Engineers at heart

Jun 28, 2023 | News | 1 comment

Tags: ALMA

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Our observatory has all kinds of professionals that make it a unique place in the world. But above all we have engineers… and women engineers!

On the occasion of Women in Engineering Day, celebrated last June 23, we want to give special recognition to those women who every day demonstrate that there is no reason to generate gender bias.

So believes Fabiola Norambuena, who just joined ALMA as our Software Engineer Trainee at the beginning of this month, and who traces her love for mathematics and physics back to her childhood.

“I loved how methodical and rigorous the study of mathematics is, and in the case of physics it seemed extraordinary to me that there were mathematical expressions to describe such complex phenomena as electromagnetic fields and the motion of celestial bodies,” recalls Fabiola.

María Jesús López, who has been working as our Frontline Software Support Engineer (FLSE) at the ALMA Department of Computing (ADC) for more than three years, had a similar experience since she was a child. “Since I was a child I was interested in science. More than studying theory, I liked to imagine and apply solutions, to take things apart and put them together. Some toys underwent transformations out of curiosity”, a trait of María Jesús that her family always celebrated and encouraged.

Fortunately, the same openness that she experienced within her family, she has seen in engineering, where she says that “a wide range of possibilities opens up, from management, development, implementation of tools and projects”, adds María Jesús.

Both engineers say that they have felt integrated in the work teams they have been in, either because there have been no gender distinctions in them, or because they were made up of many female colleagues. However, they recognize that their field is still predominantly occupied by men.
For Fabiola, this is because engineering and science have not traditionally been promoted or encouraged among young girls as study options. A very different case from health or humanities careers, where there is a greater focus on soft skills.

“It is unfortunate that many girls are deprived of studying and exploring these fields. It is essential to remind them that we are all capable of performing in a variety of ways. It is perfectly possible for a person to be interested in caring for others and, at the same time, want to learn about the behavior of nature and the material world,” Fabiola explains.

In this way, each has developed her own vision of the role of women in engineering. “We can bring a different vision and perspective to problems, and to the collaboration between people and teams,” assures María Jesús.
While Fabiola does not believe in roles or labels. “I don’t think there should be a designated role for us. What is really important is that there is a space in the engineering world where we are seen as equals,” she concludes.
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1 Comment

  1. Martin Diaz
    Martin Diaz on June 29, 2023 at 7:10 pm

    Felicitaciones por ir abriendo camino a otras !!!

    Reply

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