Nordica MacCarty Oral History Interview

MacCarty begins her interview by talking about her experiences growing up in a small town and how those experiences shaped her desire to pursue a career in Mechanical Engineering. From there, she moves on to her memories of Iowa State University, where she earned her undergraduate, masters, and PhD degrees. She notes that, during her senior year, she took a lot of core classes she had saved, which opened up her perception of the world. Those core classes, along with a research opportunity, led to her working on clean burning cookstoves, and ultimately a ten-year stint at the Aprovecho non-profit in Cottage Grove, Oregon.

MacCarty then shifts her focus to her hire by OSU in Mechanical Engineering and Humanitarian Engineering. In this, she discusses the support she received within the department and across campus, noting in particular that her cross-disciplinary work with social scientists was looked upon with approval. She then elaborates on how the Humanitarian Engineering program has evolved over the years, and comments on the adoption of similar programs at other universities. The growth of the discipline has led to the creation of an online certificate at OSU, as well as a new interdisciplinary major called Engineering Design for Society.

The interview ends with MacCarty’s advice for other women in engineering, and thoughts on aspects of engineering that she both likes and dislikes.