OES WIE Breakfast -Speakers

Thursday, June 8^th 7.30-9.00
Location: Room EG010, Main Building

Abstract:

The Women in Engineering panel will feature 2 women communicating how their experiences have helped shape their careers and how challenges & support have influenced where they are today.

Each one of us has at some time or the other felt denied; that our efforts have not been duly rewarded. Your experience may have been real or presumed, however, such situations continue to exist for a vast majority of women around the world. Some of us find support, others strength, and a few both, allowing them to realize their potential and achieve their goals. They might appear advantaged, but none of that is pure luck, these women reach into the depth of their reserves and reach the pinnacle of their pursuits.

For the breakfast panel we have the privilege of having two such stalwarts in our midst. They will share their experiences and thereby give us an opportunity to replicate some of it in our lives.

Donna Kocak

Donna Kocak has 35 years of experience in the ocean engineering field supporting scientific and engineering projects involving computer vision, optics, robotics, and communications systems. Donna is a technical Fellow and Innovation Strategy Lead at L3Harris Technologies and Past President and Fellow of the Marine Technology Society (MTS). She is also a Senior member of IEEE OES and past Distinguished Lecturer. Her R&D activities have been diverse, resulting in 6 US patents and over 80 publications including two book chapters. Donna earned master’s degrees in Computer Science and Engineering Management from the University of Central Florida (UCF), an MBA from the University of Florida, and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from UCF.

Dr. Lubna Luxmi Dhiran,
Lecturer in Cybersecurity at Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering, University of Limerick

Dr. Lubna Luxmi Dhirani is a Lecturer in Cybersecurity at Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering, University of Limerick. She is a Course Director for the BSc Cybersecurity Practitioner Apprenticeship program and an Academic Collaborator at SFI Confirm Research Centre for Smart Manufacturing. Lubna is a Senior Member IEEE and the first WIE Ambassador from Ireland in the IEEE WIE (UK&I section). Lubna did her PhD in Cloud Computing QoS and SLA-based issues in Heterogenous Cloud Environment, MSc in Business Information Technology and B.Eng in Computer Systems. Lubna’s has worked on interdisciplinary research projects and her research interests include: Cybersecurity Standards, Privacy, Data Governance and Risk, Cyber Law and Regulations, Industrial IoT, IT/OT and Business Standards. Her publications are available at: Lubna Luxmi-GoogleScholar. Lubna has remained a StemAspire mentee in DELL, and a recipient of the EPE Champions Award 2021. Lubna has been a speaker at IEEE Women in Engineering International Leadership Conferences 2021 and 2022. Her talk on “Cybersecurity insights for Industrial IoT” at IEEE WIE ILC 2021 ranked among the top 10 sessions worldwide.

Dr Sarah Jane Pell,
Associate Professor at Monash University

Dr Sarah Jane Pell is an occupational diver, researcher, explorer and artist. An Associate Professor at Monash University, an experienced simulation astronaut and a suborbital mission specialist, she specializes in human performance expression, behaviour and limits underwater, and other extreme environments from sea to summit to space. Pell founded the Aquabatics Research Team initiative (ARTi) in 2002 and Bending Horizons in 2020 developing immersive visualization platforms for crews in sea and space. She is currently Chief Investigator of ARC Discovery research mapping the dimensions of divers through water-HCI, as an analogue for space. Dr. Pell is a TED Fellow (US), Gifted Citizen (LATAM), and Australia Council Fellow (AU).