Women’s History Month
Heather Connaway is a nuclear engineering associate at Argonne National Laboratory, where she works with computer codes to simulate (on a nuclear level) how neutrons are interacting with the atoms of different materials in a reactor.
Heather Connaway is a nuclear engineering associate at Argonne, where she has been employed since 2013. Prior to this, she was a research aide at the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory. She has also interned with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Areva. Heather holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida and a Master of Science degree from MIT, both in nuclear engineering. As a member of the Reactor and Fuel Cycle analysis group at Argonne, she works in a number of areas including research reactor conversion, neutronic analysis of fast reactors, fuel cycle analysis and code evaluation. In addition, she is currently an officer for Argonne’s Next Generation Nuclear Society (NGNS), the lab’s chapter of North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NAYGN) and an active member of the American Nuclear Society.
What do you do?
I am a nuclear engineer, with a focus on reactor physics. Essentially, I work with computer codes that simulate on a nuclear level how neutrons are interacting with the atoms of different materials in a reactor. Using these codes, I can do things like design and evaluate a new reactor type, or study the best way to improve an existing reactor design. My work provides daily opportunities for critical thinking and problem solving, along with frequent collaboration and brainstorming with my fellow analysts.
What is the best part of your job?
I love that my job is satisfying on multiple levels. On a big picture scale, I am contributing to projects that will help to meet the world’s energy needs. I am fighting climate change and developing a clean, reliable source of energy. It is a great feeling to believe that the work I’m doing could really make a difference in the world. At the same time, on a more personal level, every day I am doing interesting things. I have a great deal of variety in the projects that I work on, and in my day-to-day tasks I’m facing and solving complex challenges.
My job also lies in a perfect spot on the spectrum of research to practical application. I chose to pursue graduate studies and employment at a lab because I wanted to work on things that had never been done before. At the same time, I didn’t want to end up working solely on ideas that are so “out there” that they will never actually be built. In my job now I have a wonderful balance, and am able to both explore new ideas and contribute to real world projects.
When did you first consider pursuing a STEM degree?
My junior year of college! Growing up, I always felt more interested in topics like history and literature than in science, and never seriously considered doing anything STEM-related. The turning point came during an art history class the summer after my sophomore year of college. I realized that I am a person who believes there’s a right answer to most questions (yes, we can all have different theories about what the artist intended for the painting to represent, but there still exists one correct answer corresponding to the response the artist would give if we could go back in time and ask her!), and that I wanted my career to be based around something with more concrete results. I also felt like I wasn’t fully challenging myself, and realized that I missed math and problem solving. Another contributing factor was the fact that my father works as an artist — seeing the challenges he faced made me realize that I would be much happier keeping some of my interests as hobbies, rather than as things my livelihood depends on. I have a great balance in my life now — I do engineering analysis all day at work and then can go home and curl up with a good novel or work on an art project. I would encourage anyone like me who doesn’t think that STEM is for them to further explore the wide range of careers available — even though you don’t like biology, you may find that you love computer programming (and vice versa). Don’t buy into the mindset that you have to fit into one box, left-brained or right-brained, technical or creative.
Tell us about a time when it was difficult for you to pursue your career in STEM.
STEM fields are very male-dominated, and at times I’ve run into the attitude that females are given preferential treatment in order to even things out. For example, one summer during lunch at an internship, the entire table of (all male) fellow interns started talking about how frustrating it was that all of these underqualified girls were getting all of the best internships and scholarships because of gender-based affirmative action. I just sat there wondering if they all thought that was the reason I’d gotten the job (later in the day, a friend stopped by to tell me that I shouldn’t feel like those statements apply to me, and I can’t emphasize enough how much I appreciate him doing that). I also had a former classmate imply that I only got into MIT because I’m a girl. For a time, these types of experiences really tainted how I interacted with peers and colleagues — I had this pervading concern that everyone thought I was only there to be the token (underqualified) female, or that they thought I’d taken a spot from a more skilled male. This made me more hesitant to ask questions for fear that I’d be validating these opinions. Fortunately, over time I’ve come to recognize that this is silly, both because I know I’m well qualified and because most of my fellow engineers don’t have these medieval attitudes.
What would you share with a student who wishes to pursue a career in your field?
Obviously, it helps to take as many classes as possible in math, programming, etc., to build a strong foundation, but more important than that is developing a good work ethic and identifying early on the study techniques that work best for you. That way, you can easily pursue areas of math or science that you have no previous experience in — if you have these skills, you can learn the material! Unfortunately, I have seen so many bright people fail because they relied too much on their intelligence alone and were unwilling to work hard. In support of this, make sure to pursue a career that truly interests you. It’s so much easier to stay motivated when you really care about the topic you’re working on.
Also, keep in mind that many of the core STEM concepts are difficult for everyone — there’s a reason that the people who discovered them are considered some of the greatest minds to have ever lived. I had multiple instances in college where I felt like a test was incredibly tough, while many of my classmates were bragging about how easy it was — only to learn later that I had one of the best grades in the class! So don’t let the bravado of others scare you off, and be aware that if you’re struggling with a particular topic, the reality is that everyone else probably is too!