Professional Physicists - Faculty: Engineering

Faculty members of Engineering Departments of colleges and universities:

Job title:
Currently: postdoctoral researcher in electrical engineering
Starting 2008: assistant professor of electrical engineering

Educational background:
B.A. Physics
Ph.D. Physics

What do you do?
I work as a postdoctoral researcher in the field of optics and photonics, which lies at the intersection of applied physics, electrical engineering, and several other science and engineering fields. As a postdoc, I work on my own research projects as well as assist in the supervision of graduate students. When I start my job as an assistant professor, I will lead my own research group and teach courses to undergraduate and graduate students.

Why did you decide to pursue a physics-related career?
I always enjoyed math classes in high school and got interested in physics partly because it was a mathematical science. Summer programs at the local university and popular science books on physics further sparked my interest. Initially I was very curious about particle physics and cosmology, and the potential for physics to answer deep questions about the origin and nature of the universe. As I went along, I grew more interested in the technological and applied side of the field and decided to work on research projects at the intersection of physics and engineering.

How has your physics background helped you in your career?
As an academic, a Ph.D. was essential for getting a job as a university professor at a major research university. Now that I'm in an electrical engineering department, I suppose I could have also gotten to where I am now by doing my degrees in engineering, instead. But I enjoyed my physics education for its deep coverage of topics on a fundamental level.

How have you balanced family and career commitments?
When I searched for positions as an assistant professor, I had multiple job offers. In choosing which one to accept, I had to consider very carefully where my husband would also have good career options, and where we would both enjoy living. Because he works outside of academia, we found that many of the smaller college towns had a limited range of choices and that we were more comfortable with a large city.

Do you have any advice for college students who are interested in pursuing careers in physics?
Look for opportunities to get involved in the research at your university and explore the topics that may interest you. Physics and math classes are a key part of your training, but don't neglect writing and communication classes; though they may seem less relevant now, developing your communication skills will pay off considerably in a scientific or any other career. You may also want to investigate careers in applied physics and engineering, where your physics knowledge can be applied to technological problems.

Job title:
Professor of Engineering Science & Mechanics

Educational background:
B.S. in Physics and Mathematics
Master's and Ph.D. in Physics
Postdoctoral Fellow in Physics-Chemistry

What do you do?
I research, teaching, and supervise graduate students.

Why did you decide to pursue a physics-related education?
I just loved physics and mathematics; they are easy, logic, and fun.

How has your physics background helped you in your career?
With a background in physics and math, one can move to work in practically any engineering field, or remain in physics.

How have you balanced family and career commitments?
I had the help of my mom to take care of my daughter when I needed to travel.

Job title:
Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering

Educational background:
B.S. Physics
M.S. Mechanical Engineering
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering

What do you do?
I do research in nanotechnology and I teach courses in mechanical engineering.

Why did you decide to pursue a physics-related education?
I loved this subject since it was introduced to me in middle school and continued to love it during high school. At the beginning I did not find physics easy, but I had two outstanding physics teachers those love for physics was contagious. As a child/teenager I went to national competitions (Olympiads). It was easy to go on and continue studying physics in college.

How has your physics background helped you in your career?
I am doing research in nanotechnology, which is a multidisciplinary area and it helps having a physics background.

How have you balanced family and career commitments?
Balancing family and career requires discipline and full support of your partner. I have three children, two boys, 8 and 5 years old, respectively, and a daughter, 18 months old. When they get sick, it can be really hard, but otherwise we handle it. I limit my work hours from 8 AM to 5 PM. However, after the kids go to bed, I may do some light work (such as reading technical literature) and often have stimulating discussions about research with my husband (also a professor in mechanical engineering).

Do you have any advice for college students who are interested in pursuing careers in physics?
Try to find something you are really passionate about, something you really enjoy doing. Be patient and don't expect instantaneous gratification. A successful career needs sustained, long-term hard work.

Job title:
Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

Educational background:
B.Sc. in Physics
Ph.D. in Physics

What do you do?
I teach various undergraduate and graduate courses in materials science and electrical engineering. Currently, I am writing a textbook for one of those courses. I carry out research in the development of methods of characterizing materials, and the design of new materials with technologically interesting properties. I write proposals to seek grants to fund new lines of research, and write journal articles to publish the findings of my research.

Why did you decide to pursue a physics-related career?
I was always attracted to the idea of being able to describe physical phenomena by mathematical theories, and conduct careful experiments to test those theories. It took me a while to believe that I would be able to learn to do that, but now I really do it!

How has your physics background helped you in your career?
I use it all the time.

How have you balanced family and career commitments?
My institution of employment recently adopted a policy permitting professors to work part-time to accommodate family commitments. My work responsibilities are still a huge commitment of time and energy, but I am delighted to have to opportunity to work part-time. I would not have sought this position otherwise.

Do you have any advice for college students who are interested in pursuing careers in physics?
My impression is that strength in physics is important for many engineering and scientific disciplines. I recruit graduate students through materials science and electrical engineering departments, but I always look for strength in physics in potential candidates since it often implies the ability to think critically, which is an important attribute in graduate school. Taking physics classes will give you fundamental knowledge which can be applied in many fields.

Job title:
Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering

Educational background:
B.S. Physics
M.S. Electrical Engineering
Ph.D. Electrical Engineering

What do you do (work responsibilities, research, etc.)?
I teach courses in chemical engineering such as fluid mechanics, heat transfer, process control, and semiconductor processing. I also conduct research in various materials processing areas.

Why did you decide to pursue a physics-related education?
I had originally thought about teaching at a high school, physics was an area that needed teachers, and I was pretty good at. I also don't think my guidance counselor thought women could be scientists without being grade school or high school teachers.

How has your physics background helped you in your career?
Tremendously. The background I obtained in my undergraduate program continues to help me today. So much of engineering is based on physics. I believe it has helped me to be more cross-disciplinary. The mathematics background was also a big plus.

How have you balanced family and career commitments?
I delayed trying to have children until after my Ph.D., and after I had established myself in industry. When we did try, I ended up having a slew of tests and wasn't able to have children (I reached the age of 40 before a solution). My advice now to untenured women faculty is to not wait until you are in your mid to late thirties, but go ahead and have a child before your biological clock ticks by. I don't recommend having lots of children during the tenure process, but most universities will consider a delay in the tenure clock. I think industry has become more open as well.

Do you have any advice for college students who are interested in pursuing careers in physics?
Go for it in undergrad. Maybe pursue an engineering physics degree. I think there are many more jobs in industry for engineers so I would recommend graduate work in engineering if they want to go into research or experimental areas in industry.

Job title:
Professor Emerita

Educational background:
B.S., M.S., D.Sc. - physics

What do you do?
I do basic research in materials science and engineering in a university, and, before retirement, also teaching in this field; I served as department chairman for 5 years. My first job was in a government lab doing research on ferromagnetic spin wave resonance. I switched to MSE when opportunity arose. My husband was already a faculty member in the department.

Why did you decide to pursue a physics-related career?
I had an early interest in airplanes and flying; I switched to physics in high school because of an inspiring teacher.

How has your physics background helped you in your career?
In my first position, it was directly applicable. In MSE, my field (mechanical behavior and characterization) is based largely on physics. The switch from physics to MSE was easy with the physics background.

How have you balanced family and career commitments?
I took off for 13 years to partially raise our two children. Perhaps, in this more competitive time, this would not be possible. During my time at home, I worked (with my husband) on a basic text that has since has become a standard, with translations into a number of foreign languages. Working on it taught me some basic MSE that was invaluable when I started back to work in this field.

Do you have any advice for college students who are interested in pursuing careers in physics?
Physics is an excellent entrée into many careers, besides, of course, physics, such as various engineering fields, law, finances, medicine (increasingly), etc.

Job title:
Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Educational background:
B.S. Physics
M.S. Physics
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering

What do you do?
As a faculty member, I have three major responsibilities: research, teaching and service to the university. Research is a priority and we are expected to write a minimum of two refereed papers each year and submit proposals for government funding. Research is probably the largest part of our reappointment/tenure process. Our teaching load is two classes per semester. This load is different at different schools and in different fields. Realistically, during the 9 months of classes, teaching is all you have time to do and very little research gets done. Service consists of being on committees, advising students, reviewing papers and proposals, etc. Service can be very time consuming. Being a professor is a very rewarding job, but takes a lot of hard work.

Why did you decide to pursue a physics-related career?
I always wondered why things do what they do. The more questions you ask, the more questions that pop up. I decided at a very young age to be a scientist and decided in undergraduate school that I wanted to teach.

How has your physics background helped you in your career?
It has been essential. The combination of a physics education and engineering education has allowed me to view problems from both a theory side and an applied side. I encourage all physicists to get involved in hand-on research. That is a great way to really understand the physics. Being able to do the math is only part of it.

How have you balanced family and career commitments?
This is a very important question. There are women that can do both and do both very well. Other women feel they need to make a choice. I don't think you know the answer to the question until you get into your career. You also may have more than two options, so try and think outside the box.

Do you have any advice for college students who are interested in pursuing careers in physics?
Physics is great! I have never felt like I was teated differently by a professor or co-worker because I am female. Women have great opportunities in technical fields because schools and companies want to increase their diversity. Don't think of this as being given special treatment. They are not going to hire you if you are not qualified, so take advantage of your situation! Men certainly would if they could.

Job title:
Professor, Electrical Engineering

Educational background:
Undergrad studies in Physics and Mathematics
M.Sc. in Physics
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering
Post-doc in industry

What do you do?
I teach, manage, and conduct research at a major research university.

Why did you decide to pursue a physics-related education?
From an early age I was fascinated by all fields of physics, including astronomy and applied math; luckily there was also enough talent and tenacity, as well as outstanding teachers in middle and high school.

How has your physics background helped you in your career?
The physics training has given me a good understanding of the fundamental principles behind the engineering systems I am dealing with today. My career has evolved from trying to gain knowledge to inventing new things and making stuff happen. The latter can be done based on pure empirics; yet the physics background helps with understanding making the process faster.

Do you have any advice for college students who are interested in pursuing careers in physics?
My advice would be to get hands-on lab experience as soon as possible, as well as experience in original research, such as through summer research programs or directly with faculty during the terms.

Job title:
Associate-professor in material science

Educational background:
Ph.D. in physics, specialization material science

What do you do?
I am the head of a research group in a national research center.

Why did you decide to pursue a physics-related career?
I had a very good teacher in physics at school, and was fascinated by the field. I wanted to study something that would allow me to have a non-boring job, one that allows me to discover new things every day. I also wanted to work in a challenging international environment.

How has your physics background helped you in your career?
Material science is applied research, but with my physics background, I look at it from a bottom-up view. I like the academic environment, where one tries to understand and not only solve a problem.

How have you balanced family and career commitments?
That was not easy! I stayed a few years at home to take care of my children. Coming back was very difficult to get accepted by colleagues. The biggest problem with a career break is that one has to compete with men that are 150% available and at most of the meetings.

Do you have any advice for college students who are interested in pursuing careers in physics?
First, enjoy your studies!

Concerning your future, do not look too much at the competition for your career. If you want to have children, you can and not compete, but you will feel guilty in all aspects: on one hand, because others make faster career advancement then you, and on the other hand, because non-working mothers will try to demonstrate your non-availability! Just follow your instinct and enjoy your children. When you can deal with them, it makes you stronger in your career too.

Concerning research, good research last forever, and at the end you will be recognized for it.