In Carolyn Primus’ day, you could practically count the number of women studying engineering at the highest level on half a hand.
Not that any of that mattered once she stepped in the classroom at Illinois.
“In my second year, Professor Clifton Bergeron in the Ceramic Engineering Department changed my university experience,” the Avalon Biomed founder and Class of '74 member says from Florida.
“He treated me as a person, not some oddity, as a woman in engineering. He respected my intelligence, encouraged me to build equipment and perform materials testing, and guided me to become a better writer.
“From his mentorship, I was able to persist to a Ph.D. and have a successful career in the field of materials science and engineering.”
