Highlighting Women in Science: The Inner Spark
As the first part of our Highlighting Women in Science series, The Lab Depot had the pleasure of interviewing a Chemical and Materials Engineer working in the oil and gas industry. Alina Voitenko grew up and attended primary and secondary schools in Ukraine. She attended the University of Washington in Seattle, and currently lives in Houston, Texas. She is married and shares a young puppy with her husband. She considers herself lucky to work with him at the same company. Alina speaks four languages fluently: Ukrainian, German, English, and Russian.
As a Chemical and Materials Engineer, she is currently in her second year working in Research and Development in Nanomaterials and their applications. Alina works in the New Energy Transition Solutions Team, which is a new division in the company. While she was studying at the University of Washington, Alina helped create a start-up company. Her current employer purchased the start-up to become part of their New Energy Transition Solutions department.
A Day in the Life
On an average workday, Alina begins her day by riding to work with her husband. In the office between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. each day, she starts by checking emails. As the person in charge of third-party communications, she ensures that all of that day’s correspondence is complete for her team’s projects. Next, she checks on all materials analysis that needs to be done each day and begins that process. The rest of her day is filled with research, experiments, and any scheduled wet lab work. Her day-to-day schedule depends on which projects she is prioritizing. Sometimes, she is in meetings or reaching out to her project partners for equipment procurement, research support, and discussions with different universities. There is a lot of spontaneity and creativity in what she does. Often, her boss will come up with ideas that require her fairly young team to begin working on brainstorming and problem-solving right away. Their shared passion for the collaboration of ideas in their field is very motivating to Alina as they all work together.
Pursuit of Passion
Alina’s passion for her field comes from a natural affinity for wanting to understand the structure of the world around her and discovering answers to complex questions. Unlike high school in the U.S., attending high school in Ukraine required her to choose a major. Given a choice, she centered her studies around math and physics. Combining her studies with her innate problem-solving abilities made engineering seem like a natural choice for her post-secondary education and career path. She has always loved and been comforted by the idea in physics and the natural world that there is a law that governs everything. Through engineering in college, she began to recognize all the opportunities around her for development, impact, and making the world a better place. When facing a challenging set of circumstances or a seemingly unsolvable situation, Alina reassures herself and her colleagues that there has to be a law that governs what they are facing. Through their extensive discussions, extrapolation, and always going back to the fundamental laws of physics, they attempt to find solutions.
When asked about the importance of women in science, and specifically, women in engineering, Alina simply explained that because women CAN be a part of the scientific world, it is important that they make the most of the opportunity. “Right now, the representation of women in science is the best it has ever been. It’s still improving. We really need to take advantage of that and put ourselves out there and enjoy it, because we can…because we have the opportunity and the chance.” She also expressed that women are valuable assets in any field. Seeing differences in how all of her colleagues think and problem-solve, she explained that the best results always come from a combination of different mindsets. In her opinion, different approaches offer a great depth of knowledge and information, not just by individual, but also by gender.
Advice for Women in Science
Alina’s advice to any woman considering science as a career takes a warm, realistic tone. She says, “Stick with it. It is not an easy path for anyone to choose, regardless of gender. I mean, we all have to take linear algebra. That alone is hard enough.” She also acknowledges that there is another set of challenges that are unique to women pursuing a life of science, on top of the difficulty of the subject matter. “You have to believe in yourself. People have to find an inner spark for science and engineering within themselves. That internal drive is the only thing that can carry someone through this career. You could do it for the money or the prestige, but to truly enjoy it and follow through on your potential all the way, you must find that motivation within yourself. First and foremost, you must believe in yourself and be able to look for and find some of the answers within yourself. Be committed to the overall power and possibility of science to make a difference to improve your industry and the world."
Alina considers working with many other inspiring people the most rewarding part of her job. Collaborating with incredibly intelligent people and seeing their careers represented by the contributions they make to their projects helps to fuel her drive and passion for her field. An example of this from Alina’s own education comes from her time at the University of Washington with Dr. Elizabeth Nance. Dr. Nance is one of the most renowned Chemical and Biochemical Engineers in the industry and the founder of Women in Chemical Engineering at her school. Seeing first-hand how her professor’s research contributes to her field provided Alina with a great role model for how women represent high-quality, relevant work in higher education, as well as at the industry level. Working with Dr. Nance helped her to believe that she is also capable of this level of work.
Work, Life, Exercise
In her free time, Alina enjoys working out. This includes going to a gym, as well as rock climbing. She is able to approach her physical practice like a scientist and enjoys studying and understanding the biological processes of the body in an effort to optimize them for health and results. Her physical practice helps her stay grounded since her mind tends to be very active most of the time. It allows her to focus on something physical to give her mind the break it needs. She finds turning her brain off is the most challenging part of her work. In her off-time, she also has recently begun embroidering, which is a traditional Ukrainian craft and was practiced by her grandmother. In honor of her grandmother, Alina intends to continue the tradition.
A healthy work/life balance is encouraged in Alina’s New Energy Transition Solutions team. They all recognize and honor the importance of this concept, whether team members are parents or not. She finds this to be a great privilege. There is rarely a requirement to work overtime, and when she needs a little bit of extra time off, she is allowed to take it. She does her best to keep her work life separate from her home life, for a healthy perspective and time to rest. Working in the city does require more driving time, so working with her husband allows them to spend that time in the car together on the way to work.
Women in Science Article Series
In this article series, The Lab Depot hopes to honor the International Day of Women and Girls in Science by building an awareness of the women doing the work every day. Mothers, daughters, wives, friends, caregivers, and colleagues. These are fascinating stories of commitment, dedication, transition, and a great love for the potential to make the world better, found in all sciences. We hope you enjoy getting to know more about these intelligent contributors in chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering. If you are a woman in science or know one for whom you have great respect, reach out and let us know! Tell us about your path, or hers, using the comments section on any of our Women in Science social media posts, or send an email to our Communications Officer, Susie Csomor: [email protected].