Career Path: Dr. Valerie Wiesner
Tuesday, May 4, 2021, at 11 am (Eastern US time)
ACerS President’s Council of Student Advisors (PCSA) is hosting the June webinar, Career Path: Dr. Valerie Wiesner in the ACerS Professional Skills and Personal Development Webinar Series.
Dr. Valerie Wiesner will share her path that has led to a career in ceramics research at NASA, the variety of roles she plays in her position as a Research Materials Engineer and how she has remained involved with ACerS since her days as a graduate student.
LEARNING OUTCOME
Whether in government, academia or industry, a research position can take many forms, requiring skills and experience not necessarily encountered in school. In addition to learning what a ceramics research position can look like within an aerospace-focused agency from Val’s personal experiences, attendees will gain insight on how a professional community can help with navigating the transition from student to professional life.
WEBINAR DESCRIPTION
In this webinar, Dr. Valerie Wiesner will provide a synopsis of her career path, what her position as a NASA Research Materials Engineer entails and how she continues to navigate a career in ceramics research for aerospace applications and adapting to an ever-evolving workplace. She will share how she has stayed involved with ACerS starting as a graduate student and President’s Council of Student Advisors (PCSA) delegate to committee member and division leadership.
The format will include a presentation followed by extended Q&A with open discussion.
INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Valerie Wiesner
Dr. Valerie Wiesner is a Research Materials Engineer in the Advanced Materials and Processing Branch at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. She earned a Ph.D. in materials engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and B.A. in physics with certificate in Japanese Language and Literature from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.
Prior to joining Langley in 2019, she began her NASA career as a Research Materials Engineer in the Ceramic and Polymer Composites Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, after completing a Pathways Internship as a Ph.D. student. Prior to graduate school, she was an assistant English language teacher and translator for the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education in Japan. She serves as Chair of the American Ceramic Society’s (ACerS) Engineering Ceramics Division and is a member of several committees within ACerS, ASM International, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
Her research centers on expanding ceramic applications in extreme aerospace environments, including hypersonic and space flight, next-generation aircraft turbine engines and lunar and planetary exploration.
REGISTRATION
Registration is now closed. If you missed the webinar, ACerS members may view it in the ACerS Webinar Archives. Member log-in required.
ACerS member: no cost
ACerS GGRN and Material Advantage student member: no cost
ACerS non-member: $30
ACerS student non-member: $15
If you have any questions, please contact Yolanda Natividad.
This webinar is brought to you by ACerS President’s Council of Student Advisors (PCSA).