calls receiving “great mentoring” from her Ph.D. supervisors. “I have a strong interest in problem-solving and innovative technologies on both the scientific and engineering sides of the energy industry, and my company offers both,” she says. Among her current duties, Gbadamosi cites work associated with automotive and industrial lubricant formulations, re searching new technologies for the development of new products, product certifications, and gaining approval from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). “I additionally evaluate and approve raw materials for production of finished lubricants,” she states.

 

According to Gbadamosi, the energy-related sector is an exciting and growing industry with numerous prospects for engineers and others with various scientific knowledge and interest. The future will include cutting-edge technologies with more focus on the environment, she forecasts. “This is an enormous industry with multiple career paths and lots of opportunities to develop skills as well as to advance and even change disciplines,” she states. “It’s also an industry in which females make a significant contribution.” She also mentions the need for enthusiasm and passion for success, good communication and interpersonal skills, adaptability, and the ability to thrive in a dynamic environment. “These are skills often found in female technologists,” notes Gbadamosi .

 

What does Gbadamosi enjoy most about her job? She enjoys evaluating new and emerging technologies, developing automotive and industrial lubricant products for numerous applications, and interacting with multiple disciplines across the industry. A member of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the American Chemical Society (ACS), she finds participating in these organizations important for keeping up-to-date with happenings and advancements in the energy industry.

 

TAI PRINCE, FMC TECHNOLOGIES

 

“There will always be a need for careers in the energy sector,” says Tai Prince, who has more than eight years of accumulated experience in the manufacturing sector. “It’s exciting and I look forward to growing my career in this arena.”

 

Beginning in the automotive field, she specialized in quality and production engineering after graduating from the University of Maryland College Park with a bachelor’s of science degree in physical sciences (mechanical engineering). Today, she holds ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) certification and is a manufacturing engineer at Houston, TX-headquartered FMC Technologies (www.fmctechnologies.com).

 

During her years in the automotive industry, Prince took advantage of hands-on training. Strong in collaboration skills, she worked with many suppliers and production teams, a role that prepared her well for her current position. While in the process of exploring other avenues of engineering, Prince visited FMC Technologies. “There I saw a great opportunity to apply what I learned previously as well as to be part of changing dynamics,” says Prince. “I welcomed the opportunity to deal with challenges and to see successful results based on the skills I brought to the table,” she states.

 

As a manufacturing engineer, Prince is responsible for quality and safety for the company’s manufacturing processes and engineering environment. “My role is project-based, using lean principles and continuous improvement as a foundation for quality and safety,” she remarks. With duties that are both proactive and reactive, she also leads programs to support quality and safety, such as chairing the FMC Technologies Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE) Council.

 

While she classifies the energy sector as ever-changing and continually improving to accommodate the needs of society, Prince believes female professionals should be encouraged by the fact that there are now more women in technology and engineering roles in every department at FMC Technologies. “In 2015, the company announced its first female engineering fellow, and I am proud to be part of the growing number of women in STEM and engineering careers,” says Prince, adding that the energy sector allows for many career paths, from technology to management, and across all aspects of the business. “An engineering background can lead to many, many possibilities,” she continues.

 

Despite this being a somewhat down time for the energy sector, Prince is confident that the industry will improve. “I applaud FMC Technologies’ continued focus on improving safety, quality, and delivery processes while decreasing costs through increased efficiency – all aspects that impact my role,” states Prince, who enjoys being a team player, not only for her team but for the entire company. A people-person, she thrives on interacting with co-workers in various departments at all levels of the organization. “I’m pleased to be able to use my strengths to influence the quality of our products and the safety of my colleagues,” says Prince, who was tapped by her co-workers to chair her department’s teambuilding activity planning.

 

Volunteering is important to Prince as well. It is something she has done since high school and continues to do today as a representative of FMC Technologies. “I like to surround myself with positive and inspirational people,” states Prince. “Despite the hardships women have experienced in the workplace, as a woman, I never gave up.”

 

Quoting an unknown source she adds: “Giving up on your goal because you have one setback is like slashing your other three tires because you got one flat.” Good words to live by.

 

CHRISTA MARKGRAFF, NICOR GAS

 

In addition to being managing director of project management at Nicor Gas (https://nicorgas.com), located in Naperville, IL, Christa Markgraff is director of STEM education for the Chicago Chapter of the Women’s Energy Network (WEN), an organization dedicated to attracting, retaining, and developing women in the field of energy. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Voices for Illinois Children, working with families, communities, and policymakers across multiple areas to help children grow up healthy, safe, happy, loved, and well-educated.

 

Firm in her belief that energy is critical to the continued forward progress of our communities and economy, Markgraff refers to the Center for Energy Workforce Development’s (CEWD) estimate “indicating that nearly 50 percent of the current energy workforce will retire within the next five to 10 years.”

 

Says Markgraff, “The need for a qualified workforce to replace them will only continue to grow as time goes on,” adding that the energy industry would greatly benefit from an increased presence of female professionals. “The need to fill jobs will be unprecedented and women may often think, act, or approach problems differently, bringing a diversity of thought that could result in more powerful problem-solving.”

 

Since there is an opportunity to market energy careers-- especially to female engineers—as a way to make people’s lives better, Markgraff emphasizes the importance of stressing that the delivery of natural gas meets a fundamental need in the community by helping to heat homes and providing resources necessary to cook hot meals. “This approach can help foster an increased sense of purpose that women often find appealing,” she says.

 

Markgraff holds a BS degree in civil engineering from Valparaiso University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. “The energy industry offers a wide range of professional and technical careers choices,” she comments. “As a company, Nicor Gas was particularly attractive to me due to its offer of a lifelong career as an engineer, while increasing the breath of what I do by exposing me to a number of different roles in both the office and the field.”

 

Nicor Gas merged with AGL Resources in 2011, bringing together seven natural gas utilities to create the largest natural gas distribution company in the nation. During her tenor there, Markgraff has worked in a variety of different roles including operating, analytical, engineering, construction, marketing, and sales. The fact that many of her professional experiences involved customer-facing, requires her to think on her feet. Now in her twenty-third year at the company, she reflects on how each position sharpened her skills for the next opportunity. “As a result of my experiences, I’m better able to craft overall plans to meet outcomes in project management, while keeping in mind that how and what we do impacts everyone who is involved and affected,” she maintains.

 

Working in concert with engineering and construction staff to plan and execute on Nicor Gas’s Investing in Illinois program – the largest infrastructure-replacement effort in company history – Markgraff explains that the intent is to modernize hundreds of miles of pipelines and associated system components to further increase safety and reliability over the next nine years. “My team is charged with developing and pursuing largescale infrastructure-improvement programs and projects, including high-value complex assets,” says Markgraff, who enjoys working with others to solve problems.