On the trail of optical analysis
Working from home, Karen Esmonde-White dreams of big hiking adventures. A chemist and biomedical engineer, she can count on a broad professional network – and on her cat, Zip.
I was born and raised in the Midwest. I moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1997 and just fell in love with the whole area. I like the town’s many parks, restaurants, museums and greatschools. The state is bordered by four of the five Great Lakes. I love the water, the beautiful rivers and forest expanses, so I spend as much time as possible outdoors, especially during the change of seasons.
I’m a quiet person and like to listen, which is an important part of my job. I listen to the market, our customers, our competitors. My colleagues help me to understand needs and translate those pieces of information into knowledge. Outside of work, I volunteer in professional societies that support their members’ career development in leadership positions. Most people would describe me as kind, orga-nized, serious and hard-working. But I can find absurdity and humor in just about anything, particularly in 1970s dis-co culture. I’m totally into ‘yacht rock’, a music style also known as the West Coast sound.
I am married, with a nine-year-old daughter. Seeing her grow up is a daily opportunity for joy, and I co-lead her Girl Scout troop. What makes me really happy is helping other people succeed. I taught my sister how to play chess, and the day she beat me was a truly marvelous occasion. I should ask her for advice when I take part in the CEO Chess Challenge!
“What makes me really happy is helping other people succeed.”
Karen Esmonde-White
Food & Beverage Product Manager, Kaiser Optical Systems
Theory and practice
My storied career started off in high school as a dishwasher and working for a lunch bar during summers. To this day, I still get a little nauseous seeing lunch meat! After my diploma in chemistry I worked at phar-maceutical company Parke-Davis. But I realized that as a chemist, I wouldn’t be able to make the impact that I wanted to. So, I went back to university to do a master’s degree in pharmaceutical engineering and a PhD in biomedical engi-neering, while working full-time. After finishing, I received additional research training in rheumatology and translation-al sciences – which are about understanding the principles underlying observations made in the laboratory, clinic and community and turning those into interventions that improve the health of individuals and the public.
This was the time when I got to know Kaiser Optical Systems. My advisor in the lab was one of the first Raman spectroscopists to help Kaiser develop its volume holo-graphy technology. While working at Parke-Davis later, I became a Kaiser customer. I came to work at Kaiser as a marcom specialist in 2015 and later transitioned into the role of food & beverage product manager. My goal is to make this the top industry for Kaiser within the coming years. To bring Raman technology to these customers is challenging.But I am con fident, as there is increasing recognition for the importance of process analysis.
Me and my team
When you’ve been working at home for over a year, you need to get creative in finding coworkers. Luckily, my cat, Zip, has offered to assist me.
My favorite object
Whether I am working at the office or at home, my tea-pot is something I usually have next to me at my desk.
My favorite place
In the kitchen I can create something new and share happiness through cooking. This was an apple tart I baked for Thanks-giving. My family loved it – and so did I!
Making off
do a lot of spare time activities: cooking, Sudoku, biking, hiking, gardening and Girl Scouts. I always was the kid who packed a snack, water and a first aid kit into a bag when going up to the park with friends. That bag, and its contents, have since gotten a bit more sophisticated. But the love of exploring the world with nothing but yourself and a rucksack remains. Inspired by a vlogger who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, I started to do some longer day hikes and a couple of overnighters.
Hikes can be fun, but also challenging. Being in a mental place where you can ‘embrace the challenge’, and overcome it, is fun and satisfying. I would like to combine my love for hiking with scientific knowledge and passion for clean water. The prevalence of microplastics in sea water is well known, but less is known about their prevalence in inland fresh water sources. In my most whimsical moments, I dream about hikingthe entire North Country Trail that stretches over 4,600 miles(7,400 km) from North Dakota to Vermont, collecting wa-ter samples from all the sources along the way for microplas-tics analysis.
Published 08.01.2021, last updated 08.12.2022.
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