IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 13

weeks, working with a team preparing
a site, which means receiving shipments
of product, assigning it to a
particular location and cue, and then,
finally, bringing the product out into
the field and wiring it for the show.
Destefano works throughout
the
year. Although the slowest periods are
early spring and late fall, someone is
always looking to host a show. Summer
in the United States keeps her busy,
especially the weeks around Independence
Day. When the weather grows
cold, she travels internationally to
locales such as Dubai and Saudi Arabia
or works for theaters in New York.
Destefano has participated in many
world-record-breaking fireworks shows.
There was the world record for the
largest fireworks display in multiple
cities (58) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
on 23 September 2018. Then there
was the more artistic record for the longest
straight-line fireworks display. This
display stretched for 13.002 kilometers
(8.07 miles) on New Year's Eve, January
2019, on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al
Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.
This year, for the first time, Destefano
worked a show in Belgrade, Serbia.
This multimedia show, featuring lasers,
lighting, video, and sound incorporated
into the unfinished 42-story Kula Tower,
culminated with a massive fireworks
show that lit up the Sava River along the
Belgrade Waterfront.
Pushing the Boundary
In the field, pyrotechnicians
need to be prepared for things to
deviate from the plan. " It's not
like you get rehearsal time. You
can't fire a show over and over
for rehearsal. It's a one-shot
deal and things can go wrong, "
Destefano says. And occasionally
things do. Destefano has
worked shows where a particular
shell has " not acted the way
it was supposed to, " by breaking
too low or not firing at all.
Even with an errant shell,
pyrotechnicians keep the show
safe by using science. Destefano
explains it as " the science
becomes the safety. " One
of the biggest considerations
in any pyrotechnic display is
the establishment of safe fallout
zones. Every site presents
different challenges, from the
terrain to the proximate audiences
at a theme park. The size
of the site determines what
effects a show can have, and
the National Fire Protection
Association guidelines dictate
the minimum distance the
audience must be from an individual
shell based on the size
of that shell. Their guideline
is 70 feet of distance per inch
of shell, meaning a 3-in shell
would require that the audience
be a minimum of 210 feet
DECEMBER 2022
IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE
13

IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022

Contents
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - Cover1
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - Cover2
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - Contents
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 2
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 3
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 4
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 5
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 6
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 7
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 8
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 9
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 10
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 11
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 12
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 13
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 14
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 15
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 16
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 17
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 18
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 19
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 20
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 21
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 22
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 23
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 24
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 25
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 26
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 27
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 28
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 29
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 30
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 31
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 32
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 33
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 34
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 35
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 36
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 37
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 38
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 39
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 40
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - Cover3
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_june2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2007
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com