IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2021 - 9

the merged congress was " a natural switch. "

A Springboard to Success

Flying high with KOOP

The Energy of ECCE
Since that first year, ECCE has grown
significantly. Oriti notes that it is the
largest energy conversion conference
in the world, with 2018's meeting pulling in 1,800 attendees. " I can't stay
away, it's so much fun, " she says laughing. " I love the energy of everybody
working toward the same goals. And
it's such a great opportunity for networking and to make friends. " She uses
the example of Anglani, with whom
she interned in Italy in 1992 and then
reconnected with at ECCE two decades
later. " We'd kept in touch but it was
when I saw her at ECCE that I had the
idea of us collaborating on energy projects, " she says.
This is related to the advice Oriti
gives young women interested in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics careers or leadership
positions. " It can be really difficult to
promote yourself, especially in an environment full of men, " she acknowledges. " One time my husband pushed
me, he physically pushed me in front
of the person I needed to talk to after
saying I wanted to be involved in something. So I know it's hard, but you
have to have courage. "
Finding collaborators can help. " Try
teaming up with a friend, " she advises.
" I gained more confidence when I paired
up with women like Norma, which seems
silly, but the fact that I wasn't the only
woman in the room made a big difference. " Oriti points to ECCE as a perfect example of strength in numbers:
starting the WIE committee meant that
women were no longer in the shadows
and, thanks to its existence, the first
female plenary session speaker was chosen in 2018.
From those earlier achievements
to Oriti's current position as the first
female general chair, ECCE is welcoming women with open arms. So heed
Oriti's advice, and don't be afraid to
get involved.
-Leslie Prives

Courtney Middelkoop planned for twists
and turns in 2020, but she figured they
would come physically, not in regard
to her postcollege career. As a new college graduate and talented gymnast, she
was training to be a professional acrobat in Las Vegas and had an audition
lined up. With the pandemic raging,
the audition canceled, and her future
plans left unknown, she pivoted to
becoming an entrepreneur.
Something that did go according to
plan for Middelkoop was the path to engineering. As a fourth-generation engineer,
she says she never saw herself doing anything else. " My dad is an industrial engineer, and everyday he would come home
and tell me what he was doing at work. I
found it super interesting and wanted to
learn more, " she recalls. " He was probably my biggest role model, and I'm glad I
made the choice to take that path. "

The KOOP logo.

The Great Iowa State Fair Pitch Off
competition. Middelkoop (center) with
Iowa State University President Wendy
Wintersteen (left) and Iowa State
Senior Vice President and Provost
Jonathan Wickert (right).

what is used in their training facilities,
she tested how it would feel to interact
with new springboards and whether
gymnasts would prefer characteristics
A Scholar Athlete
of one board over another. Interestingly
Nevertheless, she did it her way. Middelenough, she learned that most prekoop, a gymnast since the age of four,
fer to continue with the board
combined her love of the sport
they had used throughwith her interest in engiMiddelkoop,
out their lives. " It's a
neering and applied
feeling o n a board
both to her studies.
a gymnast since
that's hard to identiShe received a bachthe age of four,
fy. You can't really
elor's and a master's
combined her love
say why you like
degree in industrial
of the sport with her
it, you're just used
engineering from
interest in engineering
t o it a n d t h a t 's
Iowa State Univerwh at you prefer, "
sity and centered her
and applied both to
says
Middelkoop.
thesis around applyher studies.
During the course
ing human factors and
of these studies, Middelindustrial engineering prinkoop had simultaneously been
ciples to gymnastics equipment.
working on a business idea: a company
" I looked at different types of gymthat could provide remote monitoring
nastics springboards, specifically how
and consulting work in process improvegymnasts interact with the equipment
ment. " I was thinking of companies who
and their perceived feel of new equipcannot afford to have someone full time
ment, " she explains. Knowing from
and on site, " she explains. " Monitorexperience that gymnasts get used to
ing remotely via cameras is much more
one particular type or brand based on
practical for them compared to expensive
consultants who come in and observe
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2021.3062916
personally. We can set up a camera and
Date of current version: 5 May 2021

JUNE 2021

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2021

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