04/09/2025
By Zhiyong Gu
"Chemical Engineer – A Career Learning, Changing and Evolving".
Date: Thursday, April 17
Time: 3:30 to 4:45 p.m.
Location: Ball Hall, Room 210
Abstract: My Chemical Engineering degree from UMass Lowell gave me the start on a wonderful career at the Environmental Protection Agency to grow, learn and thrive in a challenging, changing, learning and sometimes, controversial environment. The skills learned in the academic environment were an important step for a scientific, analytical, engineering, project, program and people management career. I was motivated by working under different programs, learning the laws, regulation and systems used in them, stepping up to new challenges and bringing with me those skills and learning new skills and technologies.
Imagine, responding to a major oil spill, working on a scientific team to determine and negotiate how to clean up the shoreline in Portland, ME. Supporting a dioxin research project at a paper mill. Spending the night of 9/11/2001 in a bunker with other federal colleagues trying to understand the magnitude of the destruction and where and how to respond. Opening a new EPA office and staffing it up with all the associated scientific and technical resources needed. I will share some of these experiences and how my educational training and continual learning were important in these endeavors.
Chemical Engineering introduced me to EPA, where I spent a career learning, growing, changing, and evolving. The degree in Chemical Engineering you are striving towards will take you many places, you must be willing to explore, step up and step out of your zone to keep up with the changes that will be taking place during your career adventure.
Biography: Dennisses Valdés was the director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Environmental Response Team. The Environmental Response Team (ERT) supports EPA’s emergency response and cleanup programs. She managed over 30 scientist and engineers who provide technical support to the agency’s oil spill and hazardous materials emergency response and site clean up programs which included the superfund removal, remedial, oil spill prevention and response and emergency planning and response programs. She retired in 2021 with over 35 years with EPA in various positions in Lexington and Boston, MA and Las Vegas, NV. Dennisses has a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MS in Civil Engineering, both from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her most recent adventures include trekking in the Himalayas up to Everest Base Camp, riding her motorcycle cross country and running marathons, most recently the LA Marathon.