Arnold F. Stancell
Georgia Institute of Technology

I did not intend to go to graduate school right after obtaining my bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, and in fact, took a job with a prestigious research and engineering division of a large company. I worked in process design engineering and enjoyed it but my interest was really sparked by process research where people with doctorate degrees were having a lot of fun in coming up with new process ideas. So, after one year, I left my job and enrolled in graduate school.

All I can say is wow! With the graduate courses in chemical engineering and my math minor, I connected together my chemical engineering education and developed a structure in my mind of that knowledge that I have drawn upon in lifelong learning. My research project for my doctor’s degree built confidence in thinking in uncharted waters and brought excitement in creatively finding a way to solve real problems.

My career moved through a number of facets from research and engineering to senior executive business positions, Vice-President, responsible for billions of dollars in annual revenue and thousands of people, all with the same large company. Through it all, the confidence and thinking ability honed in graduate school was invaluable to me in synthesizing information and data to make the tough decisions and to see with vision.

And now, because of graduate school I have one of the very best jobs. After completing my industrial career, I am a Professor of chemical engineering, with the opportunity to enliven the students learning with relevant business and technical experiences.