International Women in Engineering Day: Katherine Newman, Reservoir Engineer

This year for International Women in Engineering Day (23 June 2020), we want to showcase the amazing journey our engineers have taken. We truly have a diverse bunch of women engineers in Contact who come from all walks of life. The international theme is “Shape the World,” so we asked our engineers some questions about what got them into their field in the first place.

What is the photo of?

It’s of me (left) and my sister (right) next to a triceratops

Katherine Newman

 

What inspired you to become an engineer?

I actually didn’t study engineering in school. I studied Geology and Math in uni because I wanted to understand how the world works on a fundamental level. After university I adopted a “yes policy” of accepting any new/exciting/scary career opportunities so that I would continue to learn. This led me from geology in Texas to geophysics in Scotland to reservoir engineering in New Zealand!

 

What surprises you most about your job?

What surprises me most about my job is that I never get bored. Every single day has something different to do, I get to work both in the field and in the office, and I always feel like I am helping our team make progress. There are plenty of opportunities to innovate and grow. 

 

What are you most proud of having achieved in your role?

I’m still new to my role, but I am proud of myself for pursuing engineering despite fears that I might fail.  I love proving to myself that I can do anything with enough determination and practice.

Katherine Newman

(I’m on the left, Nataly Castillo is on the right)

23 Jun 2020
1 minutes to read
By Katherine Newman
Reservoir Engineer