Women in Engineering Reception

“The Magic of Space Exploration!”

Tuesday, October 29

Women in Engineering Reception 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Cincinnati Marriott River Center Hotel

AGENDA

6:00 pm Join us for heavy appetizers and hosted beer, wine, and soft drinks!

6:30 pm Welcome and Introductions, Janet O’Neil, ETS-Lindgren

6:50 pm “Building a Career in Aerospace: Improv Games and Tiger Teams”

Stephanie Zajac, John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

7:15 pm “At the Intersection of Hobby and Profession – Building Orion Ranch Observatory”

Michael Foegelle, Keysight OTA Solutions

7:40 pm Networking with speakers and attendees

8:00 pm Adjourn (feel free to linger a bit longer!)

This event welcomes all members of AMTA and IEEE, men and women, to promote collaboration. Join speakers Janet O’Neil with ETS-Lindgren, Stephanie Zajac with Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, and Michael Foegelle with Keysight Technologies for enlightening presentations on space exploration, then enjoy the networking opportunities during the reception!

PROGRAM

Presentation Title: Building a Career in Aerospace: Improv Games and Tiger Teams

Abstract: Stephanie Zajac will speak about her career path into the aerospace industry, the significance of mentorship, and saying “yes” to the unexpected opportunities that arise. Stephanie will also share her insights into the multi-institution effort to save the Europa Clipper spacecraft from a potential launch delay due to the late discovery of an untested vulnerability to one of Clipper’s most common electronic parts: the humble transistor.

Stephanie Zajac is an engineer in the aerospace industry, specializing in ionizing radiation effects on electronics and modeling natural space environment phenomena. Stephanie’s love of physics, mathematics, and astronomy motivated her undergraduate and graduate studies at the Cal State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and Stony Brook University, respectively. Stephanie has thus far had a varied career in the satellite and space exploration industries, with a work history that includes Boeing’s satellite division, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. Stephanie has maintained a passionate involvement in STEM outreach activities over the years, especially at the K-12 level, continuing the tradition of impactful mentorship that has made an immeasurable difference throughout her career.

Presentation Title: At the Intersection of Hobby and Profession – Building Orion Ranch Observatory

Abstract: Many engineers and scientist have a broad range of interests beyond that of their chosen profession. For some, their profession is their passion and they’re happy to spend all of their time “working” because that’s what they enjoy. For others, while they may still love their job, they want to completely separate their down-time from their work and look for hobbies that let them forget about work for a while. However, something magical happens when you find a profession and a hobby that, while completely different, overlap so well that your knowledge and skillset apply equally well to both. From innocent beginnings with a child’s telescope, my foray into amateur astronomy quickly grew into a major endeavor, leading to the purchase of land outside the city light cone, the careful construction of an observatory, and eventually the building of a house to move out to the country (something I swore I’d never do after growing up that way!). While my skill set tends to lend itself to whatever task I choose to tackle, the real surprise was not only how much the skills and resources from my career could help me in this hobby, but also how much of what I learned in the hobby could be applied back to my “day job.” It turns out that there are more than a few parallels between test automation for antenna pattern measurement and automation of a telescope and observatory. Likewise, the pursuit of learning astrophotography and the associated post processing has led to other photography pursuits (such as serving as the substitute photographer at last year’s AMTA) and the ability to work with image processing and data extraction tools that I might never have considered using in my normal daily work life. Come along, for an exploration of the origins and development of Orion Ranch Observatory!

Dr. Michael D. Foegelle is the Product Planner for the Keysight OTA Solutions group and has over thirty years of experience in the test and measurement industry, with concentration in RF and wireless testing. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Foegelle has authored or co-authored numerous papers in the areas of Electromagnetics, EMC, Wireless Performance Testing, and Condensed Matter Physics, holds dozens of patents on wireless and electromagnetic test methods and equipment, and is dedicated to advancing the state of the art in radiated RF testing of emerging wireless technologies. He has been actively involved in standards development with various organizations and working groups, including ANSI ASC C63, CTIA CPWG, 3GPP, Wi-Fi Alliance,