Engineering Episodes

In this episode, Kathy sits down with Vinayasri Nidadavolu, a specialist engineer in offshore wind energy at Siemens Energy. Vinaya’s story spans continents, megawatts, and life stages — from earning a rare degree in wind engineering to climbing offshore turbines hundreds of kilometers out at sea, and now navigating her career as a new mother. Vinaya takes us inside the fascinating world of offshore wind turbines — explaining how today’s turbines have grown from 2–3 megawatts to an astonishing ...

In today’s episode of Ordinarily Extraordinary – Conversations with Women in STEM, Kathy and Linda sit down with environmental engineer and river guide Mishael Umlor — a woman who pressed pause on her engineering career to live a year of adventure, intention, and joy. Kathy first met Mishael this summer while rowing through the Grand Canyon on a 14-day paddle trip. What began as a passing “Wait… you’re an engineer?” moment turned into months of wanting to learn more about her unconventional, int...

In this episode, Kathy and Linda talk with Manyphay Viengkham, an accomplished technology leader whose career spans energy innovation, systems engineering, and entrepreneurship. With degrees in biochemistry and computer science, Manyphay has built a career defined by curiosity, continuous learning, and resilience—navigating roles in major companies like GE and Honeywell before launching her own consulting business. Together, they explore: How following her curiosity led from science to technol...

Sheila Buswell is the founder and CEO of Buswell Biomedical. Sheila's story is fascinating as she transitions from roles in mechanical engineering and as an army technician to becoming an innovator in the biomedical field, inspired by her own injury experiences. We dive into imposter syndrome, women's unique challenges in STEM, and the balancing act required in entrepreneurship. Sheila also shares insights from her book, "Is This Seat for Me?" highlighting the importance of setting boundarie...

Sarah Garcia is a Project Executive and Director of DEI at Novo Construction. She is a civil engineer who has worked in the construction industry for most of her career. She is passionate about getting women and other minorities into the construction industry and has seen firsthand the progress companies can make when they invest in DEI programs. Sarah has a Bachelor's of Science in Civil Engineering. What do we talk about in this episode? Civil engineering and how that fits into the construct...

Dr. Audra Morse, Dean of the College of Engineering at Michigan Tech, is a distinguished professional with a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and degrees in Environmental Engineering. Her journey from student to dean highlights the importance of rigorous academic challenges and hands-on learning in shaping successful careers in STEM. Dr. Morse emphasizes the changing dynamics of engineering education, including the impact of COVID-19 on learning styles and the crucial role of resilience. The conversat...

Dr. Chanfeng Zhao is the VP of R&D Chemistry at TriLink BioTechnologies. She has over 25 years of experience in nucleotide and modified nucleotide chemistry for sequencing and genomics applications. She co-founded MyChem LLC, a company later acquired by TriLink, specializing in ultra-pure synthetic nucleotides. Chanfeng was the CSO and Co-founder of Sequlite Genomic (acquired by Fapon International), a company that was developing NGS instruments and reagents. Previously, Dr. Zhao was one of the ...

Abigail Fritschel is about to graduate from Iowa State University with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. Abby was first on the podcast as Episode 13 when she had just graduated from high school in the summer of 2020. She's back to provide an update on college life, her college experience vs. her expectations, internships, Society of Women Engineers and what she'll be doing when she graduates this spring. What do we talk about in this episode? College expectations vs. reality. Why Abby almost ...

Dr. Sirisha Kuchimanchi is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, podcast host, live radio and live radio show host. She's a former tech executive who left the corporate world to start her own business. She founded Sahita, a Global community for South Asian Women to achieve Career & Financial empowerment so you can "Live the life YOU Dream". She has a PhD and Master's Degree in Materials Science and a Master's Degree and Bachelor's Degree in Physics. What do we talk about in this episode? Sirisha sh...

Anna Litvinova is a Flight Test Engineer. She graduated from college with a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering about three years ago and spends her time writing test plans, executing test missions on planes per those test plans, and analyzing the data from the tests. Anna immigrated to the US after growing up in Russia and then Germany. She is currently working on a Master’s Degree in Flight Test Engineering at the National Test Pilot School. What do we talk about in this episode? "If o...

Jill Anderson is the Executive Vice President of Operations at Southern California Edison. She has served in several leadership roles in several utilities in her career. At SCE in addition to her current position, she has also been the Senior Vice President of Customer Service and Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning & Power Supply. At New York Power Authority, she worked as the Chief Commercial Officer, Vice President of Public Affairs and Energy Policy and Chief of Staff to the CEO. She...

Saba Khalid is a Manager in Technical and Business Consulting focusing on Energy & Utilities. She has Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Electrical Engineering. What do we talk about in this episode? Saba and I talk about some challenges many of us face as women in STEM in STEM (or women in any career for that matter). Perfectionism and being people pleasers. Why do we feel the need to be liked by everyone? Navigating careers. How do you determine what's next? When do you bring in outside hel...

Danica Bunnett is the Chief Operating Officer of Bluon, a mobile app and technology platform that supports the HVAC technician community. Danica shares her passion for supporting a community that hasn’t traditionally received a lot of support and for making their lives easier and better. She has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Product Design (Mechanical Engineering) from Stanford University where she was the president of Stanford Women in Design. She is an outdoor enthusiast and gets her energ...

Dr. Prineha Narang is an Assistant Professor at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. She leads an interdisciplinary group at Harvard SEAS at the intersection of computational science, phenomena away from equilibrium, and quantum dynamics in matter. She has won numerous awards, fellowships, and grants including Forbes "30 Under 30". She has a PhD and Master's Degree in Applied Physics from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and did her po...

Katherine Hamilton co-hosted "The Energy Gang" podcast for over eight years. She is the co-founder and Chair of 38 North Solutions, a public policy firm focused on clean energy and innovation. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Clean Electrification. She was the President of the GridWise Alliance, served as a policy advisor for Good Energies, Inc. She served as a federal and state policy advisor for a number of years for Energy Storage Asso...

Dr. Linda Schadler is the Dean of The College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Vermont (UVM). She has a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania where she studied the micromechanical behavior of fiber and polymer composites and a B.S. in Material Science from Cornell University. Dr. Schadler has many publications and academic awards. She is an outdoor enthusiast and has two grown children. Episode Notes Dr. Linda Schadler shares her experiences becoming a dean and ru...

Anna Sannö is a Research Strategy Manager at Volvo Construction Equipment (CE) in Sweden. In addition to her technical role, Anna works within Volvo and the Vera program, a series of innovation workshops dedicated to encourage girls to explore careers in technology and engineering. The Vera program is named after Sweden's first female engineer, Vera Sandberg. Anna holds a PhD in Innovation and Design and a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering. She is also a senior lecturer at Örebro Univer...

Kay Paulus is software engineering manager at a Software as a Service company in rural Minnesota. She has a Bachelor's of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and transitioned into software engineering early in her career. Episode Notes Kay shares her career journey and how life sometimes has its own path, regardless of her well designed plans that she had laid out. She shares challenges she encountered early on in her part-time military service after comp...

Gina Covarrubias works with people in STEM who are looking for some guidance and direction in their career path. She uses her own life experiences as a young aerospace engineer who never found the right fit in engineering to help others who find themselves in similar situations. She pivoted from engineering into a life coaching program and launched her business Deliberate Doing in Fall of 2019. Episode Notes With a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Mechanical E...

Shailvi Wakhlu is a leader in data analytics. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering and has been coding since she was eight years old. Shailvi shares her journey from computer engineering into data analytics and the importance of developing leadership skills. Episode Notes Shailvi shares her experience in leadership in technology. She has held a variety of roles from large tech companies to small startups and is very deliberate in developing her skillset in the roles she seeks ...

Dr. Angelique Adams is an entrepreneur, scientist, engineer, mother, and philanthropist. She recently started her own company - Angelique Adams Media Solutions, LLC and is passionate about leadership and developing her team and now clients. She holds a PhD in Fuel Science, MS in Fuel Science, BS in Chemical Engineering, and an MBA from MIT. Episode Notes Dr. Angelique Adams brings multiple decades of leadership experience and knowledge to our conversation. She shares her journey from being a sc...

Becky Mueller is a crash test engineer - her dream job from the time she was 10 years old. She has BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering and is passionate about saving lives through the work she does to improve vehicle safety. Episode Notes Becky dreamed of being a crash test engineer since she was 10 years old and saw a crash test commercial on TV. Her love of math and science as a child provided a foundation for her to pursue degrees in mechanical engineering always with the goal of bec...

Jayshree Seth is a Corporate Scientist and Chief Science Advocate at 3M. She has Bachelor's and Master's Degrees and a PhD, all in Chemical Engineering. She holds 72 patents! She was recently featured in the documentary "Not the Science Type", a documentary that premiered during the Tribeca Film Festival this summer. She is the author of "The Heart of Science: Engineering Footprints, Fingerprints, and Imprints". Episode Notes Jayshree Seth didn't think she wanted to be an engineer or scienti...

Alana Esty has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering. She uses data analytics in the healthcare industry to improve patient care. She is also the host of the podcast “Health Analytic Insights Podcast”. Episode Notes Music used in the podcast: Higher Up, Silverman Sound Studio Acronyms, Definitions, and Fact Check Alana shares her story of entering the Bioengineering field and some of the challenges she’s faced and how she has navigated them to find a career in data analyt...