SWE - Winter 2008 - (Page 55)

SWE 2007 Award Achievement Acceptance Address Pamela Kay Strong The Aerospace Corporation I am so pleased, and honored, to be chosen for the Society of Women Engineers’ highest honor, the Achievement Award. Ever since they called, both my arms have been black and blue from all the pinching I have done to myself to see if it is really true. My career, like many of you who are established, resulted like the Society of Women Engineers’ motto: Aspire, Advance, and Achieve. I aspired to be a scientist and an engineer. I advanced in my career. Now, tonight, I certainly have achieved. This is the crowning point of my career. Thank you so very much. I have two major hobbies and a special commitment to children. I am a former vice president of the American Opal Society and design my own jewelry. I am also a proud owner and breeder of dachshunds. My dog Kopf won second at the last National Invitational Eukanuba Dog Show in Long Beach, California. I have five that are invited to this year’s National Invitational Eukanuba Dog Show in Long Beach, but will only present two. Keep your fingers crossed until December the first for me. I also serve as a volunteer working with children to introduce them to the wonderful world of science and math, so they can aspire, advance, and achieve. My main profession –— when my hobbies and volunteer work allow it, that is — I’m a rocket scientist. Well, I have a coffee cup that says I am [raises mug]. I’d like to tell you how I came to be one. It started very early. Introduction to genius My father was an American scientist and my mother was American of German descent. Mother was also an excellent German cook. We lived in Alamogordo, New Mexico, just outside the White Sands Proving Grounds. Soon our household became a gathering place for German rocket scientists and visitors, who were my many “uncles” and “aunts,” in search of intelligent conversation and excellent German cuisine. One of the scientists was a young man named Wernher von Braun. When I was almost 4 years old, in the early 1950s, the doorbell rang. It was my job to answer the door. I was anticipating just ‘“Uncle Wernher,” but it was not just him –— he brought a friend along. I exclaimed to my mother, “Who is the guy with the teddy bear hair?” My dad quickly introduced Herr Doktor Professor Albert Einstein as “Uncle Albert.” At dinner that night I got to eat with the adults, and sat right next to “Uncle Albert.” Three-quarters of the way through dinner, “Uncle Albert” reached into his watch pocket, pulled out a thin stenographer’s pad attached to a gold watch chain, and started to write. This was verboten — not allowed. I put out my little hand and said, “Mommy doesn’t like that!” The silence was deafening, but, immediately an exception was made — for Albert Einstein, and for me. It was the one and only time I got to write at the table. Later that night, I was watching TV and the math formula E = mc2 was shown prominently on the program. Often when I had scientific questions, my mother, a full professor of nursing arts, would say, “Ask your Uncle Wernher,” in the hopes that I would forget. However, precocious children are part elephant, they never forget. However, this time, just as this happened, Uncle Albert walked in. “Look, look!” I said as I pointed to the TV. “You are an ‘uncle.’ Do you know what this means?” “Perhaps,” he said, sitting down and allowing me to crawl up on his lap. He took out his notebook and started writing again. It was wonderful. I listened as I investigated his teddy bear hair. At the end of each page he would stop and ask if I understood, and I was not stupid –— I piped up and said “yes,” as I wanted him to continue so I Pamela Kay Strong, right, received the traditional Steuben bowl, courtesy of Corning, from company representative Dorothy Congdon. Soon our household became a gathering place for German rocket scientists and visitors, who were my many “uncles” and “aunts,” in search of intelligent conversation and excellent German cuisine. 55 SWE WINTER 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SWE - Winter 2008

SWE - Winter 2008 Heritage Club President’s Note View from the Executive Suite Editor’s Page Readers’ Forum EWeek 2008 New Faces of Engineering The Leaky Science and Engineering Pipeline Why Do Women Leave the Engineering Work Force? A Greener America = New Growth Fields for Engineers The Off-On Ramp Revolution Recognizing the Historic Contributions of African-Americans Membership Information & Calendar A&B Women in Tune with Technology: SWE 2007 Conference Overview Keynote Address Achievement Award Region, Section, and Collegiate Awards SME Bowl and SWE Anniversaries Engineering World: Point of View: Why I Blog Career Toolbox Book Review SWE Smiles Opportunity Index SWE Scrapbook

SWE - Winter 2008

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