CATHY PIERONEK
DIRECTOR, WOMEN'S ENGINEERING PROGRAM

"When the College of Engineering decided to create an initiative to improve the recruitment and retention of women students, I wanted to be an integral part of it," says Cathy Pieronek, who began her tenure as the first director of the Women's Engineering Program in July 2002. "I wanted to be part of developing a program that would draw on the strengths of the Notre Dame educational experience and community, my own experience as a practicing engineer, and the experiences and knowledge of our alumnae. I also wanted to help make Notre Dame known for what it is … a place where women can come to study a challenging curriculum and succeed, no matter what career or life choices they make after graduation."

Cathy graduated cum laude from the University in 1984 with a bachelor's in aerospace engineering. She then joined the systems engineering staff of TRW's Space and Defense Sector in Redondo Beach, Calif. Her work involved all areas of spacecraft design, development, integration, test and early on-orbit operations. In 1987 she earned her master's degree in aerospace engineering from UCLA.

For seven years Cathy worked at TRW on NASA's second "Great Observatory," the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, which launched with the Space Shuttle Atlantis in April 1991. Her primary responsibility on the observatory was the communications subsystem, although she was also responsible for overall systems-engineering support. During this project she interacted with crews from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, and Goddard Spaceflight Center. After the successful launch of the Compton spacecraft, she worked for a year on the preliminary design phase of NASA's third "Great Observatory," the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which was eventually launched with the Space Shuttle Columbia in July 1999.

In 1992 Cathy returned to Notre Dame, and in 1995 she graduated magna cume laude with a degree in law. For six years she worked for the Notre Dame Law School, developing a comprehensive alumni relations program, managing the Law School's publications development, and writing and editing the Law School's alumni magazine, Notre Dame Lawyer.

A member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) since 1980, Cathy served as treasurer (1982-83) and president (1983-84) of the Notre Dame student chapter. "The on-campus presence of SWE resulted from the initiative of some of our first women students who felt strongly that the few women enrolled in the engineering curriculum in the late 1970s needed the professional development and other support programs that SWE offered. Today, the organization provides leadership in the areas of recruiting and retaining women students and works to encourage women to make the most of their engineering education and their career choices. As it did when I was a student here, SWE-ND plays a vital role in coordinating programs and activities to help our women students form a strong community here on campus."

If you have any specific questions about the Women's Engineering Program or about engineering education in general, feel free to contact Cathy at:

Women's Engineering Program
257 Fitzpatrick Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Phone (574) 631-4385
Fax (574) 631-8007
E-mail  pieronek.1@nd.edu or engwomen@nd.edu