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North Country Section
Distinguished
Members
The SWE of the North Country
Section would like to recognize the following members for their
accomplishments:
KC Norris
SWE
Fellow in 2001
2007 Vermont
Engineer of the Year
Milton Newspaper on KC
KC Norris is the first woman ever to be named Vermont Engineer of the
Year in the 46 years that the award has been given.
Here is an article that ran in the Milton Newspaper on KC:
Milton engineer gets top
recognition
By ROB TICHO | Milton
Independent Staff Writer
miltonreporter@yahoo.com
Last month
Milton resident Katherine (KC) Norris
was named Vermont Engineer of the Year.
She is the first woman to receive the award in its 46-year history,
a testament to her successful 38-year career as an IBM engineer.
The Society of Women Engineers calls Norris “a pioneering
woman in the semiconductor industry who has served as a role model for
innovative women engineers."
“I’m
very honored especially considering the people who had the award
previously,” Norris said. The winner is chosen by the five
previous winners, adding to its prestige.
After
retiring from IBM a year ago, Norris has stayed active as a
professional and as a community member.
“I’ve
been very busy. I work with the Milton Community Youth Coalition and in the professional society. I even designed props for a
Halloween benefit play last fall,” Norris said.
Professionally,
she looks to encourage young women to enter the world of engineering.
She’s a charter member of the North Country Section of the Society of
Women Engineers.
“Our
section talks in schools and classes,” Norris said. The
society runs essay contests for 6th grade students on great women in
science and engineering. They are also active in the Vermont State Science
Fair, where they award a prize for engineering.
Originally
from Syracuse, Norris lived in different
areas growing up and attended Duke University and MIT. She’s lived in Milton for almost 30 years and said
she’s not leaving anytime soon. “I think it’s a great
place. I love Vermont,” Norris said.
Her
interest in engineering began while studying education at Duke. She tutored
an engineering student who showed her the engineering building and the
tools they used. Immediately interested, Norris asked if women could
be engineers. He said yes there’s another woman in the program. At
the time it was extremely rare for women to enter the field. Later, when
she began at IBM, she was one of only three women engineers in a pool of
7,000 employees.
After
switching majors she went on to graduate magna cum laude before going to
receive her masters at MIT.
Looking
back, Norris said she is glad she entered such an exciting field.
“I feel like I’ve had a wonderful career. I’ve had a
great support structure at work and professionally,” Norris said.
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Page last updated 02/11/2008
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