Karin Anderson: “In a male-dominated environment, I received the opportunities and promotions from very early on in my career.”

Even though Karin Anderson always had a scientific inclination, she readily admits that she was not destined for materials engineering and the composites sector. “When I was young, I worked for a well-known ice cream chain in the United States called Dairy Queen, and I was mostly interested in marine science, its wildlife and ice cream,” she explains with a laugh before continuing, “We also have to remember that in the mid-80s, the job market was tight, and I chose to become an engineer because there were job prospects.”

Discovering the field of advanced materials

Karin Anderson joined University of Washington in Seattle, WA, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1989, followed by a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1996. Thanks to one of her teachers, she had the opportunity to work at Boeing and discovered the world of advanced materials, in which she became a prominent specialist. “At the beginning of my career, I often changed and sought to discover new things, but I was advised to stabilise, and that’s what I did, even though I enjoyed working in companies of very different sizes, from a large group like Boeing to much smaller structures.  I remained very focus on mastering the use of advanced materials,” she points out.

“It’s always the technology that has interested me the most”

This journey gave her the chance to take on managerial responsibilities, including work on Mergers & acquisitions, business planning, forecasting, staff management, etc., even though it was always the technology that interested her the most: “Finding solutions through technologies is really my professional driver. I love untangling the knots we encounter in programmes, I love defining technological strategies, I love accelerating the pace of companies and their developments.” With a very hands-on approach, this explains why Karin Anderson never hesitated between the business world and the academic universe. Although she has managed to satisfy her thirst for sharing and research by getting involved with SAMPE, where she served as president.

Technological leaps in composite materials

For the past eight years, Karin Anderson has returned to Boeing, settling with her family in South Carolina, a very different living environment from Washington State. Enthusiastic about tackling new challenges presented to aircraft manufacturers, she takes the opportunity to recall how the sector has evolved significantly since the beginning of her career: “Everything is faster than before, starting with Research & Development through production. Calculation methods have accelerated dramatically; when I started, we still used calculators and pencils!” she jokes, before adding, “Communication between teams is also simpler, and we can work on projects that bring together people from all over the world. This acceleration is further enhanced by computing data, new simulation tools, and machine learning.” This movement explains the improvement of composites on all levels: the parts are more refined, larger, and also produced faster, thanks to the automation of machines. “At the same time, we have made immense progress in environmental respect, and this will continue, as it is one of the major challenges of the coming years,” she emphasises.

The luck of having great mentors

While Karin Anderson acknowledges that she was one of the few women during her studies and in the departments where she worked, she insists that she rarely endured inappropriate remarks or behavior: “I had the opportunities and promotions from very early on in my career. In a male-dominated environment, I had great mentors and great colleagues to collaborate with. Challenges and obstacles are always part of a career, but they are not necessarily related to gender.” Among the advice that marked her, she recalls very human things: “Life has many problems to solve, but it’s not always that difficult to do so. And if you have many problems, too many in your eyes, it may mean you are not where you should be.  Life is a journey with infinite possible paths to meander through and explore.” Currently, she observes that there are a few more women in the industry and in aerospace in particular. Advanced materials and composites also attract more young female engineers, but she believes that we need to go even further because there are interesting careers to be made and exciting jobs to experience.

“Tackling the challenge of sustainable development is exciting”

In general, she is somewhat concerned about the lack of engineers in the United States, in almost all specialties. “Yet these are future-oriented jobs, both materially attractive and intellectually very stimulating! It’s wonderful to start from a blank sheet and see a project take shape and come to life. It’s really exciting to work on an aircraft project and see it take off and fly! It represents so much work, so many solutions to find. And today, there is the challenge of sustainable development to tackle, which is also very exciting,” she says with contagious enthusiasm. And if asked what else she could have done as a job, she jokes about the allure of ice cream and more seriously mentions wine and her discovery of Californian vineyards about thirty-five years ago. Before laughing mischievously, she adds: “Maybe it’s not too late after all!”

Cover photo: Karin Anderson.