 Senior Principal Engineer Emulex Corporation Education Bachelors of Science: Information and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine June 1981 What Am I Doing Today? Currently, I am a senior member of an architecture team designing and implementing a centralized management package for fiber channel networks. Where Did I Begin? I started as an Engineering Intern in the Data Communications Engineering Department of MAI Basic Four, a computer company in Tustin, working on networking products. After my graduation the following year, the company offered me a full-time position, which was a boost to my confidence. After 21 years, I still work with many of the same people (even my old manager!) at my current company - and we remain very close friends. I have worked at three different companies since my graduation, the last 14 years with Emulex. My experience is mostly in the technical side, working with 'behind-the-scene' technologies, ranging from programming the hardware devices to the network protocols used to push data across the networks. Words of Advice I am a strong believer that in order to have a successful and rewarding career in the Engineering field, you need to put teamwork and communication at the top of your list, next to the necessary technical skills - and practice using these skills everyday! Every engineering project requires a tremendous amount of cooperation from the team members, and without communication skills, that would be very hard to achieve. My Life Outside of Emulex I enjoy reading, watching classic movies, listening to music, traveling, and spending time with my family. My husband and I spend a lot of time with our children, an 18-year old son (away at college) and an 11-year old 6th grader who is in Girl Scouts, plays basketball, piano, and one who gets us very involved with all of her group activities. I came from a very large family (I am one of 12 children), and my parents and most of my siblings live nearby, so we do a lot of things with my side of the family (lots of cousins for my children to hang out with!). That usually fills up whatever spare time I have. Previously, Ms. Nelson was vice president and project manager, Prometheus 1. She was responsible for leading a growing team of engineers and scientists to support a new contract as co-designer of the Prometheus 1 spacecraft with NASA |
Keynote Speakers >