Congratulations Kira Edwards, a current ISD student in the Energy Systems Engineering program, on being named a member of the latest cohort of Dow Sustainability Fellows.
The 12-month appointment provides students with tuition support as they collaborate with other Dow Fellows, undergo leadership training, and work on creating a sustainable world using natural and social sciences.
“I am so excited to join the 2023 Dow Sustainability Fellowship Program Cohort,” Edwards said. “This program provides great opportunities to be involved with community partners on unique sustainability issues both locally and globally for a year long project.”
Edwards thanked her University of Michigan professors for supporting her, including Professor Johanna Mathieu, her professors at Purdue University for teaching her an excellent base in Environmental and Ecological Engineering, and her former colleagues at KERAMIDA Inc. and Wood PLC for giving her real-world experience in Environmental Engineering before coming to U-M to study Energy Systems Engineering in Integrative Systems + Design.
“This award means I can take my environmental and energy interests and work on a sustainability project that can benefit the community, which is thrilling,” Edwards said.
To Edwards, ISD is a pivotal program that furthers education in the multidisciplinary intersections of different engineering and science fields, such as the ESE degree.
“The ESE degree is an opportunity for me to take my career in a direction that focuses on integration of renewable energy into our energy infrastructure,” she said. “Coming from an environmental background, I see energy as the next best step to make a meaningful impact in reducing climate change and improving quality of life. ISD paves a path for me to study everything from the mechanical engineering of energy generation by different sources to the electrical engineering of distribution grids to the systems analysis of energy operation.”
“ISD has other degrees that help students from diverse backgrounds hone skills in vital job markets, such as Automotive Engineering and Design Science. I believe we will see graduate programs like ISD raise the next generation of leaders in the workforce.
“I’m very grateful for the DOW fellowship to allow me to gain experience in a multidisciplinary sustainability project and to help me continue my graduate studies at the University of Michigan ISD program in ESE.”