艾默生是核能领域的领导者, INL Experiment Manager
工程管理 Program Allows U of I Graduate 学生 to Work, Pursue Degree
利·安·爱默生 earned her master’s degree on a bus traveling to and from her job as an experiment manager at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
“The number of lectures that I watched and textbooks that I read on the bus is astounding,”她说。.
“I could take classes either live or pre-recorded and watch them at my leisure. 考试是由监考老师安排的, allowing me to take classes around my career and personal life.” 利·安·爱默生，实验经理., INL
现在是欧洲杯买球 核工程 doctoral student, 爱默生 received her Master’s of Engineering in 工程管理 2018年，通过伊利诺伊大学的远程授课 工程外展(EO).
At the time, 爱默生 couldn’t afford to give up her job to attend graduate school full time. 她说，EO是兼顾两者的完美解决方案.
“I could take classes either live or pre-recorded and watch them at my leisure,”她说。. “考试是由一名监考老师安排的, allowing me to take classes around my career and personal life. I combined advanced engineering courses with business courses to enhance my understanding of the projects I work on.”
40多年了, the 伊利诺伊大学工程学院 has offered graduate degrees, certificates and professional education entirely at a distance through EO. 学生 can attend virtual sessions with their professors and peers on a flexible viewing schedule.
爱默生 said co-workers who also earned degrees through EO encouraged her to make the jump to graduate school and supported her throughout her journey.
“在工作的同时重返学校是很困难的, 但它们提醒了我最终的目标是什么,”她说。.
丹尼斯Engebrecht, 工程管理’s program manager and 爱默生’s adviser, said she was impressed with 爱默生’s drive to complete the program in short order by taking two graduate courses per semester, 所有这些都是在全职工作的情况下完成的.
爱默生 was one of the first students and the first female to pass the Certified Professional Engineering Manager (CPEM) exam on her first attempt. It was a new end-of-program option for graduate students.
“This research could help our current generation of nuclear reactors become even safer and also enable major enhancements for the next generation of reactors,” 爱默生
“Others who have taken the CPEM exam have not had the same fortune on their first try,恩格尔布雷希特说. “She’s a very bright, and it was a pleasure to work with her.”
她目前在INL的职位, 爱默生 is a project manager for fuels and materials experiments designed for the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT).
“I love the people that I work with and the challenges that we overcome every day,”她说。.
根据爱默生, 他们的目标是找到更好的, more accident-tolerant fuels and irradiation-resistant materials.
“This research could help our current generation of nuclear reactors become even safer and also enable major enhancements for the next generation of reactors,”她说。.
爱默生 said her short-term career goal is to combine her business experience with her technical training to become a more effective project manager, skills she gained during her experience in the 工程管理 program.
“INL’s complex research projects make the combination of business and scientific experience a desirable trait,”她说。. “Having experience in both fields will ultimately allow me to be a more effective manager.”
Being a female in the male-dominated 核工程 field has not stopped 爱默生 from being a leader in the field. 她参与的项目包括《欧洲杯买球app》, American Nuclear Society and the Society of Women Engineers.
爱默生 also applies her engineering skills to her hobby of building furniture.
“My coffee table, bookshelf, dining table and benches were all built by me,”她说。. “我喜欢动手工作.”
爱默生 said U of I’s relationship with INL has created a collaborative environment for her to work while attending college.
“At the 爱达荷瀑布 campus some of the professors are also INL employees,”她说。. “This relationship as well as the positive reputation of the 工程管理 program were big drivers for my decision to go to U of I.”
Article by Brian Walker, University 通信 and 市场营销
照片由利·安·爱默生提供
2020年12月发布
