I am Creative

I've always been very mathematical, and I love using that ability to do something useful to advance civilization—to make things more energy-efficient.

I've wanted to be an engineer since I was about ten years old. When I was an undergraduate, I was studying acoustics and music. I became very interested in the electronics behind audio equipment. Then, in grad school, I took a course with a professor who excited me and got me interested in power and energy. That professor has been an important influence on me. She had the qualities of a great mentor. By being very hands-off, she forced me to be self-motivated and independent and to come up with creative solutions.

I've always been very mathematical and I love using that ability to do something useful to advance civilization—to make things more energy efficient. Some of the work I'm doing now with the Navy is helping to "green the fleet" by reducing the energy consumption of ships. It makes me feel like I'm doing some good.

There's a certain thrill aspect to some of the equipment we have at the Navy yard. It's so massive, it gives you a sense of awe just to look at them. The fact that I am working in the field that designs them is even more exciting.

One opportunity I've had involves working on developing standards with IEEE.
The Navy has been working with IEEE on the standards for power electronic building blocks. I got a chance to go to the PES Joint Technical Meeting, and I've been helping to put together the tutorial for one of the sessions. In the future I'll be the vice chair of one of the two task forces. There are some high voltage DC transmission people who will benefit from the standards, so it's nice to do that work.

I'm still very into music. I make electronic music that I program on my computer, I play piano and play guitar. Right now I'm too busy to play in my old band, but I'm still able to be creative.