International Day of Women and Girls in Science - Interview with Sue Schreiner

Engineering | People at thyssenkrupp rothe erde |

February 11, 2023

Sue Schreiner is a metallurgist, an engineer in the field of material science, at thyssenkrupp rothe erde USA Inc.in Aurora, Ohio. We spoke with her on the occasion of the "International Day of Women and Girls in Science". We wanted to know how and why she became an engineer, and also to hear some tips for young women pursuing a career in engineering.

Q: Your job is metallurgist: please explain what you do at thyssenkrupp rothe erde.

Sue Schreiner:  A metallurgist is responsible for understanding the relationship between the structure, the properties and the processing of materials. Metallurgists specifically are responsible for understanding metals. So basically you are in the production and you are overseeing the materials which come in. I am the only metallurgist in my division, so my role is quite varied. Many days I deal with the validation of the raw materials that we're purchasing and will ultimately become our products. I deal with the procedures for heating, forging, heat treating and testing our materials to validate that they are able to perform in the way that our customers would like them to perform. If something goes awry in the process or something breaks, I often get involved to make sure that we understand what went wrong in the manufacturing process. I analyze samples in the lab and write reports. Sometimes it involves technical education of my colleagues, sometimes of customers interpretation of specifications.

Q: How is the ratio between men and women in your field?

Sue Schreiner: In my career, I've only ever worked with maybe three to five female metallurgists. So it's a very small percentage in Heavy Industries like forging and steel making. There's perceptions that go with those industries and I think that may alter which industries women want to enter. In aerospace or in automotive for example you'll see women in larger proportion, both  female engineers and female metallurgists. But I think some of those heavier industries, they lag behind a little bit just because what people assume of them. Now in the professional societies that I belong to about 25% to 30% of the Members are women. And I think that's great because I can see that over the course of my career increasing. And that goes specifically for metallurgists. 

“Having a mentor is a tremendous asset”

Q: What do you think could make it easier for women to start in this field?

Sue Schreiner: One thing is realizing that there are women who have gone before you.  That's a tremendous help. And being involved with those women who've gone before you can actually be a tremendous asset to you personally and to the advancement of your career. Of course networking is great. But having a mentor or several mentors or somebody that you can always talk to is even better. I had one early in my career. She's a wonderful metallurgist, who was in the industry and now is a professor. The advice she gave me as a young engineer was invaluable. Important is the understanding that you're going to have challenges. But these are challenges that are familiar to a lot of other women. So it’s the understanding that you're not alone and understanding that you have help.

Q: Where do women can find those women who have gone before them?

Sue Schreiner: There are societies out there. For example the “Society of Women Engineers in the United States” is a really great asset for young women who are considering or are in the process of becoming engineers. The one I'm most involved in is the “American Society for Materials”. It's for material engineers. I'm involved largely at the local level, but I also have taught some of their classes and in camps for young people thinking about being engineers. Some of my oldest kids are already in the industry. I have one who's a PhD metallurgist. It's really rewarding to be able to help that next generation and maybe make their path just not so hard. 

“I felt appreciated from day one”

Q: How was your start at thyssenkrupp rothe erde? Did you feel welcomed?

Sue Schreiner: My start at thyssenkrupp rothe erde was quite unique. I thought the start was going to be relatively normal. You walk in the door, say ‘Hi’ to people, sign some paperwork, walk to some buildings. Things like that, right? I walked in the door and I was greeted by our receptionist and our HR director. He said: ‘You must be Sue’. I said ‘Yes.’. And he said ‘Great, we would love to get started with you, but,’ and at that point my heart sank because I thought they were going to tell me they didn't need me anymore, ‘but I'm afraid we have to put our plans on hold because you are urgently needed at a meeting now. OK?’ Great. I've barely met him. I've hardly met anybody. And I am needed in a meeting for a process that I really have not met. I thought, ‘Alright, well, this is certainly different.’ So I was brought over to a different building to meet a whole bunch of people that I had never met before. And I was briefed on a rather significant problem. There was some processing issues with a rather expensive part. And they were asking for my help and how to fix it because they didn't want to scrap it. So within the next few days we ended up fixing that part and making it able to ship. And over those next 5-ish days or so, that's when I got to meet the rest of the people that I work with and other facilities and go down to the production floor and figure out where the restroom is. So I guess you can say instead of just feeling welcomed, I felt appreciated and that's probably more important than being welcomed.

Q: When did you start and where did you work before thyssenkrupp rothe erde?

Sue Schreiner: I started to work at thyssenkrupp rothe erde in April 2017. Before that i was working in three steel mills, two other forging facilities, one cold forming facility. And actually for a year I spent time making ceramics. That shows some of the versatility of a material science and engineering degree. While my preference is to work in metals, I do have the versatility to go into other fields. I could work in polymers or semiconductors. That’s good especially when you are coming out of school because you you're very well versed in a lot of different things, but you're not really specialized. That specialization takes place oftentimes years after you've entered the workforce. They education prepares you a great foundation, but the real knowledge comes from being in a working capacity in the field as a practicing engineer. That's where you find out what you like, what you prefer to work in, even what industries or processes you really enjoy working at. 

“I studied Material Science and Engineering”

Q: Where did you got to school and how was your career path till you became a metallurgist?  

Sue Schreiner: I have been a metallurgist for 23 years. Material science and engineering is the parent field. Metallurgy is a subset of Material Science and Engineering.  I received an undergraduate education in Material Science and Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. After my undergraduate education I thought I wanted to go to work for a little while and I did. I started my career in in cold forging fasteners and Weld studs. I started working after that in some hot forging of nickel based super alloys, titanium, aluminum, steel, all sorts of different materials. And then while that was going on I also decided that I wanted to further my education and so while working, I also went to Graduate School for Material Science and Engineering. I have spent approximately 10 years in steelmaking and approximately about 10 years now in forging. 

“I wanted to be an astronaut”

Q: And before you started your studies, how was it in your childhood?

Sue Schreiner: I've always loved science ever since I could remember. I had a very strong affinity and proficiency for math in school. And even before that I could remember watching the space Shuttle Columbia launched for the first time, 1981. I wasn't very old, but I can remember looking in wonder and ask myself, ‘How does that work?’ And those are all the fleeting thoughts of a young mind. But science has always been in me. And initially I wanted to be an astronaut and for the longest time it stayed that way. But you don't just go to school to be an astronaut. I find out that most astronauts have some background in science or engineering or both, maybe medicine. So I thought, ‘Maybe I should study aerospace engineering or aeronautical engineering to be like Neil Armstrong.’ And This whole time, from when I was very young to when I was in high school, about once every year or so, fairly often, I would go to work with my dad. My dad was a draftsman and by bringing me to his workplace he did something very influential for me. I didn't spend the whole day with my dad though, I spent large parts of the day with the people my dad worked with, who happened to be engineers. I got to see what an engineer does on a daily basis and I got to walk around in plants and I got to see systems and I got to experience all sorts of things that maybe most kids wouldn't get to experience.

Q: And how do you came to the field material sciences?

Sue Schreiner: When I was a junior in high school, I also had a very influential high school chemistry teacher. Every other Tuesday, she would bring in a person from the workforce whose career was in a field related to chemistry. I was a nerd. I was one of the lab workers for my own class and for other classes. And I'm in the back cleaning glassware and I'm listening to this gentleman speak about being a ceramics engineer. So I'm sitting there watching the glasswork and I'm looking at them, and thought, ‘That's sounds kind of interesting.’ I went to the library because the Internet really didn't exist very much then, and I found out that ceramic engineering is part of a bigger field called Material Science and Engineering.

Q: And why metallurgy?

Sue Schreiner: I find out that metallurgy is part of material science as well and that my family had extensive background in metallurgy. My mom told me, ‘Did you know? Your grandfather was a metallurgist early in his career.’ I really had no idea. So all these confluences of situations helped me refine what I enjoyed. The teachers, my parents, my high school teacher, my experiences, they all helped me discern what was right for me. So I entered my undergraduate curriculum as a Material Science and Engineering major, and I never changed my major and haven't looked back since. 

“Metallurgists need to be a resilient”

Q: Which character traits do you have to have as a person to be a metallurgist?

Sue Schreiner: So obviously being in science and engineering you have to like science. It's really desirable that you would like math as well, because they really form a strong partnership. Initially you need it formally in your education. But also by understanding what's going on with the math behind it helps you understand what's going on in the reality of life in processing. There are things where you don't necessarily have to do the math every day to understand conceptually what is happening in a process or in in a reaction. Besides that: In many of the industries that metallurgists work in, you need to be a fairly resilient person. Not everybody's going to get along with you and not everybody's gonna like your ideas. It's important to be able to work through disagreements and be able to keep your eye on whatever your goal is.

Q: In the later parts of their career: What are the hurdles women are facing as engineers when they are more experienced?

Sue Schreiner: Probably one of the biggest hurdles that I have encountered is having a good work life balance. It's very easy as an engineer to get wrapped up in a project and spend 12 hours at work. Sometimes I lose track of time. But I am older now, I have a family. I have responsibilities outside of work. In addition to work many women are still considered the primary caretakers for their families, even if they work full time. So having enough time to do your job responsibilities, to do them well and then turn around and go home and essentially take on a second job. That can be very demanding and I wouldn't say that all employers are entirely understanding of that.

Thank you Sue for this great interview!

If you also want to read the interview with her colleague Lynn Bierworth, our design engineer at thyssenkrupp rothe erde USA Inc., click here.