On May 6, Huong Tran, Marzia Zaman, Nagma Vohra and Tanny Chavez Esparza helped set the tone for the future of the Department of Electrical Engineering and the profession when they walked across the stage at Bud Walton Arena to receive their diplomas.  

These women received their Ph.D. degrees in a traditionally male-dominated field, which has created lots of excitement that the future of this field of study is growing more open for women!  

To celebrate this achievement, the Department of Electrical Engineering reached out and asked these four students a few questions regarding their journeys and their hopes for women in the world of engineering. Here is what they each had to say. 

Name: Huong Tran of Danang, Vietnam; Adviser: Fisher Yu

Name: Marzia Zaman of Dhaka, Bangladesh; Adviser: Simon Ang

Name: Nagma Vohra of Guruharsahai, Punjab, India; Adviser: Magda El-Shenawee

Name: Tanny Chavez Esparza of Guayaquil, Ecuador; Adviser: Jingxian Wu

1. What led you to be an engineer?

Huong: "My dad was an electrical engineer, and he is my inspiration. When I studied in high school, I love Physics as it helps me to understand phenomena around us. I love to   apply the knowledge from Physics to real-world problems that led me to be an      engineer."

Marzia: "Due to my interest in math and physics, I was always drawn to be an Engineer, and I never felt like being a woman could stop me from pursuing a degree in electrical engineering." 

Nagma: "My interest in understanding the mathematical and physical concepts and practically applying it to construct something creative that can be used for humankind led me to consider engineering as my major after high school."

Tanny: "I was inspired by my parents. Both of them are mechanical engineers, so I grew up learning a lot about their job."

2. What challenges did you face on your journey to achieving your Ph.D.?

Huong: "First, English is my second language, so I had some barriers when communicating with my team members. Second, I grew up in a different culture, and I experienced some difficulties with this new culture."

Marzia: "Sometimes I felt like I was not treated equally with other male students by my own community."

Nagma: "The biggest challenge for me was when the labs were closed, and we had to stay at home due to the spread of COVID-19. It was hard for the first few days to create a work environment at home. The other challenge for me was staying away from my family."

Tanny: "One of the major challenges I faced was being away from my friends and family in my home country Ecuador. Although I missed them a lot, the people I met in AR and the student activities at the U of A made it a lot easier."

3. What advice would you give to women who are interested in Electrical Engineering?

Huong: "You need to believe in yourself, work hard and effectively."

Marzia: "Be desperate while learning and implement it."

Nagma: "Do not restrict yourself to learning. You are equally capable of doing everything that men in Electrical Engineering can do. It is important to never underestimate yourself and always step forward to pursue the thing that scares you the most. It will yield results in your favor when the time comes."

Tanny: "I'd say go for it! Electrical Engineering is such a broad and diverse field of study with room for cross-discipline collaboration. In addition, this field of study is constantly changing, innovating, and expanding. Hence, we are constantly learning new things!"

4. What opportunities did you have at the U of A?

Huong: "I had learned so much from our professors here at the U of A, and I had the chance to work with very good colleagues. I also had the opportunity to work on a lot of high technology equipment."

Marzia: "At the U of A, I had the opportunity to take hands-on courses and work on hands-on research involving semiconductor processing - which really helped me to understand my current work in a semiconductor company." 

Nagma: "My Ph.D. research work was focused on the Experimental and Analysis of Electromagnetic Characterization of Biological and Non-Biological Materials in Microwave, Millimeter-wave, and Terahertz Frequency Bands. With my advisor, Dr. Magda El-Shenawee's guidance and my committee members- Dr. Jingxian Wu, Dr. Narasimhan Rajaram, and Dr. Zhong Chen's help, I learned the core concepts in electromagnetics that are applicable in any field whether its antenna designing and testing, biological tissue imaging, or characterizing highly conductive radar absorbing materials."

Tanny: "I got the chance to work in an amazing research project that aims to detect breast cancer by using terahertz imaging. During my participation in the project, I had the opportunity to learn more from some professors at the U of A, such as Dr. Jingxian Wu, Dr. Magda El-Shenawee, and Dr. Narasimhan Rajaram. I'll be forever grateful for their   support along this journey."

5. What was your experience here like?

Huong: "I love living here since the town is nice and people are friendly. I love studying here since I learn so much from our professors and colleagues."

Marzia: "I never felt any gender discrimination in my school. Most of the courses I took were very relevant to the industry, and I was also able to make a good network through my      school."

Nagma: "My experience at the university was great. Every day brought a new learning opportunity in these four years. I never felt discriminated against being an international female student. More importantly, I was exposed to multidisciplinary research ideas and was encouraged to pursue them. The courses offered in the Electrical Engineering  department helped me to understand the core concept of my research."

Tanny: "It was overwhelmingly positive. I enjoyed my studies at the U of A, and I learned a lot from this experience. I was very happy that all my professors and colleagues were always kind and supportive. In particular, I am grateful to my colleague and friend, Dr. Nagma Vohra, who is also graduating with me!"

6. What are your hopes for women in the world of engineering?

Huong: "I hope more women join the world of engineering, and I hope we have more equality in this field - as we continue to work hard every day."

Marzia: "I hope women don't feel the need to prove themselves extra special. They are capable of anything especially working as an engineer."

Nagma: "I hope to see the world of engineering being led by women!"

Tanny: "I'd love for more women to be involved in the world of engineering, and even better, for them to be recognized for their achievements."

7. What type of research did you work on at the UofA and what did you learn from it? 

Huong: "I have been working to develop GeSn photodetectors for infrared imaging and high-speed detection. I have learned a lot from a technical perspective to communication skills. I learned to become a scientist under my advisor, Dr. Yu's, guidance. I also improved my teamwork skills from collaborations with my colleagues.

Marzia: "My research was on the near-infrared polarizer. I intended to increase the feature size, and I have learned we can get double resonance at thicker wire grid polarizer."

Nagma: "My research work focuses on the Experimental and Analysis of Electromagnetic Characterization of Biological and Non-Biological Materials in Microwave, Millimeter-wave, and Terahertz Frequency Bands. With my advisor's, Dr. Magda El-Shenawee, guidance and my committee members- Dr. Jingxian Wu, Dr. Narasimhan Rajaram, and Dr. Zhong Chen's help, I learned the core concepts in electromagnetics that are applicable in any field whether its antenna designing and testing, biological tissue imaging, or characterizing highly conductive radar absorbing materials."

Tanny: "I got the chance to work on a research project that aims to detect breast cancer by using terahertz imaging under the leadership of Dr. Magda El-Shenawee, PI, Dr. Narasimhan Rajaram, Co-PI, and Dr. Jingxian Wu, Co-PI. Primarily, my dissertation focused on the segmentation of these images by using statistical machine learning approaches. During my participation in this project, I acquired further expertise in technical skills, but most importantly, I learned how to effectively communicate within a cross-disciplinary team, and how to overcome challenges while keeping the motivation up. I'll be forever grateful to the professors that helped me the most throughout this process, in particular, my advisor Dr. Jingxian Wu."