This year we are continuing to host amazing female role models for Girls of Steel.  Past speakers include Julia Parsons, WWII codebreaker; Carnegie Mellon University Professors Henny Admoni and Jessica Hodgins; PPG executive Rebecca Liebert, and Leanne Meyer, the Executive Director of the Accelerate Leadership Center at the Tepper School of Business and Program Director of the Carnegie Mellon Leadership and Negotiation Academy for Women.  On Tuesday, October 20th, Girls of Steel had the incredible opportunity to welcome Ms. Karen Orton, a Robotics Software Engineer at IAM Robotics, a robotics startup in Pittsburgh PA. She shared an intriguing presentation with us about her start in robotics, her progression through various fields within robotics, and more cool aspects of her life that shaped her path.

Her work in so many different aspects of robotics really struck a chord with our girls, especially since her journey in robotics started off in FIRST as a member of a FIRST LEGO League team (FLL).  After a great experience in FLL, Karen joined the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team at her high school in Colorado – Rocky Mountain Robotics FRC#662.  After high school she studied at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Carnegie Mellon University. Many of the girls were able to relate to the way robotics influences our lives in ways beyond the team; by working on subteams and on projects, girls learn what they love to do, whether business, technical, or beyond! Her career is proof of the numerous incredible applications of robotics, from space to warehouses to social change. She spoke about the pace of robotics and her experiences working both in government and startup settings, a topic which was really interesting and insightful.

Another facet that really interested the girls was her involvement in Engineers Without Borders working on a project in Guatemala, which she spoke in detail about. Ms. Orton showed us that engineering has broad applications in making the world a better place even within volunteering. We had a virtual Q & A throughout the presentation, and one of the most compelling points Ms. Orton talked about was her favorite part of robotics. She said that her favorite part was how robots never do what they are expected to do, until you realize it actually does exactly what you tell it to do! Many people do not think of the troubleshooting and trial-and-error process as exciting, but Ms. Orton’s approach showed us that there is so much to gain from problem-solving. We are so grateful to have had Ms. Karen Orton speak to us about her unique and fascinating perspective on robotics! 

Here are links to her presentation and the cool video of her  warehouse robot, Swift, at IAM Robotics.  Swift is an autonomous robot that navigates up and down warehouse aisles and picks individual items off the shelves to fill customer orders.