Every company has a corporate responsibility and every individual has a personal responsibility to work towards sustainability.
Gayatri Anand, our next pathbreaker, R&D Engineer at Honeywell (United States), primarily works on projects related to sustainability and end of life of materials that are used in pharmaceutical packaging.
Gayatri talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about several internships and experiences that exposed her to the very different applications of polymers and plastics in critical industries such as Healthcare, Aerospace and Manufacturing !
For students, Polymer engineering is a niche and exciting field, a hybrid between mechanical and chemical engineering and a specialization of Materials Engineering
Gayatri, tell us what were your growing up years like?
I grew up in a nuclear family in Pune, Maharashtra and lived there from the ages of 4 to 21. Most of my schooling was in Delhi Public School, Pune. I was there from 5th to 12th grade. My father was a businessman and my mother was an Economics honors graduate with a MBA in Retail Management. My paternal side was full of doctors and my maternal side was full of engineers.
I enjoyed going to school a lot. I did well in most subjects and did a lot of different extracurriculars. In my senior years, I was part of the student body as a Cultural Secretary and Environmental Prefect. In 11th and 12th, I studied English, Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Economics.
My road to engineering was not very straightforward . I was interested in a lot of different things like studying history, hotel management, teaching and even home science! Eventually after a lot of conversations with family members and career counselors, I chose engineering.
What did you do for graduation/post graduation?
I studied Polymer Engineering from MIT Pune for my undergraduate studies. I chose not to work after finishing BTech and directly started my MS. For my masters, I moved to the US and went to University of Massachusetts, Lowell for Plastics Engineering and graduated in 2018.
UMass Lowell is one of the few universities in the US with a highly ranked graduate program in Plastics Engineering. I had received admissions from a few other universities as well like University of Akron, Eastern Michigan University and Pittsburg State University. A few of my MIT Pune seniors had also gone to Lowell, so after speaking with them, other Lowell alumni, and professors, I chose Lowell. I chose the non-thesis MS option at Lowell, which meant that instead of doing a thesis project, I had to take 3 additional subjects. Within MS in Plastics Engineering, I specialized in Plastic Materials in which I studied Advanced Plastic Materials, Processing, Rheology, Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Product Design etc
Can you talk about some of the influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional and uncommon career?
After 12th when I had finally landed on engineering as a career choice, I was clear about only one thing – I absolutely did not want to do anything related to computers. So no CS, Computer Engineering, IT, E&TC etc. By a process of elimination, I landed on Polymer Engineering! When I first joined polymer engineering, I wasn’t very sure if it was the right fit. This was particularly exacerbating because 1st year is a common year for all branches of engineering. That means I was studying things like basics of civil, mechanical, computer etc, things that were not related to my branch or interests. I did not enjoy my first year of college at all and I was struggling.
Things took a turn in the second year of college. This was when I started studying polymers for the first time! Polymer engineering is a niche field, a hybrid between mechanical and chemical engineering and a specialization of Materials Engineering. I loved it! It was so interesting to learn about these small molecules that make up every single thing! Right from the clothes we wear, the appliances we use, our roads and everything we can see and touch is made up of polymers.
How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Or how did you make a transition to a new career? Tell us about your career path
I did multiple internships during my BTech and MS degrees. My first experience was at Om Polymers in Purnea, Bihar. I learnt about extrusion of polymers to make piping. For my second internship, I worked at Raksha Polycoats in Pune, Maharashtra. Here I studied all the aspects of rubber manufacturing. In my 8th semester at MIT, I worked at NCL, Pune for my final year project. Our project was focused on studying drug release using a silk coating on a breast implant substrate. We developed and optimized surface treatment processes to deliver most efficient coating surfaces.
During my masters, I had the opportunity to intern as a Materials Intern at Velcro Industries, studying applications of hook and loop fasteners in the healthcare and aerospace industry. The applications I was working on for the aerospace industry was to develop a fire-resistant adhesive system which would be applied on the hook and loop fasteners for various parts in the aircraft like luggage carriers. For the healthcare segment, I was working on developing the right base substrate for the fasteners for blood pressure cuff applications.
My last internship was at Trexel Inc in which I studied the injection Molding process and what intricate cell structures look like. All these experiences were very beneficial to me and I learnt about very different applications of polymers and plastics and this opened up my options.
I got all my internships and roles because of networking! I truly believe in the power of social media like LinkedIn. I was able to connect with students and professionals, talk to them about their experiences and recommendations and used that to find these positions.
How did you get your first break?
Networking! I reached out to the network of my professors to see if anyone was hiring for an internship opportunity. Luckily there was one availability and I successfully interviewed and the rest is history! While I was in the second year of my MS program, I came across Solvay. Solvay is a multinational chemical company with various divisions. I worked for the Specialty Polymers division as a Customer Technical Development Engineer. In this role, I was the customer facing application development engineer supporting the Healthcare and Consumer Goods market. I helped customers with material selection, processing support and troubleshooting for failures.
What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?
Moving to a new country is always a challenge. There are social and cultural differences that need to be overcome. Beyond that, there were major differences in the education system in India and the US. Getting used to that took some time. I learnt to be independent and ask for help when needed.
Maintaining timelines with school work, assignments, exams, projects, internships, on campus jobs was a challenge as well. I got into the habit of diligent scheduling and breaking down tasks into small milestones.
Where do you work now?
I am currently working at Honeywell as a R&D Engineer/Scientist II. I primarily work on projects related to sustainability and end of life of materials. The business I support makes PCTFE polymer which is used as a barrier layer material in pharmaceutical packaging. My work is to study what happens to the materials after it’s lifecycle is completed in pharma. What are the effects of landfilling, incinerating or what other waste management techniques can be used for these type of materials. Could a recycling program work with these materials, what would that look like, would it be mechanical or chemical/advanced recycling? These are the problems I solve in my current role.
How does your work benefit society?
I feel every company has a corporate responsibility and every individual has a personal responsibility to work on sustainability. My work benefits society because I’m researching and developing techniques to manage the polymers that have already been produced and study the effects of various current technologies of waste management.
Your advice to students based on your experience?
Leverage your natural skills and instincts! Play to your strengths rather than focusing on your weaknesses. You are on your own timelines.
Future Plans?
I want to continue to push the boundaries of sustainability in polymers and plastics. I want to continue to support the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors which improve the lives of people worldwide!