10 women who are shaping the world through science and technology

a tIMeS uNIoN publICatIoN
MarCh/aprIl 2016
Sally Temple
Deb leach
Neural Stem
Cell Institute
GlobalFoundries
The STeM
ISSue
10 women who are shaping the world
through science and technology
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10
Women
To
WATCH
By Jennifer Gish | Leigh Hornbeck | Brianna Snyder
A
lthough they still remain the minority in many
of their fields, these 10 Women to Watch in the
Capital Region are making a difference in the areas
of science, technology, engineering and math.
Of course, we could have built an entire
magazine of portraits to honor these women
and the advances they’ve made.
But we know that these 10 stories will inspire.
tuwomenatwork.com | 23
MaRion
TRiESTE
Co-founder and president
at Redfeather Green
Energy Development
in Saratoga Springs
R
Photo by Paul Buckowski
edfeather, a woman-owned
startup, launched in 2014,
but Trieste was no amateur.
She worked in grassroots
environmental campaigns in the
Clinton era, where she learned
“citizens need to be educated
and understand the issues that
impact their lives.” Redfeather
works in Caribbean and U.S.
territories, where power costs
more than anywhere else, to
convert communities to greener
— and cheaper — sources.
They’re also working on a
charity to show citizens how to
sustain their own systems.
HeIDI Jo
NewbeRg
Professor, Department of
Physics, Applied Physics and
Astronomy at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute
I
Photo by Paul Buckowski
f you saw Discover magazine
last year, you might’ve
noticed Newberg’s name in the
list of 100 greatest discoveries
of 2015 (She’s No. 59). Newberg
discovered the plate of the
Milky Way isn’t flat; it’s wavy.
One of the tipoffs, she says,
was the way dwarf galaxies
fall into the Milky Way. Those
falling galaxies may actually
be the reason the plate is wavy.
They also create more stars.
But Newberg is modest about
her discovery: “I like problem
solving. I like to be creative.”
KathLeen
PingeLsKi
Co-owner of MicroKnowledge
in Latham
T
Photo by Paul Buckowski
hough she studied education
in school, “I always gravitated
toward technology and electronics,”
Pingelski says. Where those two
meet is at Microknowledge, the
software-training company she
purchased in 2005. She’s trained
tens of thousands of people on
everything from Excel to private
systems built specifically for a
company. “It gets us excited,”
she says. “You can have a small
training budget and make
a significant impact on an
organization. That’s my job.”
RebeCCA
CoRtez
Associate professor of
mechanical engineering
and director of undergraduate
research at Union College
C
Photo by Lori Van Buren
ortez may be in mechanical
engineering, but as director of
undergraduate research at Union,
she inspires all young people to
learn how to problem-solve. She also
brings real-world experience as a
mechanical engineer to her students
to show them the path they can take,
while preparing them for the rigors
of the program and letting them
know that it’s OK to decide other
STEM fields may be for them.
DEB
LEACH
Senior director, Global Supply
Management, GlobalFoundries
L
Photo by Will Waldron
each spent 25 years, her
whole career, at IBM before
coming to GlobalFoundries in
August. As a member of the
leadership team, she has the
opportunity to influence how it
is managed as it grows. She is
also a mentor to young women
as the leader of the company’s
Global Women Network,
designed to develop the skills
and careers of GlobalFoundries’
female employees.
ShAdI
ShAhEdIPoUrSANdvIk
Associate professor of
Nanoengineering, SUNY Polytechnic
Institute, Colleges of Nanoscale
Science and Engineering
S
Photo by Paul Buckowski
hahedipour-Sandvik has a highprofile role as the head of the
Nanoengineering Constellation,
a signal to both men and women
that a woman can lead and succeed
in a field dominated by men. She
brought in more than $3 million to
SUNY over the last nine years to
fund research at the colleges.
Sally
Temple
Scientific director,
principal investigator and
co-founder, Neural Stem Cell
Institute in Rensselaer
“J
Photo by Paul Buckowski
ust about every family has
experienced their loved
ones suffering from Alzheimer’s,
macular degeneration or
Parkinson’s,” Temple says.
“There’s very little we can do, so
we decided this was our major
push.” Temple has pioneered a
new treatment — still being tested
— that uses the eye tissue to help
regrow new retinas in macular
degeneration patients, restoring
functionality to the eye.
In 2008, she was awarded the
MacArthur Fellowship for her
work in the neural stem cell field.
Julie
piliTSiS
Neurosurgeon at albany
medical Center, professor
of neurosurgery at
albany medical College
R
Photo by Lori Van Buren
ecently, Dr. Pilitsis was
named director of the
Center for Neuropharmacology
and Neuroscience at Albany
Medical College, a rarity for
a still-practicing physician.
Since 2008, she has performed
more than 500 deep brain
stimulation (DBS) surgeries,
generally used to treat
Parkinson’s. She trains
Chinese surgeons in DBS,
and has worked to
encourage more women
to pursue neurosurgery.
COurTNEY
KaNOpKa
Technology Specialist II,
New York State Office of
Information Technology
Services Enterprise
Information Security Office
K
Photo by Paul Buckowski
anopka is a single mom who
wanted to better provide
for her family. So she went to
Bryant & Stratton College for her
associate’s degree in information
technology while still working.
Then an internship with the state
led to her current full-time job.
She works full-time and is getting
her bachelor’s degree in digital
forensics and computer science at
the University at Albany, where
she just made dean’s list.
AnnmArie
LAnesey
President and co-founder,
Greane Tree Technology in Troy
L
Photo by Lori Van Buren
anesey grew interested in
computers in high school.
“The part that was interesting to me
was how people use computers,”
she says. “That evolved perfectly to
help me design software systems.”
Greane Tree is celebrating its
eighth year in business, and now
Lanesey is at the forefront of a
program, Albany Can Code,
which teaches programming in
order to provide well-paying
employment options.