Susan W. Porter
Interview Posted By: Ashley Smith
1. Can you tell us a little about your background? i.e. Where you grew up, what education do you have, a summary of your resume, did you always want to do what you are doing now, when did you start to become interested in STEM, what internships/ volunteering.
I grew up in Staten Island NY as the oldest girl in a family of 6 children (one older brother and 4 younger sisters). My father was an engineer with Western Electric (then part of the Bell Telephone System). My mother was a high school English teacher who’d served as a lieutenant JG in the Navy during the Korean Conflict. Dad encouraged his kids to look into engineering as a career, and Mom challenged us to make our own decisions and not let other people tell us what we can or can’t do.
I graduated from an all-girls college prep high school in ’79 and went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At the time the overall ratio of women to men at RPI was 1 in 8, and in the engineering disciplines it was closer to 1 in 12. I was never treated any differently than my male classmates, but I did get used to standing out in a crowd! As a voracious reader of science fiction, I’d hoped to go into space someday and started out in biomedical engineering as a pre-med major with thoughts of going into space medicine, but after 1 semester I’d been well and truly bitten by the engineering bug, so I changed my major to electrical engineering.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
I’ve worked for Underwriters Laboratories since graduating in ’83. For the first 16 years, I did product safety certifications for wiring devices – predominantly the outlets and switches in your walls and the plugs, taps and adapters that plug into them. I handled a number of very challenging projects developing requirements for new types of products and improving the standards for existing products based on field reports and studies by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. I even represented my company on one of the Code-Making Panels for the National Electrical Code.
In ’99 I began working in a small team exploring how UL could share detailed technical information with our customers via the internet, which eventually evolved into an extranet that today is used by over 60,000 users representing more than 40,000 customers. Today I’m working as a business analyst in our IT department, working with UL staff and customers to design next-generation project management and extranet platforms that help us work even better together.
3. How does STEM relate to your job? How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
STEM has always been the core of my job in a very practical way. Product safety evaluations are grounded in combinations of basic engineering principles like thermodynamics, electrical circuits, and mechanical statics and dynamics. To give a simple example, an ordinary wall switch rated at 15 amps can see an inrush current spike of over 200 amps when first switching on a tungsten lighting load; the resistance rises as the filament heats up and begins to glow, and the current drops down to normal levels. The electrical arcs generated by opening and closing the switch on these loads can vaporize many metals, and if the switch contacts aren’t designed for this the switch can fail. So tests for switches have to take all of these factors into account to make sure they’ll operate under these conditions.
Today I approach business analysis as another type of engineering. System analysis and process flows are essential for designing an application that meets users’ needs. An understanding of the underlying technology is critical as well for both the design/build and ongoing maintenance of the product. I’ve learned enough about reading SQL code that I’ve been able to help developers diagnose bugs!
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
In the early years of my career, I was often the first female engineer my colleagues or customers had worked with. I never experienced any out-and-out discrimination, but they were sometimes surprised or uncomfortable when we first met. I made a point of remaining friendly and open while displaying my technical expertise to get us over the rough spots. I’ve found humor is a great way to break down barriers and improve the relationship – it can be something as simple as telling folks about the traffic you fought that morning in a funny way. it’s hard to be uncomfortable with someone that you’ve had a good laugh with!
5. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
This is tricky for both men and women these days. My husband is also an engineer, and we always shared childcare and household tasks around our work schedules – anywhere from 50-50 up to 90-10 when things got particularly crazy in one job or the other. I was also fortunate in that my employer had flextime benefits, and I lived only 10 minutes away from my office, so I could arrange my schedule to fit in doctor appointments and school activities. No matter what the situation, we found a way for family to be our number one priority. Our kids are both adults now – our daughter is a videogame programmer, and our son is a senior studying materials science & engineering at Rensselaer - but we’re all still very close, even though we’ve living far apart. Nothing you can do in your career will ever be as important as that.
6. What do you define success as?
Success is being happy with who and where you are. Nothing more, nothing less.
7. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Being open to trying new things, even if they seem difficult. I’ve grown the most by picking up a challenging project and running with it – you meet new people and pick up insights that can reap unexpected rewards years later. I’m a better business analyst because I have 30 years’ worth of skills as well as deep knowledge of my company and its customers. I can anticipate their needs and ask questions that others may not think to.
8. Who was a mentor to you throughout your career? (can be more than one!) What did they teach you? How did they impact your life?
I’ve had managers at work over the years that have taught me some good things, but the emotional support I’ve received from my family is far more important. My parents encouraged me right at the beginning when things were the hardest. My mom has long since passed away, but I can still chat with my dad about what I’m doing. And my husband always lends a willing ear and helps me sort things out on a daily basis.
9. What do you think is the best advice you've ever received ? What advice would you give your younger self if you had the chance? What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to us?
Know yourself. There will be times in your career when you’ll face emotionally difficult situations. Understanding why you react helps you control how you react and reduces your stress.
I grew up in Staten Island NY as the oldest girl in a family of 6 children (one older brother and 4 younger sisters). My father was an engineer with Western Electric (then part of the Bell Telephone System). My mother was a high school English teacher who’d served as a lieutenant JG in the Navy during the Korean Conflict. Dad encouraged his kids to look into engineering as a career, and Mom challenged us to make our own decisions and not let other people tell us what we can or can’t do.
I graduated from an all-girls college prep high school in ’79 and went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At the time the overall ratio of women to men at RPI was 1 in 8, and in the engineering disciplines it was closer to 1 in 12. I was never treated any differently than my male classmates, but I did get used to standing out in a crowd! As a voracious reader of science fiction, I’d hoped to go into space someday and started out in biomedical engineering as a pre-med major with thoughts of going into space medicine, but after 1 semester I’d been well and truly bitten by the engineering bug, so I changed my major to electrical engineering.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
I’ve worked for Underwriters Laboratories since graduating in ’83. For the first 16 years, I did product safety certifications for wiring devices – predominantly the outlets and switches in your walls and the plugs, taps and adapters that plug into them. I handled a number of very challenging projects developing requirements for new types of products and improving the standards for existing products based on field reports and studies by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. I even represented my company on one of the Code-Making Panels for the National Electrical Code.
In ’99 I began working in a small team exploring how UL could share detailed technical information with our customers via the internet, which eventually evolved into an extranet that today is used by over 60,000 users representing more than 40,000 customers. Today I’m working as a business analyst in our IT department, working with UL staff and customers to design next-generation project management and extranet platforms that help us work even better together.
3. How does STEM relate to your job? How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
STEM has always been the core of my job in a very practical way. Product safety evaluations are grounded in combinations of basic engineering principles like thermodynamics, electrical circuits, and mechanical statics and dynamics. To give a simple example, an ordinary wall switch rated at 15 amps can see an inrush current spike of over 200 amps when first switching on a tungsten lighting load; the resistance rises as the filament heats up and begins to glow, and the current drops down to normal levels. The electrical arcs generated by opening and closing the switch on these loads can vaporize many metals, and if the switch contacts aren’t designed for this the switch can fail. So tests for switches have to take all of these factors into account to make sure they’ll operate under these conditions.
Today I approach business analysis as another type of engineering. System analysis and process flows are essential for designing an application that meets users’ needs. An understanding of the underlying technology is critical as well for both the design/build and ongoing maintenance of the product. I’ve learned enough about reading SQL code that I’ve been able to help developers diagnose bugs!
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
In the early years of my career, I was often the first female engineer my colleagues or customers had worked with. I never experienced any out-and-out discrimination, but they were sometimes surprised or uncomfortable when we first met. I made a point of remaining friendly and open while displaying my technical expertise to get us over the rough spots. I’ve found humor is a great way to break down barriers and improve the relationship – it can be something as simple as telling folks about the traffic you fought that morning in a funny way. it’s hard to be uncomfortable with someone that you’ve had a good laugh with!
5. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
This is tricky for both men and women these days. My husband is also an engineer, and we always shared childcare and household tasks around our work schedules – anywhere from 50-50 up to 90-10 when things got particularly crazy in one job or the other. I was also fortunate in that my employer had flextime benefits, and I lived only 10 minutes away from my office, so I could arrange my schedule to fit in doctor appointments and school activities. No matter what the situation, we found a way for family to be our number one priority. Our kids are both adults now – our daughter is a videogame programmer, and our son is a senior studying materials science & engineering at Rensselaer - but we’re all still very close, even though we’ve living far apart. Nothing you can do in your career will ever be as important as that.
6. What do you define success as?
Success is being happy with who and where you are. Nothing more, nothing less.
7. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Being open to trying new things, even if they seem difficult. I’ve grown the most by picking up a challenging project and running with it – you meet new people and pick up insights that can reap unexpected rewards years later. I’m a better business analyst because I have 30 years’ worth of skills as well as deep knowledge of my company and its customers. I can anticipate their needs and ask questions that others may not think to.
8. Who was a mentor to you throughout your career? (can be more than one!) What did they teach you? How did they impact your life?
I’ve had managers at work over the years that have taught me some good things, but the emotional support I’ve received from my family is far more important. My parents encouraged me right at the beginning when things were the hardest. My mom has long since passed away, but I can still chat with my dad about what I’m doing. And my husband always lends a willing ear and helps me sort things out on a daily basis.
9. What do you think is the best advice you've ever received ? What advice would you give your younger self if you had the chance? What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to us?
Know yourself. There will be times in your career when you’ll face emotionally difficult situations. Understanding why you react helps you control how you react and reduces your stress.