Laura Dempsey
It’s not everyday that you meet a girl who studies both engineering and art, but Laura Dempsey sure does. And the best part- She’s awesome at both fields. I asked the senior a few questions about her art, her engineering, and stereotypes against women in science.
1 ) How did you get into a) art and b) engineering? Is there a way that you want to combine both of those areas?
a) The female members on both sides of my family have extensive creative talent. It must have rubbed off on me, because from a young age I was extremely interested in drawing. There was always a bit of science in there, too – my mom always tells me how she was amazed to see a drawing of mine from around age 5: I had drawn a train, but I had very elaborately included physical connections between the cars (ones that would work!) along with adequate steps, lighting, etc etc., so I’ve always tried to incorporate reason and practicality into my work. I started to experiment with mixed media in junior high and found that I really enjoyed painting with india ink and watercolor. I discovered analog photography in high school, and it is a passion that becomes more important and inspiring to me every day. Recently, I’ve been really interested in fibers (4-harness loom weaving) and printmaking.
b) My dad is a mechanical engineer who always stressed the importance of science to my sister and I. I was 1-2 years ahead in mathematics all throughout grade school, and also took a lot of courses in the natural sciences. Art has always been my passion during my spare time, but I was particularly good at science and I knew I had a better chance at supporting myself and having a career if I went into science. What cemented the decision for me was working in a Molecular Plant Biology research lab at Colorado State University for a few summers – I got to take care of tomato plants (I love gardening!) and also got to scientifically analyze pollination studies with fluorescent light microscopy. Going into college, I decided that I wanted to pursue a field that combined Biology and Mathematics, but also had the potential to directly help people. This led me to choosing Biomedical Engineering as my first major.
2) I know you recently won an award for engineering. Can you tell us what it is and describe it a bit?
I recently won the George Washington Prize from the Pitt Swanson School of Engineering. It’s a $2500 scholarship that they award to a single outstanding engineering senior each year. The competition includes every single engineering field offered at Pitt. The panel that interviews candidates and awards the prize is comprised of higher-level management members from surrounding engineering companies as well as the Dean of the engineering school. The panel was looking for a candidate that showed outstanding academic achievement, research/work experience, leadership experience, and extracurricular activities. But get this… what they really found the most fascinating was that I was also an artist! They appreciated that I could use my right brain and the way that I approach problems from a more creative stance.
3) You’re combining both worlds of science and art and breaking through the irrational stereotype that plagues women- women are not usually involved in science. In your past classes and experiences, have you ever had an experience that could be labeled as sexist or unfair?
Sexism comes up a lot when people talk about Engineering, it’s true. Honestly, I’ve been really lucky in regards to this problem because I’m in Bioengineering. My major is split nearly 50/50 guys/girls, and there are actually a few more women than men in my year. I think this is because the field is more biology-oriented, and this tends to attract the interest of women more. A lot of my peers are also interested in medical school, so that also explains the higher numbers. The other engineering majors do have a smaller percentage of women, but I know several outstanding female students who have never let the sex issue prevent them from pursuing internships or achieving excellent grades. In terms of salary in the workforce – yes, it is an issue. Even in the sciences, women tend to be paid less and are not promoted as frequently as men. I think this is often because they take time out to have a family, or can’t commit to a busier schedule because they have kids to take care of. You rarely run into sexism in the academic environment, but it is more common in the old established engineering industries where most of the workforce is men who graduated 20-40 years ago. Honestly, though – I don’t the sexism should stop anyone, especially women, from pursuing the sciences. Anyone who is still intimidated by ideas of engineering/science-field sexism and/or is letting it hold them back needs to suck it up and just go after it. It’s the 21st century, and I don’t think those excuses still have solid ground.
4) What do you hope to do in engineering?
What I plan to do with engineering – that’s hard to answer because I’m still trying to figure it out! I love that biomedical engineering gives you the opportunity to work on medical devices and to operate in hospital environments. There’s the potential to create a product that will greatly increase a patient’s quality of life. Right now, I am especially interested in the therapeutic effects of deep-brain stimulation (DBS). DBS is most well known for treating Parkinson’s Disease, but it is can also benefit people with depression or obesity. No one knows quite how DBS works, so it is a very exciting field that still has a mystery to solve! Ideally, I would love to combine my studio arts experience with my engineering degree. I recently joined a lab in the MR (magnetic resonance imaging) department at UPMC that comes close to this goal – we’re going to try and develop a Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy system for neonates (infants still in the hospital) that will non-invasively tell us what parts of the brain are receiving increased blood flow. Regardless of what area of engineering I decide to pursue, I’m hoping that my career will leave me with enough time (and also enough spare $$$ for supplies) to pursue art on the side and hopefully sell some of my work. And if the engineering doesn’t work out… I’ll just get an MFA!
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