About
About
Who I am
Meeting me for the first time, someone once asked me, "Are you an engineer, or are you a writer?" After some contemplation, I realized I'm both!
Cropped screenshot from my LinkedIn profile
Engineer
By training I am a metallurgist. But you could also call me materials engineer, mechanical engineer, failure analyst, and reliability engineer. I am not an information technology professional; I don't write code or wire networks.
My favorite classes in college were Machine Component Design, Fracture Mechanics, Failure of Structural Components, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Materials Fabrication, Process Design, and Physical Metallurgy. I excel in metallurgical and mechanical failure analysis, component reliability, and process improvement.
Click on the Engineering link at the top of the page for more information about my literary vision.
Writer
I worked at the Writing Center while in college and became the resident technical writing expert. Three years after graduation, I returned to visit with old friends in the area and learned that people were still asking for my services even though I had been gone for three years!
Since then I have flexed my writing muscles for my employers, writing and editing hundreds of documents: Quality manuals, technical reports, presentations, lesson materials, design practices, and work instructions. I always left customers happy with solid writing that quickly communicated technical information in an engaging and easy-to-understand manner.
Outside the workplace, I've written poetry and fiction (short stories and novels). I've also published two nonfiction books and am currently engaged in more book projects, including a memorial to my cat Tashi, who died in September 2013. I also participate in NanoWrimo, having won the challenge every year since 2012.
Click on the Literary Vision link at the top of the page for more information about my literary vision.
Educator
As life has unfolded, a layoff forced me to rethink my life and career. I too an unexpected course correction into higher education, teaching as an adjunct for four years before starting the PhD program I am now working to complete. My dream job is teaching college-level engineering classes. I suspected that was my dream job when I began teaching other classes as an adjunct. But when I started teaching my first bona fide engineering class as the instructor of record, I knew that this is where I belong. This is where I best fit.
And so I'm back to being a starving student once more as I work to gain a credential that will make me more competitive for the full-time position I want. I've worked hard to get here, and I continue working hard to build the life I want for myself and the family I hope to have one day.
Click on the Teaching link at the top of the page for more information about my literary vision.