Career Eclipse: When Passion, Purpose, and Paycheck Align
Title: Career Eclipse: When Passion, Purpose, and Paycheck Align
Abstract: Unlike a solar eclipse where a cosmic coincidence of three celestial objects align to create a spectacular and rare phenomenon, transitioning into a material science career that checks all the boxes can be even rarer. A Career path decision this significant often comes with much excitement, but brings many questions about location, life/work balance, work environment, and of course salary. While the choice in an early-career materials profession may be influenced by the latter (i.e., the paycheck), making that leap based on the key building blocks may prove more prolific in the long run. At the forefront is passion which provides the energy, the motivation, and the psychological vigor that drives you toward your dream and how you intend to contribute to the materials community. Intersecting passion with your life purpose directs your aspirations fueled by values and interests that are meaningful and fulfilling. Finally, the paycheck is necessary for the economic self-sustainability and as a resource to give back and impact the scientific community. In this presentation, the building blocks are discussed in the context of my technical career story in materials, transitioning from work-to school-to work, and my personal experience in the framework of materials and community scientific outreach.
Biography: Othmane Benafan is a materials research engineer in the High Temperature and Smart Alloys Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Central Florida. His research is focused on developing fit-for-purpose shape memory alloys for aeronautics and space applications. He is currently leading multiple teams to design lightweight actuators and morphing structures for NASA applications. Othmane is active in the technical community serving numerous roles including graduate faculty doctoral advisory committees, Journal advisory board member, and local ASM Cleveland chapter executive committee member. He is currently the immediate past president of the International Organization on Shape Memory and Superelastic Technologies (SMST), and a past-chairman of the joint industry-government-academia Consortium for the Advancement of Shape Memory Alloy Research and Technology (CASMART). Othmane’s favorite outreach events are visiting grade schools and judging at science fairs.
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