Meet Dr. Elizabeth Qian, an Assistant Professor at the Daniel Guggenheim School at Georgia Tech. With a joint appointment in the Schools of Aerospace Engineering and Computational Science and Engineering, she specializes in developing computational methods for complex system design and decision-making. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D., SM, and SB degrees from the MIT Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics, and her research expertise lies in efficient surrogate models, scientific machine learning, and multi-fidelity approaches for uncertainty quantification, optimization, and control. In recognition of her outstanding work, Elizabeth Qian has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Caltech-wide award for teaching, the 2020 SIAM Student Paper Prize, the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowship, the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and she is also an alumna of the U.S. Fulbright student program.

Dr. Qian considers herself fortunate to have received continuous encouragement from her family, teachers, extracurricular educators, and professors in her STEM pursuits. One project Dr. Qian takes great pride in is her work with multi-fidelity sensitivity analysis. This research focuses on studying how system performance is affected by changes in design choices, which plays a crucial role in early-stage engineering design. Traditionally, sensitivity analysis can be computationally intensive, often taking weeks or even months. However, Dr. Qian's innovative approach combines high-fidelity engineering simulations with lower-fidelity mathematical approximations, enabling significantly more efficient sensitivity analysis. Her contributions in this field have earned her recognition, including the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics' Student Paper Prize in 2020. Moreover, her methods have been adopted by engineers involved in the design of the JW Space Telescope.

However, she recognizes that one of the challenges women and gender minorities face in STEM is the feeling of isolation. While there may be a significant number of women at a university, it is not uncommon to be the only one in a student team, lab, or particular class. In some instances, the behavior of the gender majority can raise doubts about being respected and valued within that group. To address this issue, Dr. Qian emphasizes the importance of proactively building a supportive network of fellow women and gender minorities within the larger school, major, department, or industry community. She finds it immensely rewarding to exchange advice and encouragement with peers who understand and can relate to her experiences.

Personally, Dr. Qian has observed instances of gender discrimination throughout her educational and professional journey. She acknowledges that individuals who encounter such behavior must find their own strategies for navigating these challenges, as different approaches resonate differently with each person. In her own experience, she found immense support and assistance by actively participating in women in engineering groups. These groups provided valuable guidance for addressing specific situations and advocating for gender equity collectively as a united force.

Something Dr. Qian finds intriguing is that certain professions in the United States, such as nursing, education, and childcare, which are predominantly female-dominated, align with traditional notions of providing assistance to others. She believes that some STEM fields, like medicine and bioengineering, have effectively communicated the societal benefits of their disciplines, resulting in better representation of gender minorities. However, other STEM fields have not been as successful in highlighting the positive impact their careers can have on society. Additionally, to encourage historically marginalized students to pursue STEM, Dr. Qian emphasizes the importance of showcasing the various ways in which STEM professions contribute to the betterment of society. In addition, Dr. Qian recognizes that gendered issues that permeate society at large are also prevalent in STEM professions. These challenges encompass overt sexism, sexual and gender-based harassment, sexual assault, unconscious bias, discrimination, cultural expectations regarding gender roles in childcare, and more. To mitigate the negative effects stemming from these issues, she advocates for the implementation of thoughtful policies that address and alleviate gender-based disparities and biases in STEM fields.

On an ending note, Dr. Elizabeth Qian offers her advice to young women aspiring to pursue STEM fields, urging them to embrace the opportunities with confidence. For those who may feel hesitant due to gender-related concerns, Dr. Qian's foremost recommendation is to actively seek out supportive peer communities. She highlights the availability of girls-in-STEM programs in K-12 education and the existence of women-in-STEM groups throughout college and beyond, noting that some of these initiatives are inclusive of transgender individuals. She emphasizes that STEM is a captivating domain centered around problem-solving and confronting formidable challenges is possible!

Meet Dr. Karen Feigh, an esteemed researcher and professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. Her hard work and remarkable dedication to the STEM field is a profound inspiration for us all and there is a lot to learn from her journey. Sparked by an interest in STEM, she started off by getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech. Further driven by her passion for aerospace, she took her skills and ventured to the United Kingdom where she earned a Master of Philosophy Degree in Aeronautics at Cranfield University. Returning to Georgia Tech, she earned a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering. Equipped with a wide range of expertise and an arsenal of knowledge, she began her professional career and has since then worked in several areas of the STEM field. Throughout her career, Dr. Feigh has made strong contributions to the STEM field as a whole and continues to take great strides in her areas of interest, including air traffic management and airline operations control.

Dr. Feigh has played a major role in Georgia Tech’s study into Human-AI Interaction in Autonomous Aerial Vehicles. This research project has three primary goals. First, it aims to identify challenges to fluency caused by human biases and cognitive limitations that affect human-AI interaction. Second, it strives to explore the impact of fluency on mission effectiveness, Lastly, it works to explore and validate strategies to mitigate these challenges. The focus is on understanding the aspects of fluency required for an AI agent to seek assistance from onboard personnel who may lack direct training in piloting or AI programming. Mitigation strategies will be designed to dynamically respond to the operator's behavior, cognitive state, or drops in fluency. By modifying the AI system's engagement with human team members, the system can emulate positive attributes observed in human teaming, where team members adapt their behavior based on context and the mission's goals. 

However, all of her success did not come without barriers. In fact, Dr. Feigh believes that the primary barrier women face in the STEM work field is self-confidence. As a professor, she sees a lack of confidence holding back most of the women she encounters. Dr. Feigh emphasizes how many students face imposter syndrome. Their biggest barriers are themselves. In her personal career, she has faced prejudice in the past but has learned to move past it. Dr. Feigh’s advice to not just women, but all people, is to ignore all the negativity. Sometimes, things aren’t meant to be mean-spirited, and even if they are, it’s best to not let what people say hold us back. She encourages us to find good people and stick to them, take advantage of opportunities presented to us, and always work hard. She emphasizes that it is not necessary to go to an Ivy League school to be successful in the future and encourages students to find a program and advisor that works for them without breaking the bank. As long as you work hard, you are almost guaranteed to do well.

To Dr. Feigh, STEM is the way society makes forward progress – how we make the things, technologies, and processes that help people, that improve their lives substantially.  She believes it is imperative that we get more women’s perspectives into these areas, for women often have different perspectives and goals than their male counterparts. Dr. Feigh stresses how this could promote inclusivity and communication among women in the STEM community. Through guidance from more experienced women to the next generation, younger women will be able to encounter new opportunities. Lastly, she notes that women who can succeed in STEM could also succeed in many, many, many fields, so they have to begin to identify with a STEM field early in their lives to continue with it. Through guidance from mentors, more women would be able to connect with their passion for the STEM community. 

When asked to share some final words of wisdom, Dr. Feigh said “One last thing I will say is that many of you are the best of the best.  Don’t compare yourselves to each other, that’s not the point. You are the very best – and so even the very ‘worst’ of you is an amazingly talented person.  You may feel that you are not an amazing person – that could never be true, but it will feel that way very often.  So make good friends to keep you grounded, and listen to them.”

Meet Dr. Laurie Garrow, a distinguished professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. Her remarkable achievements have earned her many accolades, including the ASCE Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize and the CETL-BP Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Garrow’s inspiring journey to success is a result of her unwavering commitment to her field, but it did not come without its challenges.

Dr. Garrow’s love for STEM started at a young age, greatly influenced by her father, who was a high school math teacher who later transitioned to a career remodeling and building new homes. He passed his love of math onto her and is part of the reason Dr. Garrow ultimately pursued a career in civil engineering. She started by earning a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering at North Carolina State University and the University of Texas at Austin respectively. Remarkably, she concurrently earned a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a Master’s degree in Public Affairs, showing how STEM fields can intersect with the Humanities. Her academic journey culminated in the completion of her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at Northwestern University. She now continues her career in modeling and transportation.

At Georgia Tech, Dr. Garrow specializes in tracking travel behavior. She employs advanced models of travel demand that consider many different variables, such as discrete choice, econometric, and market research methods. Her research significantly contributes to airline planning and scheduling, ultimately increasing overall flight efficiency. In addition to pursuing her research, she is consistently looking for ways to take on unexpected professional opportunities and step out of her comfort zone. Earlier this year, Dr. Garrow was asked to write an opinion piece for Scientific American on why the Southwest and FAA fiascos happened and what we can do moving forward to help prevent similar disruption. Dr. Garrow explains, “It was an honor to be asked to write an opinion piece but also a bit overwhelming thinking about just how many people may read the piece. I think that personal growth comes from working outside your comfort zone.” She encourages others to jump at opportunities presented to them, even if they seem daunting.

Despite her levels of success, Dr. Garrow details some of the challenges she felt over the years. For example, Dr. Garrow notes that one of the key challenges she faced in her career is salary compression as she has consistently not made as much money as her male counterparts. Additionally, sometimes she feels that she can be in a meeting and make a point that is ignored and then someone else will make the same point and be heard. Due to her frustration, whenever she encountered that dynamic in a particular group she asked a trusted colleague to support her by reinforcing or repeating her points to make sure that she was heard. Dr. Garrow emphasizes the importance of finding people we can count on and not allowing negative experiences to tear us down. It’s important to build a strong support network around yourself that can uplift you and help you navigate tricky situations.

Dr. Garrow encourages us to remember that no career is perfect. Drawing from her stepmother-in-law experiences in her long career in nursing, which was filled with many difficult situations, Dr. Garrow emphasizes the importance of having realistic expectations. From Dr. Garrow’s perspective, if you go into a career hoping it will be perfect, you will inevitably be disappointed. For her, it’s more important to have a strong support network and mentors so that when you find yourself in new or uncomfortable situations, you have trusted colleagues you can talk to that can help you mitigate or solve the problem. Challenges are inevitable, so you must figure out how to attack them.

As a faculty advisor for Georgia Tech’s SPS Scholars Program, Dr. Garrrow frequently observes patterns among the next generation. One of the things that surprised her is how much more often the women students volunteer, which led her to realize that the same thing has happened over her career. Dr. Garrow often found herself getting pulled into organizational tasks or doing much more service than her male colleagues, which did not always lead to promotions and leadership opportunities despite her additional workload. Seeking insight, Dr. Garrow enjoyed reading the book The No Club to learn more about balance and think about how to take on different roles in her job to further her career. She believes strategic thinking and careful consideration of various job functions can help move careers forward.

On an ending note, Dr. Garrow believes that there are so many possible careers in STEM-related fields, stating “I probably only know a handful!” She advocates for exploring different career paths and jobs that are available in STEM-related fields. By engaging in these interactions, individuals can discover their true passions and decide what trajectory they want to take.

To learn more about Dr. Laurie Garrow and her work, here are some additional links:

Dr. Laurie Garrow - Georgia Tech

The Garrow Lab at Georgia Tech

Center for Urban and Regional Air Mobility at Georgia Tech

Air Transportation Lab at Georgia Tech