Cecilia Klauber, a doctoral student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, was awarded the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) 2019 Outstanding Collegiate Member Award. This prestigious award is only presented to 10 students annually. Being a graduate student recipient of this recognition is very meaningful to Klauber, who is actively involved in the organization.
Klauber has been involved with SWE since 2010 when she started her college career in electrical engineering at Baylor University. Through each stage of her academic career, she has stayed active in the organization and continued to devote her time and energy to the members.
She is now serving as graduate member coordinator. Klauber said this role allows her to interface with the SWE board of directors and work with graduate SWE groups around the country.
“I help lead a team of students that are providing programming and resources for grad students around the society so it’s especially exciting to get this award because only 10 people can get it, and it’s been primarily won by undergrads in the past,” Klauber said. “In my work at all these universities and even getting involved with the grad SWE group here at Texas A&M, there are some graduate students doing amazing work to advocate for women getting advanced degrees in engineering and STEM, and to see us getting recognized for that in the society is so awesome.”
Klauber is also a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program recipient and she is currently working toward her Ph.D. in electrical engineering under Dr. Tom Overbye, TEES Eminent Professor. Her area of focus is studying how geomagnetic disturbances, such as solar flares, affect the power grid.
“My research is creating a way that grid operators can have situational awareness when geomagnetic disturbances happen, and how we can give grid operators the information they need to be able to make decisions to keep the lights on,” Klauber said.
She is passionate about electrical engineering and helping other women in engineering have access to the resources they need to help them succeed and reach their goals in this field.
The award will be presented to Klauber at the WE19 conference in Anaheim, California, in November.