ST. PAUL, Minn. - The United States anticipates a troubling shortage of engineers and technicians over the next decade, while the need to re-engineer existing buildings to make them more energy efficient and environmentally responsible continues to rapidly increase. To address this problem, Pam Greve, Trane’s building automation solutions leader, talked to middle school girls at Texas A&M University’s Society of Women Engineers’ Summer Camp about how engineering career choices can have a very positive impact on the global environment.

Greve’s presentation talked about different types of careers from building and mechanical engineering to building technicians to marketing engineers, and the opportunities that are available to girls in the future.

“Girls are the single greatest untapped resource for engineering talent in this country,” said Greve. “They make their decisions on whether or not they want to pursue math and science-related fields by the time they’re in middle school. We need to get to them early with options on how engineering can be fun and how it can truly make a difference on the economy and environment.”

Greve also discussed building energy use, sharing some statistics about existing buildings and their environmental contribution. The girls took a fun quiz to find out how energy-wise they are and learn ways to save energy now, including what they can do to make their schools better learning environments.

“The U.S. spends more than a billion dollars more than needed on energy for schools, which is money that can redirected to hire 30,000 new teachers annually or purchase 40 million new textbooks annually,” said Greve. “These girls can go back and make an immediate difference in their schools with some added awareness and an understanding of who’s actually responsible for making their schools more efficient.”

Greve has more than 20 years of engineering experience beginning as an aerospace engineer. She has been with Trane for five years and is currently responsible for developing state-of-the-art hardware and software to manage HVAC systems in commercial buildings.

Publication date:06/23/2008