Leverage your uniqueness and use it to succeed
I believe in doing hard things. If the expected outcome is important and impactful, then getting through the challenges is worth the effort.
I started my technical career as a high school engineering intern working on a space nuclear power program. I was one of two women working on the program, and I was the youngest on the team. I took that uniqueness as a challenge, and I rapidly exceeded the expectations of my supervisor and team members—and I was remembered.
That is a position that I have often found myself in, having embarked on the highly technical and male-dominated field of nuclear engineering. I encourage young women who find themselves as an outlier in their chosen career to use that uniqueness to their advantage. As the only woman in the room, make yourself heard. You will be remembered. Stand out as a positive contributor, an innovator, an overachiever, a supporter, and a leader. Don’t be shy about accepting credit and praise, but don’t hesitate to give credit to others on the team as well.
I spent the early part of my career developing nuclear power and propulsion systems for space applications—designing and testing systems that incorporate compact, energy dense nuclear fission and use every watt of energy produced to support the highly ambitious space missions envisioned, without waste.
I began asking the question, “Why don’t we bring this same premise to terrestrial systems?”
As I shifted from space systems to applications closer to home, I began breaking down traditional paradigms of how we use nuclear energy. Today, nuclear fission in the U.S. is used for electricity generation, but the high-quality heat from fission, which is produced without any emissions, can be used to directly provide heat and electricity to reduce emissions across all energy use sectors, namely, the electric grid, industry, and transportation.
At the start of this paradigm-shifting effort I received a lot of push back from highly respected leaders at my laboratory and in the nuclear field. Believing strongly in the approach, I persevered, strengthened my case, improved my communication, and sought stakeholder support. That perseverance is now paying dividends in significant Department of Energy funding, demonstration projects, and a focused division that I lead to accomplish aggressive clean energy goals using these diverse integrated systems that break traditional thinking.
If you believe in the mission that you have defined or adopted, persevere. Learn from the feedback and criticism you receive to tell your story better. Leverage your unique voice and be remembered.
