AFRL engineer is proud to serve her country

  • Published
  • By Jeanne Dailey
  • Air Force Research Laboratory
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  While many engineers find their niche laboring in the private sector, others, like Carrie Noren, are happy to be in the public sector working on projects that will help improve our country's defenses.

"I am working on projects that are or will be used by the Air Force to help protect our country," said Noren, an engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland. "I like that I'm not making a widget for the corporate world, focused only on cost and manufacturability."

Noren works in the Directed Energy Directorate's aero-effects group where they study the impact of air flow around an aircraft's laser turret. She said these turrets are used to direct a laser beam at a target, and being able to predict and mitigate turbulence around the turret allows for higher laser beam quality and power on target. She leads the wind tunnel work, running tests and analyzing data.

Noren started her Air Force career in 2004 as a Directed Energy Directorate scholar through AFRL's science, technology, engineering and math program, a paid summer internship where students perform research under the mentorship of the lab's scientists and engineers.

Recognized as a smart and motivated student, the lab offered her a cooperative student education position which gave Noren the opportunity to stay with AFRL after she finished her degree. Last year she received her 10 year certificate of service with the U.S. government, a career milestone.

"Dr. Noren is working some of our toughest science and engineering issues," said her branch chief Dan Devany. "She is very adaptable, has a high quality education and brings expertise in analyzing high speed compressible fluid flow. Recently, Dr. Noren made a quick transition from modeling pressure recovery devices in piping systems to characterizing shock wave disturbances on laser beams using a supersonic wind tunnel. She's definitely a high value asset for the Air Force."

Growing up in a small farming town in Michigan, she describes her family as a bunch of hippies--gardening, composting, conserving natural resources and being in the woods.

"I have an extreme love for our environment and enjoy hiking, camping and gardening," she said. "My parents gave me the choice of my college path and degree. They never steered me toward a more female-oriented career. They drove me to science camps and math competitions, nerd things." 

After getting her undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan, Noren and her husband, moved to Albuquerque when he took an engineering job at Intel. 

"We made a deal that the first person to get a good offer would determine where we moved.  I was not able to find a job here with just a bachelor's in aerospace, so I signed up for graduate school at the University of New Mexico in the mechanical engineering department," she said.

She went on to get a doctorate in mechanical engineering at UNM.

Working for the nation's defense is just one of Noren's responsibilities. She's also a homemaker with a husband and three young children. Noren's kids are 7, 4 and 2. She said they are involved in extracurricular activities, such as dance class, voice lessons and gymnastics.

"I'm busy. Sometimes, I think I've reached my threshold for too many things to take care of," Noren said.

Noren said she feels like she has been able to strike a good balance in being active in her career and spending quality time with her family.

"My supervisors and coworkers at AFRL have been great with understanding the effort it takes to manage work and home life. Having a meaningful career supporting our nation AND having a wonderful family is something that makes me proud. I hope my children will be proud of the work I do someday."