 Duy-Loan
Le
TI Senior Fellow
Texas Instruments
Application Specific Products
Houston, TX
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 BSEE
- University of Texas Austin, Texas, USA
MBA
- University of Houston, Texas, USA |
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World Wide Advanced
Technology Ramp Manager |
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"Don't be
afraid to ask for help If you don't understand, ask! Be curious,
inquisitive and persistent. Engineering takes practice…
repetition, repetition, repetition. Enjoy, relax and have fun." |
Q:
When did you know you wanted to become an Engineer?
Le:
I was born in an impoverished country. Engineering
is a very difficult field for people to get into and engineering females
were almost non-existent. My father's dream was for me to become an
engineer because of the prestige. I did not know that was what I wanted
and did not dream to be one.
When I left my country
without my father at 12, I wanted to fulfill his dream and so I did
become an engineer in America. To be honest, I really wanted to be a
doctor but there was no money and no time to pursue that (impractical in
other words). I pursued engineering and accelerated it (graduated at age 19
Magna Cum Laude) so that I can support myself and most important of all,
help my mother.
Q:
What was your college experience like?
Le:
Furious, fun,
challenging, relentless load (19-21 hours/semester load) and fast paced.
Q:
Did you incorporate work experiences while you were an undergrad?
Le:
I did have a summer
job with Hewlett Packard in Fort Collins, Colorado during the summer of
my second year.
Q:
How did you get your first job?
Le:
In my last semester,
I started interviewing. My focus was to get back to Houston so that I could
buy a house for my mom. Also, that was where my family was. I was
offered quite a few positions with various companies. I accepted a
position with
Texas Instruments due to the reasonable offer and the location of
Houston.
Q:
What's the most rewarding thing about doing the work you do?
Le:
- Intellectual
stimulation and plenty of challenges (both technical and people)
- Making an impact
all around (technology, life, people)
- The influence and
autonomy I have every day
- The respect,
camaraderie and collaboration from colleagues
- The pay
Q:
Is there an example you can provide that shows how something you've
worked on has positively impacted the world?
Le:
I have 23 patents. Of
those 23 patents, there is a portfolio of 5 or so that are considered
"pioneering patents" at Texas Instruments. They allow memory to keep pace
with microprocessors to allow computers go fast. I lead product
development of chips that go into medical devices that allow doctors and
the people in the medical field to save, protect, prolong and enhance
the quality of lives. A lot of our chips also go into the consumer
products that connect the world and provide knowledge for people
remotely that are not possible otherwise.
Q:
Do you spend a fair amount of time traveling?
Le:
Yes. TI is a global
company and so there are plenty of opportunities to travel, learn and expand your
horizon. I also travel because of my educational philanthropic
activities in 12 different countries through two 501c3 organizations
that I have engaged with in the last decade:
Sunflower Mission and the
Mona Foundation.
Furthermore, I deliver a lot of keynotes to Fortune 500, non-profit
organizations and universities. This requires a lot of travelling as
well.
Q:
Do you have a mentor? Or did you in your college years? Was this helpful
to you?
Le:
I do not really have
a formal mentor. Instead I learn from most people I meet, from young to old, from western to
eastern, and from white to blue collar. Through them I gain knowledge of
life, appreciate failures and value success. I do know that I have a lot
of people in my life who believe in me and they are my advocates,
supporters and even secret admirers (or so as they say). Besides being
grateful for their priceless support, I learn from these people as well
as they teach me the gift of giving back to others.
Q:
Do you find yourself working more in a team situation, or more alone?
Le:
Literally everything
I do at work is team work. Projects are too complicated to execute
alone. This is one aspect of the job that can be both challenging and
rewarding. I love this aspect of my job.
Q:
Do you find you are able to balance work with social/family life while
working in your current job?
Le:
The word ‘balance'
implies equilibrium. I don't really have equilibrium in my life. Instead
I take each day at a time. However, I have a firm philosophy and
principle of operation that I will not compromise.
-- philosophy: life is incomplete without all 3 aspects: family, career
and community. This is exactly the topic of a talk I gave about 8 years
back (Managing the Triangle of Life). I will not chase a career that
does not allow me to have all three in my life
-- principle of operation: I will define what success means, pursue it
and achieve it on my own terms. And to me, success is having internal
happiness and being the best at what you do. It is not about achieving
what society in general considers success (i.e. title, money, power
etc..)
Q:
If you had to do it all over again, would you earn the degree you did?
Why?
Le:
Hard question.
Although I did not dream to be an engineer, I have achieved the
impossibility at Texas Instruments (TI), becoming the first and only
woman to get elected to the title TI Senior Fellow in TI's 80 years of
history. By that definition, people would say I am successful. However,
my measure of success is defined as above (see previous question). By
that definition, I would also make the same conclusion. I am very
thankful that I work at TI, a company that has been fair, fun, and
rewarding to belong to. I started at TI in my last year as a teenager
and I can honestly say that I am still in love with my work 28 years
later!
Now, would I do the same thing if I have a chance to do it all over
again? The answer is probably yes but If I have a choice, I still want
to be an engineer AND a doctor… both!
Q:
If you had to do it all over again, would you be doing the same work you
are doing? Why?
Le:
If engineering is the
field, then the job I have is definitely the job I want, period!
Q:
Did you think that your education prepared you for the way the work gets
done in the real world?
Le:
The discipline,
rigor, and self confidence that I gained through the hard work I had to
go through to support myself and to accelerate my study provided the
life skills I need to survive and thrive in real life. The
technical knowledge? Well, that part is something else. I probably use
no more than 5% of what I learned in school.
Q:
Where do you see jobs in the future for those interested in science,
technology, engineering, mathematics, or medicine (STEMM)?
Le:
So many possibilities
that the sky is no longer the limit in my mind.
- Biomedical is such a fascinating field of this century ... it has
endless possibilities.
- Technology that connects the world is so vast and so impactful.
- Clean energy … if only we can have it!
Just to name a few … I just want the students and their parents to stop
for a moment, close your eyes and think of the answers to the following
questions in the order presented
1) "What would this world be like without bridges, buildings, cars,
trains, ships, airplanes, computers, microwaves, telephones,
electricity, green grass/trees, clean water, etc..and etc.."
-- The answer is "a very empty planet."
3) "Who do you think invented the above or made them possible for the
human kind?"
-- The answers are the people in the STEM field!
The answer should then make it very obvious as to the significance,
importance, excitement, and impact STEM has on civilization in the past,
now and in the future … and hence where the jobs will be! I am not
talking about ideology or even having a debate. I am posing two very
practical questions of reality of life! Think about it. If I am wrong in
my answers, feel free to contact me at Texas Instruments and tell me so. I will listen with all ears.
Q:
What should middle and high school
students be doing to prepare themselves to take on STEM careers?
Le:
Be open minded about
the possibilities
- it is not a nerdy job.. it can be very glamorous…
- financially rewarding
- really cool career where you get to work with people to solve
real life problems
Believe in yourself
- Take challenging courses in the area
- Apply yourself and work hard
- Don't be a book worm.. get out there and work with people by
volunteering
Work on your soft skills (communication, presentation, team work etc..)
Don't be afraid to ask for help
- If you don't understand, ask! Be curious, inquisitive and
persistent
- Engineering takes practice… repetition, repetition, repetition
- Enjoy, relax and have fun
Q:
How important is mathematics to the work you do?
Le:
I don't use a lot of
high level mathematics at all in my work. But a mathematical sense IS
important (as well as a financial sense for what I do!)
Q:
What advice do you have for teachers or counselors who are assisting
students who are interested in STEM career?
Le:
Math and science are
the means to an end. Make it relevant, fun and less dry.
- Talk to students and believe in your students' ability. Don't make
general assumption that they cannot do it because they are girls, for
example.
- Instill excitement, enthusiasm and energy when you teach. Through your
passion, they will gain passion!
- Be there to go over the material again and again for your students.
Teach as though you want to be taught!
- Encouragement, compliments, and feedback are important to students.
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