Anne Baye Ericksen

 

CHEMICAL ENGINEERS MAKE THEIR MARK IN A MULTITUDE OF INDUSTRIES

 

WHEN ECONOMISTS DISCUSS THE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP), MANUFACTURING IS ALWAYS NAMED AS A PROMINENT CONTRIBUTOR. IN THIS CONTEXT, EXPERTS GENERALLY ARE REFERRING TO CONSUMER GOODS AND LARGE EQUIPMENT. CHEMICALS RARELY MAKE THE DISCUSSION, WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE BECAUSE, ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL (ACC), THE BUSINESS OF CHEMISTRY SUPPORTS APPROXIMATELY 25 PERCENT OF THE U.S. GDP. WHAT’S MORE, THE U.S. PRODUCES APPROXIMATELY 15 PERCENT OF ALL GLOBAL CHEMICAL SHIPMENTS.

 

BUT THAT’S JUST A SMALL SAMPLING OF THE BREADTH OF THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY. IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, DIRECTLY AS A COMPONENT OR INDIRECTLY AS AN ELEMENT OF THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS, CHEMICALS ARE IN NEARLY EVERYTHING WE TOUCH, FROM THE MUNDANE TO THE UNEXPECTED. FOR EXAMPLE, DID YOU KNOW THAT A SINGLE LIGHT VEHICLE REPRESENTS NEARLY $3,500 WORTH OF CHEMISTRY? PLUS, EACH NEW HOUSE CONSTRUCTED CONSUMES AN ESTIMATED $15,000 IN CHEMISTRY, ACCORDING TO A 2014 ACC REPORT. THEN THERE ARE APPLIANCES, TEXTILES, PAPER, AND FERTILIZERS, AND A WHOLE LITANY OF OTHER MANUFACTURED GOODS, ALL OF WHICH REQUIRE CHEMICALS TO SOME DEGREE.

 

SUCH LARGE-SCALE DIVERSITY POSITIONS THE INDUSTRY FOR IMPRESSIVE GROWTH. THE ACC ANTICIPATES POSITIVE EARNING REPORTS THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE DECADE, AVERAGING MORE THAN 4 PERCENT GROWTH PER YEAR.

 

A HEALTHY INDUSTRY BODES WELL FOR MORE REASONS THAN MERE ECONOMIC MEASURES. IT ALSO MEANS GREATER RECRUITMENT OF TECHNICAL PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE EXPERTS ON CHEMICALS, THEIR PROPERTIES, THEIR PROCESSES, AND THEIR MULTITUDE OF APPLICATIONS—IN OTHER WORDS, CHEMICAL ENGINEERS. INDIVIDUALS SEEKING CAREERS WITHIN THE DISCIPLINE FIND THEMSELVES WITH THE ENVIABLE ADVANTAGE OF CHOOSING AMONG A PLETHORA OF ARENAS IN WHICH THEIR SKILLS WILL BE OF VALUE. READ ON TO SEE HOW THESE FOUR WOMEN HAVE FORGED THEIR PROFESSIONAL PATHS.

 

THE LINDE GROUP PRODUCES TOP PERFORMERS

 

“Ireally, really love the people I work with, and it makes a big difference to me that I enjoy being around these people,” insists Aislinn McCloskey, supply area manager for the Lima CO2 area for the Linde Group.

 

While that statement may not seem out of the ordinary, for a chemical engineer who’s involved with an operation that literally produces tons of industrial gases every day, you might expect the technical challenges to be the highlight of the job. The Linde Group (www.lindeus.com), a multinational corporation with U.S. offices in Murray Hill, NJ, is one of the largest suppliers of industrial, specialty, and medical gases. It’s not that McCloskey doesn’t appreciate the engineering aspects of her work. In fact, that’s been a constant factor since joining the organization. After completing an entry level rotational program, she settled into the process group, working at air separation and CO2 plants.

 

“It literally involved everything I learned throughout my chemical engineering college career,” says McCloskey.

 

She’s also enjoyed the fieldwork.

 

“As a process engineer, 25 percent of my work involved traveling and visiting a large number of field sites across the country. That became my favorite thing about the job. I learned so much more than if I was just coming into the office,” says McCloskey.

 

This past summer, though, she accepted a managerial position, which meant less time in the field and more focus on keeping tabs over operations, quality control, distribution, and transportation costs. Of course, with each new responsibility comes a learning curve, and McCloskey confesses that the interpersonal element presented a steep curve for her.

 

“Coming into this role, I knew people management, which is new for me, would be a challenge,” she says.

 

But as noted earlier, McCloskey now regards the human component of her responsibilities one of the most rewarding aspects of the job.

 

“I have a great team,” she boasts. “They have good field knowledge and experience. And every day, I enjoy coming in and learning something from them.”

 

And even though she’s been with Linde for less than five years, McCloskey already has stepped into a mentor role. As one of the first females to devote so much time in the field, she created a template for others to follow.

 

“Everyone I worked with was very respectful and I was treated as an equal,” she insists. “It’s just that there were many other women out there. The more women they see and work with in the field, the more normalized it will be.

 

“However, I like being one of the people who is taking steps to make it easier for the women who come after me,” she adds. “I feel strongly about passing that on and modeling something bigger than myself.”

 

AMEC FOSTER WHEELER CHALLENGES THE ORDINARY 

 

Call it a mid-career identity crisis or simply a desire to shake things up, but after 19 years with the same employer, Dana MacCallum craved change. Despite holding various roles within the company—product development, process engineering, and quality control—and despite enjoying the corporate culture, she found herself desiring new challenges. This wasn’t a sensation that would be quenched with another lateral move or promotion. Rather, MacCallum was looking to jump to a different industry altogether.

 

“I was at a turning point when I wanted to make a decision about trying a different type of engineering,” she remembers.

 

Working in her favor was the fact that MacCallum earned her degree and experience in chemical engineering, and she knew those skills would transfer to any number of positions.

 

“I’ve always promoted that chemical engineers can do anything,” she notes.

 

So when an opportunity to join Amec Foster Wheeler (www.amecfw.com) presented itself, MacCallum took the leap. The organization provides consulting engineering, project management, and operations and construction services around the world.

 

“I worked with Amec Foster Wheeler while with my other employer, and I liked its management team. I saw there was a trust level that they’re going to do the right thing,” says MacCallum, who works out of the Minneapolis location. The company’s global headquarters are in London and it has multiple offices in the U.S.

 

It’s been eight years since she made the career change; however, the challenges continue to feel fresh and demand MacCallum test her abilities.

 

“There is a wide variety of projects here,” she explains. “Some of the things you work on are familiar, and on some things, you learn different processes and industries. There’s both comfort and growth levels to the work.”

 

In her current position as process department manager, MacCallum is less hands-on with some of the technical tasks and more engaged in team development. This includes supporting members on projects with the necessary technical tools and guidance to advance their careers.

 

“It’s part of my responsibility to make sure they have the appropriate training and opportunity to work on projects from which they’ll learn and excel at,” she comments. “The most challenging aspect for me is balancing the growth of my people with what they want to do and learn versus the current project load. I have to balance the needs of the projects and the needs of employees as they are growing their careers all while providing clients what they need. However, it’s also what’s giving me the greatest satisfaction.”

 

After more than 25 years in the workforce, MacCallum remains excited and energized about her own professional trajectory, which continues to climb.

 

“This department has grown, and I want to continue to see it grow,” she says. “And I would like to develop my employees more because, as a department, the best outcome is to have a highly functional team that works well together and that is efficient.”

 

DUKE ENERGY EMPOWERS EMPLOYEES

 

Some students blindly jump into the job search, armed only with their classroom experience. Some students pump up their résumés with part-time jobs and a single internship or cooperative education position. Then there are those students who go above and beyond the minimum. Sheri Campbell was one of those students.

 

While a chemical engineering undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati, she completed not one, not two, but six quarters of co-op experiences with Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky. Initially, though, she admits to not automatically associating the discipline with an energy provider.

 

“Then I attended an information session [with recruiters] on campus that discussed different opportunities, including environmental engineering, which was my biggest interest at the time,” she recalls.

 

Liking what she heard, Campbell committed to pursuing opportunities with the utility. Not only was she able to collect numerous on-the-job experiences to bolster her résumé, but also to test-drive the potential employer. This first-hand knowledge gave Campbell a headstart on her career instead of being left to guess what a job might be like within the organization.

 

“Through my co-op positions, I learned it’s a stable company with a culture that sounded up my alley. It also appealed to me that it was local, but large enough that I could travel or relocate,” she says.

 

Duke Energy (www.duke-energy.com), headquartered in Charlotte, NC, operates seven divisions throughout the East and Midwest, including the Ohio/Kentucky region.

 

Upon graduation, Campbell did indeed accept a full-time offer with the utility to become an engineer in measures and metrics, a generation-oriented function. Then midway through last year, she was promoted to senior engineer, reliability, which transferred her from generation to distribution. Now Campbell regularly communicates with engineers, field technicians, and clients.

 

“I’m enjoying interacting with customers; I never got to do that before,” she notes.

 

Campbell also finds herself in the field fairly frequently. You have to have the ability to work in ever-changing and diverse environments,” she comments.

 

In and out of the office, Campbell’s top priority is making sure the power stays on, and playing detective when it doesn’t.

 

“Every day we run outage reports to see what happened the day before. We figure out how many outages there were and how long customers were without power. If there are more than three outages in a 12-month rolling period, we investigate,” she explains.

 

Whether as a student or employee, Campbell appreciates the consistent support she’s received from the company as she takes on new experiences. For example, since becoming a mother, Campbell has had to recalculate what constitutes a balance between work and home, and she’s enlisted the advice of her managers and mentors.

 

“My supervisors have been flexible with that. They work with you if you have a family,” she says.

 

Campbell’s supervisors also have encouraged her efforts to further her skill set, including obtaining a Professional Engineer license.

 

“That’s one of the biggest things that appeals to me about working at Duke Energy,” she comments. “There are endless opportunities, and when you want to try something new, there’s something out there.”

 

KBR CREATES VALUABLE CONNECTIONS

 

In mid-January, members of KBR’s Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) celebrated its official launch. Among the VIPs invited to the event, held at KBR headquarters in Houston, were the CEO and several senior-level female executives, many of who sponsored the newest employee resource group (ERG). Also in attendance were founding members Laura Ivy and Ana Eisenhauer.

 

“The intent of this group is about women influencing, leading, and learning,” says Ivy.

 

“Membership doesn’t require you to be an engineer,” adds Eisenhauer. “We have a diverse mix, and we are growing.”

 

Ivy is not new to the value of ERGs at KBR (www.kbr.com). For the first seven years of her career, she participated in IMPACT, an ERG specifically geared toward assisting the new employee’s transition from student to professional. However, as members graduated from the group, she noticed a fading of those networking ties because people were heading off to other jobs and companies. Although it’s commonplace for individuals to move around in their careers, Ivy felt disheartened by losing touch with her peers.

 

Then one day, she ran into a fellow IMPACT alum at a deli, and over lunch, the two initiated an interesting conversation.

 

“We started talking about the people we knew who had left the company, and these were high-potential employees. We agreed we were tired of people leaving,” she recalls.

 

That conversation served as an impetus behind WLC. Throughout the past year, Ivy, Eisenhauer, along with a number of other women at KBR, volunteered their time to establish the group’s charter and bylaws.

 

“It’s been really fun to connect with other women in the company who you do not necessarily come in contact with on regular projects, and to be able to understand each together, what drives us, what we can do for ourselves and the company while being wives, moms, and full-time employees,” says Ivy.

 

Of course, the women have their day jobs, too. As project manager in engineering, Ivy frequently collaborates with multiple engineering experts, including chemical engineers. It’s been her experience that this discipline provides a unique perspective not always prevalent with other engineering specialties.

 

“Chemical engineers understand across the facility what’s happening, how to accomplish it, and what equipment is needed. I have great respect for their ability to see the big picture and understand the math, balance, flows, piping, instrument diagrams, and how it’s all controlled,” she explains.

 

For the first half of her career, Eisenhauer focused on sharpening her chemical engineering tools, but several years ago, she switched over to a business position—first sales, then as director of marketing and strategy upon joining KBR almost three years ago.

 

“My strategy group works with technical and sales people to find the right way to go about business by studying the market and clients,” she says. “In marketing communications, it’s important to tell a story in a way clients will understand or appreciate our products and services.”

 

Although she’s transitioned out of a purely technical career, Eisenhauer consistently taps into her engineering know-how.

 

“You have to have a technical background to speak the client’s language and give the message value,” notes Eisenhauer. “In that sense, I always use my engineering background.”

 

As for their future with WLC, both women look forward to attending monthly events and growing their networks and professional bonds.