Passion, Curiosity, and a “Be Like Water” Philosophy [Pathways]

Pursuing a career in engineering was not a path that Meng Liu, who grew up in Tangshan, an industrial city in Hebei, China, had initially considered. However, she believes that her mother, an electrical engineer at a power utility, played a key role in her late-blossoming interest in engineering. Liu’s mother held various roles in the field of power system substation operation throughout her career. “I still remember, very clearly, the humming sound of power transformers from my early childhood visits to my mother’s workplace,” she recalled. “Also, I still remember how excited I was when I learned that the humming sound is generated by the expansion and contraction of the transformer iron core caused by the alternating magnetic field, a phenomenon known as magnetostriction.” Over time and with her family’s encouragement, Liu developed a genuine passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics classes. Thus, majoring in electrical engineering became a natural fit for her.