The Watson School at Homecoming 2015
The contrast of dark green worn by nearly everyone against the changing leaves of the trees on campus made Homecoming Weekend at Binghamton University picturesque.
There were a variety of University-wide events that shaped the celebration (see more here), but the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science also presented events that connected alumni with current students from Oct. 9-11.
Cool Connections, Hot Alumni
Even though Dr. Frances Hurwitz ’66 is a Harpur College of Arts and Sciences alum - she majored in Chemistry - she still told Watson School students that Binghamton prepared her for a life reaching for the stars.
“I got such a good foundation here that I was able to apply to new and other problems that I faced throughout my career,” the NASA engineer said to a mixed group of Binghamton University students at the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development on Friday. The group featured a healthy contingent from the Watson School.
“I never really wanted to go to space, but I don’t think that I would have gotten to NASA without the foundation that I got from Binghamton.”
Hurwitz is a Senior Materials Research Engineer at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and is currently focused on the development of aerogel composites as high temperature thermal insulators. Basically, she is on the cutting edge of heat shielding development.
After getting her Binghamton degree, Hurwitz got advanced degrees in Library Science and then Macromolecular Science before she began at NASA in 1979. She was one of only seven women employed with a doctorate degree at a time when women were openly paid less and excluded from research opportunities. After three and a half decades of work at NASA, she was awarded the highest honor of the Society of Women Engineers, their Achievement Award, for her development of materials used in space exploration on top of her efforts to improve the work environment for women. She has won over 20 awards from NASA itself.
“It is inspiring to hear what Binghamton can do to set up a person for such a successful career. Regardless of the major, it is powerful to see a woman in the STEM field doing so well after starting out here at Binghamton,” said Katie Leenig.
Leenig is a senior majoring in Systems Science & Industrial Engineering and Vice President of the Binghamton University chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.
“It shows that this school launches students on a path to go anywhere,” Leenig said about the NASA engineer’s story. “The experiences that you have at Binghamton prepare you for anything in the real world.”
Even though Hurwitz works on the ideas of tomorrow, she took a moment to remember her days on campus as well.
“I would know who was working in the library just by looking at the slide rules on the desks,” Hurwitz said. “I could tell who was in the dining hall just by the jackets that were hung up on the wall. It is a different campus now, but if students are still getting the fundamentals that I got then it still Binghamton.”
The presentation was made possible by a collaboration of the Binghamton University Alumni Association, the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, the Harpur Edge and the Watson School.
Alumni-Student Roundtable
Members of the Watson School’s past met with members of its present about their futures on Saturday as the Watson Career and Alumni Connections office hosted an Alumni-Student Roundtable in the Engineering and Sciences Building.
“It is so helpful to see what connections Binghamton has in so many different industries. I appreciate how (alumni) can advise you on the best path to take after finishing here,” said Biomedical Engineering senior Leigha Jarrett. “It is valuable to hear from people that were just in your shoes a few years ago and are successful now thanks to the work they did here.”
About 30 alums shared tips on how to take advantage of what Binghamton offers to prepare students for the job market.
“You learn how to learn here,” said Stephen Welte ’11. “The job market is about how well you can learn and how well you can apply yourself and those are two big things you get here.”
Welte, who works on military flight simulators for Simulations and Control Technologies Inc., also pointed out the valuable things that Binghamton, and the Watson School in particular, gives a student beyond the books.
“The group projects and environment that Watson provides really helped me to learn how to communicate,” he said. “That is such a big part of any job. You have to communicate with managers, team members, funders, and so many others that doing it here is a big help.”
Alumni at the round table also worked for the Air Force, IBM, General Motors, and owned their own companies. Many current students were inspired by the success of former Watson pupils.
“I am at a crossroads right now,” Jarrett said. She wants to get into healthcare software without much experience working on the computer side of things. She isn’t sure if she should get an advanced degree or start a career.
“Hearing from alumni that used what they learned here at Binghamton to be successful gives me a lot of confidence in what I am doing now and whatever I end up deciding on in the future.”