Name: Emily Tow
College Major: Mechanical engineering Profession: Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Olin College of Engineering Advice: Speak up for yourself, have a strong support system, have interests outside of engineering, pay attention to what makes you passionate, and be aware of the long term effects your work has on the environment and people. |
Dr. Emily Tow's Story
Dr. Emily Tow is currently the assistant professor in mechanical engineering at Olin College of Engineering. As a professor, one class she teaches is transport phenomena, which is heat transfer and fluid flow. She loves when her students are excited about the subject. Dr. Tow also enjoys researching, mainly focusing on the applications of transport phenomena of water treatment. She is proud of her research and published papers because it’s a great opportunity to share her work with the world. She is currently working on a technology called batch reverse osmosis. She hopes it will become a more popular method for water treatment because it will require less energy and be able to treat more difficult waters.
Dr. Tow has always enjoyed math, science, and art. In high school, she was torn between pursuing a degree that was more STEM or art-based. She recalls a person who had recommended she pursue engineering because it involves math and science as well as creativity. In college, she started out as an industrial design engineering major because of its connection to the arts. After she took her first transport phenomena course, she fell in love with the subject and decided to major in mechanical engineering. Dr. Tow earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to becoming a professor, she worked in the industry as an intern while still in school and also had a postdoctoral fellowship at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. She is still passionate about art and explores it to this day, and recommends having another passion in addition to engineering.
In engineering, Dr. Tow has found that it takes internal and external strength to be a woman engineer. Engineering is an amazing field because it is challenging and also very rewarding, but sexism can make it difficult for women. While Dr. Tow doesn’t believe she has experienced bias in the hiring process, prior to becoming a professor, she has experienced bias from coworkers and collaborators. In some of her experiences, she has been the only, or one of few women in a room of male engineers. Senior leadership positions are also largely held by men. It can sometimes be awkward entering a new workplace environment until everyone gets to know one another and gets into a good working rhythm. Dr. Tow stresses the importance of speaking up for yourself.
Dr. Tow also knows that times are starting to change. She believes that with a new generation of women engineers, women will be more evenly represented in the workplace, and therefore move on to hold more senior leadership positions.
Dr. Tow believes that family leave policies are an area that needs to be improved in order to retain more women engineers. It is often during a woman’s twenties and thirties they are trying to establish themselves in their career and perhaps also trying to raise a family. With inadequate family leave policies, women may feel the need to choose between their career and family. Changes to family leave policies would help support women in engineering and provide more opportunities for them to advance in their careers to more senior-level positions.
Some advice Dr. Tow gives to aspiring women engineers is to be open-minded about the work you are doing and the ethics behind it. Even though engineers are solving problems, we are not inherently good. We need to be aware of the long-term effects our work has on the environment and who may be disproportionately helped and who is not. We also need to be aware of what makes us excited and passionate about being engineers. In addition, it’s crucial to take care of yourself physically and mentally. Surrounding yourself with a strong support system is also very important. Having friends and family you can always go to and who will support you no matter what is invaluable.
Dr. Tow has always enjoyed math, science, and art. In high school, she was torn between pursuing a degree that was more STEM or art-based. She recalls a person who had recommended she pursue engineering because it involves math and science as well as creativity. In college, she started out as an industrial design engineering major because of its connection to the arts. After she took her first transport phenomena course, she fell in love with the subject and decided to major in mechanical engineering. Dr. Tow earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to becoming a professor, she worked in the industry as an intern while still in school and also had a postdoctoral fellowship at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. She is still passionate about art and explores it to this day, and recommends having another passion in addition to engineering.
In engineering, Dr. Tow has found that it takes internal and external strength to be a woman engineer. Engineering is an amazing field because it is challenging and also very rewarding, but sexism can make it difficult for women. While Dr. Tow doesn’t believe she has experienced bias in the hiring process, prior to becoming a professor, she has experienced bias from coworkers and collaborators. In some of her experiences, she has been the only, or one of few women in a room of male engineers. Senior leadership positions are also largely held by men. It can sometimes be awkward entering a new workplace environment until everyone gets to know one another and gets into a good working rhythm. Dr. Tow stresses the importance of speaking up for yourself.
Dr. Tow also knows that times are starting to change. She believes that with a new generation of women engineers, women will be more evenly represented in the workplace, and therefore move on to hold more senior leadership positions.
Dr. Tow believes that family leave policies are an area that needs to be improved in order to retain more women engineers. It is often during a woman’s twenties and thirties they are trying to establish themselves in their career and perhaps also trying to raise a family. With inadequate family leave policies, women may feel the need to choose between their career and family. Changes to family leave policies would help support women in engineering and provide more opportunities for them to advance in their careers to more senior-level positions.
Some advice Dr. Tow gives to aspiring women engineers is to be open-minded about the work you are doing and the ethics behind it. Even though engineers are solving problems, we are not inherently good. We need to be aware of the long-term effects our work has on the environment and who may be disproportionately helped and who is not. We also need to be aware of what makes us excited and passionate about being engineers. In addition, it’s crucial to take care of yourself physically and mentally. Surrounding yourself with a strong support system is also very important. Having friends and family you can always go to and who will support you no matter what is invaluable.