This is a special edition of The Atomic Show.
In November, 2005, I attended the American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting in Washington, DC. While there, I recorded an interview with Kelly Taylor, an active member of a group called North American Young Generation in Nuclear.
Kelly has been in the nuclear industry since she graduated from high school. During the interview we talk about the benefits of her employment, the training she has received, the challenges of being one of a small number of women in an industrial environment and the changes that have occurred during her 19 years of employment.
We also talk a bit about the challenges of balancing work and family, especially in an industry that operates on a 24 x 7 schedule. Though we did this interview a few months ago, I think you will find that it talks about some timeless topics of interest.
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Outstanding interview! I think the format worked out well for your podcast, and the person you interviewed was brilliant. She was articulate and I think she showed some real candor during the interview. She obviously knew what she was talking about and displayed poise and confidence when answering the questions. I think it’s also interesting that other podcasts and many other segments of the scientific media, such as NPR Science Friday, have been discussing women in science a lot lately, and here you have a successful female in the technical/scientific community. Whether she wants to be or not, she seems to be a great role model for young women out there to take an interest in science and engineering and that they can be successful and accepted in the community. I thought this interview was fantastic! I don’t see how you could’ve made a better choice in the subject to interview or any other aspect of this. I just hope word gets out and a lot of people listen to this podcast, particularly teachers and mentors. No, I’m not saying they all should rush off and join the nuclear industry per se, but this interview clearly set a good example for technical jobs in general.
PowerPointSamurai:
Thank you for the kind comments. I will pass them on to Kelly. I especially agree with your final comments – more Americans need to realize that there is life outside of law and business school. We need good technical people – of both sexes – now more than ever.
By the way, I thought the questions you asked her were insightful and well considered. Either you’ve been doing a lot of journalism before this or you’re a natural. Again, I think this interview will inspire young people to consider engineering, scientific and technical fields, which we sorely need right now. It was also a strong testimonial for nuclear power, it’s inherent safety and reliability, what benefits it brings to a community and its economy, and the quality of the people who work in the industry.