Ashley Pennington (ChemBioEngr ‘13) has earned an American Association for the Advancement of Science - Science & Technology Policy Fellowship and a position at the Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program. Pennington is one of 284 scientists and engineers to earn the opportunity to study and engage with energy policy while working within the federal government through the program.
How did your time at CU prepare you for furthering your education and for this fellowship?
My time at CU was truly an invaluable experience. As a double major in two colleges, a member of a plethora of societies, a teaching assistant, and a cook at a local hotel, I was busy, to say the least. Being busy prepared me to learn how to evaluate my priorities and manage my time—a must-have for graduate school and beyond.
In addition to time management, there are a few tidbits that have kept me going: one is the love of discovery and the ability to tie the information that we learn in ChBE to the real world. I still remember an extra credit assignment in my Heat Transfer class when, at home, I attempted to empirically measure the Biot of different cheeses by timing their rate of melting at different temperatures in my toaster oven. It was a little messy, but I had a built-in redundancy and the extra tinfoil caught the mess.
That example and many others reminded me to appreciate that the things we learn can be applied almost anywhere if we look hard enough to appreciate the magic.
My research in tissue engineering at CU taught me that I wanted to be an amazing mentor just like my mentor, that it is ok to ask questions, that I am not expected to know everything and that giving a scientific presentation is always daunting.
The ability to be a teaching assistant for Introduction to Engineering Computing gave me the ability to hone my coding skills as well as my teaching and listening skills—both speaking so someone can understand you and listening so you know what they want—are extremely important in implementing science policy.
Last but not least, a little memento from undergraduate academic advisor Deb Renshaw. As each of us brought in our graduation paperwork, Deb had us pick up a little stone and read the inscription on the other side. Mine says "Never give up" and is still displayed under my computer monitor to remind me every day.
How might your work at the Naval Research Laboratory inform your time as a policy fellow at the Federal Energy Management Program?
My work primarily focused on using in situ methods to analyze the catalytic and photocatalytic activity of plasmonic nanoparticle modified metal oxide aerogels for reactions related to sustainable fuel generation, exhaust cleaning, environmental remediation and chemical warfare agent decontamination.
I enjoyed working on multiple different projects that were tangentially related—a skill that I am hoping will help me at the Federal Energy Management Program. Another thing that I learned is don't judge a project by its cover. If you dive deep, you may find that it is much more intricate than one would expect.
Working with my group at NRL gave me opportunities to interface with program managers, members of government and the armed forces that were interested in the research and field implementation. This gave me a better understanding of how far-reaching the research could be, and that it is important to have people outside of the lab who can understand and communicate science. I want to be one of those people.
I have had opportunities to present my work and receive feedback that helped me become a better communicator, which has become more important than ever in a pandemic world where communication with my team is virtual.
In addition to my research, I co-founded the Leadership Development and Inclusion Seminar Series as a part of WISE—Women in Science and Engineering—at NRL. In this role, I was able to gain experience navigating how to organize small seminars and help lead discussions related to poignant issues. My postdoc position at NRL allowed me to combine intricate research, experience in chemical warfare agent decontamination, phenomenal networking opportunities and an appreciation for how government entities function.
Why should ChBE students be interested in federal science policy?
I think that federal science policy—and even state and local science policy—are important for chemical and biological engineers because we have been trained to think critically, to measure, test and report on our findings. Policy is not so clear-cut, but it is very important to have engineers and scientists in the realm who can communicate with those outside their field.
Having chemical and biological engineering students interested in science policy means that down the line there will be someone in a position who can suggest efficient and novel methods to solve problems and make federal operations more resilient and sustainable.
Will policy be a focus of your career going forward? Where do you hope to end up?
I am interested in staying in policy, I enjoy communicating scientific work and implementing the possible impact of such work. At 30, I still don't know where I will end up—if you had asked 18 year old me I would have known for sure, and I would have been wrong.
One thing that I do know is I want to work in areas related to sustainability, preservation, climate and public outreach. For now, science policy seems like a good fit. Luckily, I have a one-to-two year tenure as a fellow to determine if it is!
Do you have any advice for current ChBE students considering what to do with their degrees and skills?
Try many things. You never know which one may stick. Think of what you are interested in outside of school—for me it was hiking and volunteering—and what part of chemical and biological engineering excites you. How can you tie those two together?
Never give up! I mean it, many of the graduate schools that I applied to did not accept me due to my GPA. But with some advice from a CU professor, I went to graduate school to prove that I belonged. Never give up, and do it for you!
Pennington completed her graduate studies at Rutgers University. Her masters with thesis studies focused on semiconductor modification, and her PhD work focused on photocatalysis for sustainable fuels, earning her a doctorate in 2018.