AE285 Undergraduate Seminar Series - Aerospace Through the Decades

In this seminar we will explore the progress of Aerospace as seen through the eyes and career of Karen Albrecht. This seminar will discuss the infancy of space travel in the 60's and discuss the changes and transformation of Aerospace through the 2010's. She will discuss the many facets of Aerospace and how your education and knowledge of the Michigan education can take you to meet your goals. Additionally, Karen will provide insights into the career and recruiting process of the industry. Her experience in creating engineering predates the use of computers and CAD systems to design and analyze aerospace vehicles. She will also reveal how the course "Geography of the Soviet Union" played a key part in her career.

About the speaker...
Karen’s illustrious career as an Aerospace Engineer began at NASA JSC where she developed analytic methods for composite primary structure under fatigue and fracture mechanics for Space Shuttle. Karen participated in the Longitudinal Study of Astronaut Health (LSAH).

At Lockheed Martin, she worked on Missile Launching Systems, Basic Research, Commercial Aircraft, Undersea Systems, SMART Structures, Robotics and high performance Military Aircraft. She developed embedded fiber optics technology. She is a Master Black Belt in 6-sigma and Lean Engineering.

Karen serves on several university engineering and non-profit boards. Karen is the 2007 Distinguished Alumnus –Aerospace for the UM.

Karen is now CEO of Karen Albrecht Enterprises a Career and Personal Development Organization. Karen has delivered over 200 seminars for courses she developed and gives her time and knowledge to help students navigate career fairs and resume. Karen has set up an endowment fund for Aerospace undergraduate education and provides scholarships for Aerospace Engineering students who need the support to finish their education at the University of Michigan. She has already given out 5 scholarships to Aero students.