Iowa State University alumna Elizabeth Bierman is a senior project engineer at Honeywell Aerospace where she specializes in avionics and is the president of the Society of Women Engineers. Bierman, who received her degree in aerospace engineering from ISU, works a wide variety of bright minds to create the technologies that guide aircraft to their destinations, is a mother of two, and also speaks on behalf of the Society of Women Engineers to promote diversity in the workplace.
When asked about how she ended up on her current career path, Bierman said it all started in elementary school.
“I got an astronaut lunch box in the 4th grade (fall 1985), and a few months later the Challenger space shuttle tragedy occurred,” she said. “Instead of being discouraged, it sparked my interest to learn about those astronauts.”
She later found out that three of them were aerospace engineers and decided that is what she wanted to be too.
Bierman ended up going to Iowa State University and majoring in Aerospace Engineering. Her first year was difficult. Engineering classes were a lot harder than what she had initially expected. However, she joined the Society of Women Engineers, from which she gained a community of support, and overcame the challenges.
“Once I got into my core Aerospace Engineering classes things got better,” Bierman said, “or maybe I just enjoyed the classes more.”
After her sophomore year of college, she got a co-op position with Rockwell Collins and this really solidified her love for aerospace and engineering. Now she spends her time designing airplanes.
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