Future Faculty Program

Current Position: Senior Research Engineer, ExxonMobil

“I was working on my PhD in environmental engineering with Hanadi Rifai and had a pretty good sense early on that I wanted to go the industry route (vs academia). Most of my research projects were industry funded and I had presented at conferences and met so many industry folks. I liked the structure and culture and felt at home in that environment. I was given the opportunity and privilege to teach 9th grade honors physics at The Village School from the NSF GK-12 Fellowship as well as two freshman honors courses at UH (1100H Intro to Engineering and 1331H Matlab and Computing) post-GK-12 but pre-FFP and teaching was so gratifying and rewarding for me. I thought I for sure would be happy and fulfilled as an instructional faculty because of the gratification and joy I felt teaching and helping young adults begin to define their career interests goals, but I worried that I would have always wondered about what my career path and goals would have (or could have) been in industry. I very much appreciate the flexibility and diversity in research topics in academia and wanted to learn more about the academic route before finalizing my decision. I enrolled in the Future Faculty Program and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Pradeep and learning about his experiences and how they shaped him into such a successful and accomplished faculty member. Some of my favorite topics of discussion were interpersonal skills and behaviors in the work place, which are critical and transferable among all disciplines and industries. I have really studied this topic and it has already helped me succeed in several areas in my current role (happy to provide more info if there is interest). A contentious topic that I would have liked to discuss more are gender-related challenges. Haleh and Debora Rodrigues came to speak one week about this the entire discussion revolved around pregnancy. I would have liked to hear more about big picture gender obstacles and my perception of what would be
covered in this week's discussion was a little lost in translation. Pradeep included a piece on writing proposals which is critical for academia but also relevant for industry. I am in more of a project management role so I have been writing requests for proposals, and the experience and knowledge of proposal writing has not only helped me write my RFPs more effectively but also better understand and interpret the proposals I receive. I would have enjoyed a section on budgeting; this would help academic and industry professionals and probably even help in people's personal lives! I'm learning about budgeting in my work place but it would have been helpful to have some experience with this coming in. I enjoyed and appreciated Pradeep's casual but professional attitude and perspective; he always made me feel comfortable and the
FFP was a safe place to voice concerns or ask questions. I aspired to be more like him and to this day take many of his comments, suggestions, and behaviors into consideration in my daily life and work.”