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Where are you from?
Originally I'm from New Jersey, but I've been in Houston, Texas, for three years and I'm loving it!
What company/institution do you work for?
The Dow Chemical Company
Where did you complete/are you completing your chemical engineering education?
I did my BS at Lafayette College and my PhD at Carnegie Mellon.
How many years have you been a member of AIChE?
Five.
Describe a recent challenge you managed, notable achievement, or obstacle you overcame at your job or in your work as an AIChE member.
My recent challenge has been making the jump from R&D into manufacturing. It’s not something that is done often, and there are a lot of people who think I’m a bit crazy. I’m leaving the somewhat laid-back, dream-big life of R&D to go get my hands dirty in the plant. Is this a waste of the five years I spent getting a PhD? No, thankfully, it’s not. I am about to get some serious hands-on experience, while being fortunate enough to have full support from the production leader and leaders in my business technology who know I bring skills to the table. I am a fresh set of eyes, looking at things from a different angle and with a new perspective. Yes, once I learn enough, I will get called when things aren’t working the way that they should. Yes, I’ve only just started this role and they are planning my tasks for a 2017 turnaround (eek!). Yes these are things most people in R&D are glad they get to avoid. But what I will learn from this stint in manufacturing is going to pay off ten-fold when I rise up through a technology track to make big changes and come with the credibility and reputation that I’ve been there and I know what it takes to make things happen. I am super excited for this new experience!
What do you do to meet people in your field?
AIChE is where it's at! I mean, other than being surrounded by chemical engineers at work on a daily basis, AIChE is where it's at! I have especially enjoyed the spring meeting recently. It's close enough for me to get their easily, and far enough away from my normal crowd to get me meeting new ChemEs! Also, living in Houston certainly manages to have me bumping into a few ChemEs from time to time. My grad school network is out-and-about all across the country and it turns out it's a bit of a small world there too.
If your college had offered a class on real-life skills for the aspiring ChE, what would you want them to teach?
How to leverage others' work and how to help others leverage your work. I think we spend a lot of time in school working through our own problems and learning our own lessons. In graduate school especially you can end up very alone, working on your individual problem. There is so much value in others' work, and we can save a lot of time and effort leveraging it instead of feeling like we need to reinvent the wheel in order to prove we can. On the one side, ask for help/information and, on the other side, be willing to provide that help/information and we can all get the job done in less time.
If you weren’t a ChE what would you most want to be?
In musical theater! I did musicals growing up, and some (most...all?) would say my life is still a musical.
How many ChEs does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Not my department! Call mechanical engineers to screw it in and electrical engineers to turn it on. I'm out of my filament. I mean...element.
Do you have any advice for current or future young professionals reading ChEnected?
Don't be afraid to ask questions as often as you need to. It can help you advance your understanding much faster. If the answer is "because we've always done it this way," challenge that!
You can contact Kaytlin through her LinkedIn profile.