Liz West - Linkedin Profile
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Slides
Liz is a rocket scientist! Her work helps satellites move around space.
Liz West was born and raised in Panama. Her father worked in the US army and her mother was from Panama. Panama doesn't have temperature seasons but seasons defined as rainy and dry. She refers to herself as a jungle girl, as when she was small she liked to explore and be in the jungle areas where there are lots of cool animals, but bugs were not her favorite things - she likes the lack of big bugs in Seattle!
Her high school was an American style school, as many kids from military families went there. She studied hard and played hard. She loved sport and played volley ball and soccer. She disliked English because she didn't like the subjectivity of it, and she loved physiology. When she left high school she wanted to a doctor.
She wanted to go to a big school for college, and picked the University of Washington because it had a great medical school. She applied early so once she was accepted she didn't have to choose further.
Liz advises new students at university to be open to trying new things. She says it’s tough trying to figure out what you want to do, but if you try a range of things you'll eventually realize what feels right for you - don't be afraid to change your plans!
In her first year she took a series of classes for a pre-med path. That included a lot of sciences, chemistry, and math. She realized during her first year that she wasn't as excited about some of the chemistry and science labs as she had expected, but what she had started to like were subjects that could lead to an engineer path. By the end of her first year she decided to switch paths and pursue an engineering degree in Material Engineering. She commented that the female/male ratio was about 10/30 when she was on the program.
What is Material Engineering? The study of the characteristics and uses of various materials, such as metals, ceramics, and plastics, that are employed in science and technology. For example a material engineer could work on the X-Box controller to determine what the best materials for the body of the controller are. The material engineer would consider things like what it's being used for, temperatures of use, and ability to contour the device. Another example of the work of a material engineer is aircraft design. The engineer would evaluate the materials that airplanes are made of - advising what materials to use that meet the design requirements and then also evaluate how the materials faired after tests to make sure they can handle stress and don't fail.
One aspect of being a material engineer Liz liked in college and during internships was breaking things! Often her work would require her to discover under what circumstances something would break. One of her projects was to design and build a ceramic knife, however the knife she created was very brittle, she thinks it would have shattered if it was used to cut a lettuce leaf!
During one of her internships she worked for a company called Spiration that build valves for lung medical procedures. The valve Liz worked on was to help patients with emphysema. Emphysema is a condition where lungs are damaged in a way that makes them inefficient in processing oxygen. As a material engineer she had to consider the situation in which the valve would be used and what stresses it would experience.
Her first 'real' job after university was with Lockheed. She worked on a team that was responsible for building satellites. When building a satellite there are many factors material engineers need to consider, such as how will the material handle extreme temperatures (from -250F to 1000F), weight (the lighter and stronger the better), and running out of gas (power for moving the satellite is from optical solar reflection) .
She now works at a company called Aerojet Rocketdyne and continues to work on satellites. To move satellites in space each one is fitted with 'mini-rockets' that help fine tune the movement of the satellite. They are positioned around the rocket and a short burst of energy from each one moves the satellite a small amount until its exactly where it should be.
Currently she is working on a project that is contributing to a rocket that is being prepared for going to Mars. She is working on a travel module.
One of her favorite projects was working on the Orion crew travel pod. She liked the addition of the human component in the problem solving they were doing. Liz mentioned an additional factor they had to consider when working on any space project was salt and its effect on materials. This is because most sites from where the rockets are launched are near the coast and when the rockets are waiting for days before launch salt can be a problem.
Liz is excited about the future of engineering and what it can do in combination with other fields, like nanotechnology and bio-engineering - such as nano-drugs that are essentially small containers of drugs that can be directed to a location in the body where the drug is needed, and are then bio compostable. So many cool problems to solve!
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Slides
Liz is a rocket scientist! Her work helps satellites move around space.
Liz West was born and raised in Panama. Her father worked in the US army and her mother was from Panama. Panama doesn't have temperature seasons but seasons defined as rainy and dry. She refers to herself as a jungle girl, as when she was small she liked to explore and be in the jungle areas where there are lots of cool animals, but bugs were not her favorite things - she likes the lack of big bugs in Seattle!
Her high school was an American style school, as many kids from military families went there. She studied hard and played hard. She loved sport and played volley ball and soccer. She disliked English because she didn't like the subjectivity of it, and she loved physiology. When she left high school she wanted to a doctor.
She wanted to go to a big school for college, and picked the University of Washington because it had a great medical school. She applied early so once she was accepted she didn't have to choose further.
Liz advises new students at university to be open to trying new things. She says it’s tough trying to figure out what you want to do, but if you try a range of things you'll eventually realize what feels right for you - don't be afraid to change your plans!
In her first year she took a series of classes for a pre-med path. That included a lot of sciences, chemistry, and math. She realized during her first year that she wasn't as excited about some of the chemistry and science labs as she had expected, but what she had started to like were subjects that could lead to an engineer path. By the end of her first year she decided to switch paths and pursue an engineering degree in Material Engineering. She commented that the female/male ratio was about 10/30 when she was on the program.
What is Material Engineering? The study of the characteristics and uses of various materials, such as metals, ceramics, and plastics, that are employed in science and technology. For example a material engineer could work on the X-Box controller to determine what the best materials for the body of the controller are. The material engineer would consider things like what it's being used for, temperatures of use, and ability to contour the device. Another example of the work of a material engineer is aircraft design. The engineer would evaluate the materials that airplanes are made of - advising what materials to use that meet the design requirements and then also evaluate how the materials faired after tests to make sure they can handle stress and don't fail.
One aspect of being a material engineer Liz liked in college and during internships was breaking things! Often her work would require her to discover under what circumstances something would break. One of her projects was to design and build a ceramic knife, however the knife she created was very brittle, she thinks it would have shattered if it was used to cut a lettuce leaf!
During one of her internships she worked for a company called Spiration that build valves for lung medical procedures. The valve Liz worked on was to help patients with emphysema. Emphysema is a condition where lungs are damaged in a way that makes them inefficient in processing oxygen. As a material engineer she had to consider the situation in which the valve would be used and what stresses it would experience.
Her first 'real' job after university was with Lockheed. She worked on a team that was responsible for building satellites. When building a satellite there are many factors material engineers need to consider, such as how will the material handle extreme temperatures (from -250F to 1000F), weight (the lighter and stronger the better), and running out of gas (power for moving the satellite is from optical solar reflection) .
She now works at a company called Aerojet Rocketdyne and continues to work on satellites. To move satellites in space each one is fitted with 'mini-rockets' that help fine tune the movement of the satellite. They are positioned around the rocket and a short burst of energy from each one moves the satellite a small amount until its exactly where it should be.
Currently she is working on a project that is contributing to a rocket that is being prepared for going to Mars. She is working on a travel module.
One of her favorite projects was working on the Orion crew travel pod. She liked the addition of the human component in the problem solving they were doing. Liz mentioned an additional factor they had to consider when working on any space project was salt and its effect on materials. This is because most sites from where the rockets are launched are near the coast and when the rockets are waiting for days before launch salt can be a problem.
Liz is excited about the future of engineering and what it can do in combination with other fields, like nanotechnology and bio-engineering - such as nano-drugs that are essentially small containers of drugs that can be directed to a location in the body where the drug is needed, and are then bio compostable. So many cool problems to solve!