Hi. When I was young, I always wanted to become a researcher or explorer and I was fascinated by all sciences, but especially astronomy. So my dream was to work in a field that has something to do with space. In the end I became an optical engineer. My life took me into solar energy research in Germany and Spain first, where I worked with big parabolic mirrors. But moving to the USA made me switch completely to working with lasers that go into space. I even met two astronauts who visited our company. Now I switched to work again with mirrors at the only place in the world that can make gigantic mirrors for crazy telescope projects like the Giant Magellan Telescope. I am always amazed at what is possible when bright minds come together to create something. There is so much talk about girls and women being treated badly by men in STEM fields. But I want to point out, as the only female engineer in my company and having been surrounded by men my entire career, that I have mostly had positive experiences and that I feel respected and appreciated by my peers. If you have a passion, there is no reason why you should not or could not pursue it. I love my job, but I also make it a point to have enough time for my husband and two daughters and my many other interests like arts, making furniture, , hiking and outreach.
