IGTI celebrates women in gas turbine engineering

Sarah Trowbridge
International Gas Turbine Institute

In a field still dominated by men, women engineers quickly learn the importance of networking among themselves: sharing experiences, mentoring, and reminding one another that they are not alone. ASME's International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) recently took steps to formalize the networking experience for women in the gas turbine community.

At ASME Turbo Expo 2005 in Reno, Nev., in June, about 40 women who work in the gas turbine area gathered for a lunch and discussed ways to improve their professional lives and advance their careers while managing the challenges that arise from being female in an overwhelmingly male profession.

Karen Thole, a professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, organized the luncheon-believed to be the first such event for IGTI. After brief presentations by Thole and by Debbie Haught, the technical program chair for Turbo Expo 2005 and technology manager for microturbines and advanced materials in the U.S. Department of Energy's Distributed Energy Program, each attendee introduced herself and spoke a about her work with gas turbines and involvement with IGTI.

The luncheon gave attendees the chance to find out what they had in common with the other women present, share troubles and triumphs from the workplace, and hear suggestions from others.

The networking activities that started with the luncheon will continue throughout the year. Luncheon attendees are expected to communicate with each other using an Internet listserv that the institute set up for them.

Given the success of this first gas turbine women's networking luncheon, IGTI has planned a second luncheon, which will take place at next year's Turbo Expo, in Barcelona, Spain, May 8–11.

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