Q&A Ashante’ Allen

Ashante' Allen is currently a graduate student getting her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology.  She went to college for four years and then decided to continue her education---and in a few years she will be Dr. Allen!

So you are pursuing your Ph.D. in mechanical engineering? What is that all about?

The bottom line is I like math, science and engineering. It is the absolute coolest to be able to look at anything on the planet and fundamentally understand the building blocks of that thing and how it works. At least, that is how I view mechanical engineering. I chose to pursue a Ph.D. because after high school and college I still wanted to know more. So, I kept going. Through the process of getting my Ph.D. I have the opportunity to meet and work with really smart people and learn really interesting stuff everyday. Then there is the challenge of problem solving and trying to come up with stuff no one has ever seen before. Best of all, after getting my Ph.D. I will have an even better opportunity to work on really fun stuff that no one has done before and make a lot of money for it. I can’t imagine anything better than getting paid to have fun. Can you?

But how long have you been at it?

After high school I spent four years working on my first degree in mechanical engineering. Currently, I am in my third year of graduate school. So, I guess that makes about six years in school specifically working on mechanical engineering stuff, with about three more years to go.

When did you decide that you wanted to do this for a career?

I decided that I wanted to be an engineer when I was a little girl. Well, actually I first thought about being a computer scientist. But, after figuring out that I liked working with my hands and physically seeing how stuff works, I decided I would be bored out of my mind sitting in front of a computer all day. So, I changed from computer science to engineering.

After you get your Ph.D. what are you going to do next?

After getting my Ph.D. I would like to go and work for one of the really secret government research places like the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, FBI, CIA, or NASA for a few years so that I can learn about all the neat stuff they do there. Then I’d like to go and be a professor at a big university so a bunch of students can call me Dr. Allen and ask questions about nanotechnology and engineering; and hopefully I can inspire them to do great things in the field. Ultimately, I want to do something really cool like open a series of community enrichment centers that focus on math, science, and engineering for kids and adults. At the centers they can come and learn about all the really fascinating things in this world that relate to math, science and engineering by doing fun experiments and taking field trips to help them understand difficult better in school or get a job so they can invent or discover new things too.

How do you think up stuff to work on?

Well, to help me get going I have an advisor, which is sort of like a manager. He helps to give me ideas. Then I go to the library or the internet to see what has already been done related to those ideas. And after that, I take all the information, put it together, and try to figure out what I can do differently that would be really cool or that someone else may be able to use.

Do you ever run out of ideas?

Not at all! The ideas never stop. There is always more work to do or something else to be done. Many times things don’t work out that great the first, or second, or even third time, so I have to figure out other ways to do it.

When you were a kid did you like to do science?

Sure. It all starts when you’re a kid. I was always doing things like taking apart stuff around the house to see what’s inside and putting it back together. Well, at least sometimes I could get it back together. Other times, I’d have to deal with Mom. But, I was always the person at home that everyone was calling to fix the VCR or put together a new gadget. So, a combination of all those experiences led me to engineering.

Do your friends make fun of you because you are an engineer?

Yes, unfortunately they do make fun of me about being an engineer and sometimes even call me a nerd. But, at least they always say that I am a really cool nerd. Besides, who else would they call when they can’t remember how many centimeters are in an inch or how to change degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit?

Aside from doing nanotechnology, what do you do for fun?

Nothing! What else is there to do other than nanotech? Just kidding. I like hanging out with friends at the mall, traveling, and exercising at the gym. Also, I love to read about all types of things. Most of the things I read about are related to Bible studies, anthropology, politics, health and personal finance; but, I also like reading about girl stuff like hair and clothes. Soon, I plan to start flight school to be an airplane pilot. I’m really looking forward to that. I know it will be lots of fun!