Candace K. Sleeman has a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Drexel University. She is a Numerical Methods Programmer/Analyst for GORCA Systems, Inc, an engineering consulting firm located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She is part of the Systems Engineering Group and works on problems arising from performance modeling and network queueing analysis for satellite telecommunications. Her position requires her to travel five days each month to Motorola in Chandler, AZ to meet on-site with the customer, the engineers at Motorola SATCOM.
"I provide engineering analyses and simulation studies in support of modeling problems the customer identifies as critical", she says. "The project with which I am associated as a contractor seeks to place 66 satellites into low earth orbit in order to provide remote telecommunications access for cellular telephone subscribers. Motorola is one of many companies, both foreign and domestic, which have formed and invested in a consortium called Iridium, Inc. in order to develop and field the new system."
"Mathematics bridges the gap between theory and reality in my work. Many of the predictions made solely on an analytical basis using the tenets of queueing theory, for example, may be overly pessimistic and cause the hardware and software designers undue concern at the very least and initiate unnecessary, costly re-engineering of system components at worst. Through simulation prototypes in particular, the actual processes can be created and tested under various conditions. In many instances, the results differ significantly from theory and design assumptions can be proven or disproven."
Candace has a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Vermont, an M.S. in computer science from Monmouth University and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Drexel University. Before obtaining her Ph.D. in 1994 she worked as a Programmer/Analyst with Computer Sciences Corporation and as a Senior Engineer with Pacer Systems. While at Drexel she was a Computer Engineer at the Naval Air Warfare Center, performing software engineering analyses in the area of reliability for a digital signal processor.
"I joined GORCA Systems, Inc. in 1995 and have been a member of their Network Integrity Support Team at Motorola since that time." she says. "I had responded to an advertisement in the Philadelphia Inquirer's Science and Technology classifieds. As a Numerical Methods Programmer/Analyst, my initial assignment was to assess the feasibility of implementing and applying inversion formulae to network queueing analyses. After using Monte Carlo simulation methods to empirically estimate the requisite quantities, simulation prototypes were then developed to solve specific well-defined problems. This strategy initiated the discrete event simulation studies that are currently underway."
She recommends courses in Applied Probability and Statistics, Stochastic Processes, Numerical Analysis, and Real Variables. "Related courses would include Discrete Mathematics and a Computer Science curriculum which emphasizes problem solving and programming skills. Technical writing and presentation skills are also essential. Try to secure an internship or a co-operative education opportunity. You will gain experience and it will help establish valuable professional contacts."
Candace has some advice for women who enter nonacademic fields, but the advice is probably relevant for anyone in any field. "Be confident in your ability to succeed. Be aggressive, willing to take on new challenges, and develop your expertise in dealing with those who seek to intimidate you. You have a voice and a message which is worth hearing; make them listen. Rather than focusing on what you do not know, focus on what you do know and relate the problem at hand to similar problems you have solved. Break the problem down into its component parts and seek clarification from colleagues with whom you feel comfortable; develop alliances. Market your skills well and continue to enhance your skill set."
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