October 21, 2020
Emily Kuehn: Senior Project Analyst at the US Department of Defense
Emily Kuehn is a Senior Program Analyst for Strategic Analysis Incorporated, embedded in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. She works on nationwide STEM education initiatives, especially at the K-12 level. Many of the programs she manages are dedicated to improving access to scientific training for under-served and under-represented students, as well as students with a connection to the military.
In this episode, Emily discusses her own pathway to STEM. She explains how her lab’s relocation from Baltimore to Boston, while traumatic at the time, actually opened up new opportunities for her and reset her career trajectory. She was able to get involved in mentorship and education programs, and even taught a course at Harvard. Emily moved on to work as a postdoctoral fellow in science education at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. There, she studied the effects of bringing scientific mentors into high school classrooms.
Emily and Nick conclude the episode by discussing the many lessons that she learned from her PhD, including effective project management, resilience, and a superhuman patience for solving problems.
Emily’s Favorite Books
Once a Scientist is made possible by support from our listeners! Each week, we ask our interviewee to tell us about their favorite books. If any of these reads catch your eye, you can support the show by using the links below to buy a copy for yourself!
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
- Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins
- The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
- Maddaddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood
- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Notes for this episode were written by Sam Asinof.
0 Comments