SUSAN FEHRES

I work on spacecraft insulation - developing materials to protect astronauts and equipment from the extreme heat and cold experienced by spacecraft during spaceflight and return to the planet Earth. This work involves analyzing how our insulation materials function under new conditions, and improving existing insulation strategies with new configurations or new inventions. In my field each day is different from the next. It is great to be part of of the future-oriented mission of space exploration, even though one person can only contribute her one small piece to the whole project.

Recently my hobbies have included rock climbing, motorcycling, researching my family tree, photography, hiking, orienteering, some Girl Scout events, and other things with my husband and daughter.

I wasn't a straight "A" student, but when I was in school I loved science, and to a lesser extent, math because every class helped me understand a little more of how the world worked. (I never had that feeling from my other classes!) In math, it seemed like a pure, tidy, consistent kingdom where logic alone reigned, so unlike the rest of the world.

There is a good response to social pressure: Be a nonconformist! You can simply refuse to conform to the subtle social pressures exerted by friends, most adults and all the TV images to play a stupid and submissive role, and as a side effect, to avoid a math-and-science-based career, which is where so many of the most fun jobs are. Many of your friends don't look like it, but they actually feel insecure, which they cover up by pretending a deeper understanding of how the adult world works than they really have! They will assure you that that you "have to" do or not do something. It is simply not true! Most adults that you meet when you are in school either hold conventional roles in life, or they have that appearance. When you are in school, you will rarely recognize the people who stand firm against social pressures to be who they are.

Right now and during the rest of your schooling, you are preparing yourself for your adult life. Math and science are tools for your toolbox, keys to unlock your future. If you don't get those math and science keys, you are locked out of a lot of great future possibilities. Chances are, you will go to work almost every weekday from ages 25 to 65. Don't you want to go to a job you like every day? While you are in school, you can aim yourself in the direction of the most fun and interesting jobs, just by doing well in science, and by taking a science course every time it is offered, once you start to choose your classes.

If you are a person who likes to understand how things work and to solve problems, science and engineering offer you some of the very best jobs - jobs that can be challenging, interesting and/or reasonably well-paid. My brother, who never helped or encouraged me in the least when I was in school, said, after I graduated college: "It's great that you got an engineering degree - no matter what you do, it will always serve you well." It is extremely useful to understand how to apply science to solve many of humanity's problems.

A Day in the Life of Susan Fehres

Archive of chats with Dr.Fehres:

• 08-22-00 QuestChat
• 1-21-97 Web Chat
• 10-22-96 Web Chat