Extreme Engineer: Daina Briedis
Extreme Engineer Quote
"it's important to work hard and learn to work together with peer groups..."
|
What She Does
Daina is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Michigan State University. In addition she volunteers as an ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) evaluator which evaluates colleges and universities for accreditation in the field of engineering. Once accredited, these schools are reevaluated every six years. Daina also finds time consulting with schools that are striving for the ABET accreditation. To learn more about ABET and why selecting an accredited school is important in your college/university search, go to www.abet.org.
Making a Difference
Diana makes a difference by constructing ways to creatively interact and teach her students at Michigan State University. In addition, her work as an ABET evaluator enables her to assist colleges and universities to achieve higher qualities of education for future students. Graduating from an accredited program signifies adequate preparation for entry into the engineering profession. In fact, many employers require graduation from an accredited program as a minimum qualification.
Why Engineering?
In the summer between high school and college Daina worked as a summer intern at Astronomical Corporation of America where flight instruments were designed. It was here that she developed a love of taking data and turning it into something viable and seeing the end result. Another factor was that her father was also an engineer!
Advice
Daina has great advice for high school student entering the engineering college curriculum. She believes that it's important to work hard and learn to work together with peer groups. She also points out that it's vital to get to know the faculty at your school and know that the professors are there to help and talk if needed.
Hobbies/Free Time
In her free time Daina loves to play the piano, cross country ski, kayak, water ski, sew and read. She also loves to watch her two daughter's sports activities (one's a sophomore in HS and the other a sophomore in college). Daina is also very involved in her church.
Education
Daina attended high School at Whitnall in Greenfield WI. It was here that she was involved in the school's math club where students often participated in math competitions. She also enjoyed her advanced chemistry classes and had excellent instructors in both areas. After high school she finished her undergraduate work at the University for Wisconsin. Her graduate work was completed at Iowa State in Ames IA for chemical engineering.
|
