On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated every 11th February, the MAXIMA Project is proud to share an inspiring interview with Claudia Martis, Professor at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. As a pioneer in electrical engineering, she counts on a long research career in which she has led cutting-edge projects, overcoming any doubts, breaking down barriers and proving that women belong in STEM.
Can you tell us about your journey in electrical engineering? What motivated you to pursue this field, and how did you end up focusing on electric machines?
My professional path towards electrical engineering is very interesting. I could say that the saying «Never say never» is successfully applied to me. It all started with admission to higher education, at which point I wanted to study computer science, without knowing much about this field.
Unfortunately for me at that time, but fortunately for my subsequent course, the result of the entrance exam gave me the opportunity to study electrical engineering. Without much enthusiasm, I thus started my studies in electrical engineering in 1985 and I finished them with very good results in 1990, with the change of the political regime in Romania. I worked for three years in a company that in those years did not represent the dream of a graduate. To be honest, it wasn’t clear to me either what my dream was from a professional point of view. I had a beautiful family, a child and for me that meant the most important thing at that moment.
But, because the activity within the company did not bring me any satisfaction, I accepted to enter the academic environment, encouraged by the teacher who was my thesis supervisor, Professor Mircea Radulescu. It was an important step that I took, with fear, I must admit, because until that moment I never thought that I could be a good teacher and a good researcher. More than that, from the beginning of my university studies I told myself that I would never become a teacher.
To the same teacher I owe the enrollment in the doctoral program and the submission of an application for an individual mobility scholarship within the TEMPUS program.
The step taken towards the doctorate program took me in a direction that, since my university studies, seemed very difficult to me and which I proposed to avoid: electric machines. It is a difficult, multidisciplinary field and I had the feeling that I would never be able to manage it properly. However, my PhD coordinator, Professor Biro Karoly, helped me a lot. Together with Professor Radulescu, he represented a guiding beacon in my career, both from a didactic point of view and from the point of view of research activity.
I was lucky enough to have the Tempus application approved and I received funding for a seven weeks research internship in the field of electric machines and electromagnetic compatibility in the laboratory of Professor Jan Melkebeek, from Ghent University, Belgium. This internship was the most important turning point in my career. Before arriving in Ghent, I was still tinkering with my research for my doctoral thesis. Although I had the necessary knowledge, I was not able (or at least that’s how I felt) to put them together and succeed in moving on. However, I had the experience of that research group and from the discussions with them, from the analysis of their activity, from following the way in which they made the connection between the different fields, I learned how to use my knowledge to succeed. It was the moment when I understood that electrical engineering and electric machines represent a challenging field and that I can succeed in this field.
You’ve conducted research in a variety of areas, from electric traction drives to electromagnetic compatibility. Which of these research topics excites you the most, and why?
The two research areas are closely related. You cannot design, analyze and build electrical drives, whatever their field of application, without taking into account electromagnetic interference phenomena. Electromagnetic compatibility, from my point of view, represents a transversal field that must be taken into account in the development of any electrical engineering application. The research activity in the field of automotive applications started after a discussion with one of my department colleagues who tried to convince me, in 2006, that electric machines are no longer a field of interest and that I should focus on another field. I was stubborn and after a careful analysis of the current state in the field of electric machines applications, I realized that automotive applications represent an area of interest and that electric machines for these applications are increasingly in demand. At the beginning, I studied electric machines for power steering systems, but as we entered more and more into this area, we realized the opportunity to focus on propulsion type applications.
I have understood since then, after a careful study of European policies, that the electrification of transport, whatever its type (road, waterbone, or airborne) represents a field that will subject the field of electrical engineering to important challenges.
But this electrification implies the development of compact, robust, integrated systems, in which electric machines and power electronics, respectively control electronics, are integrated. This requires careful studies on the risks of electromagnetic interference, especially in the field of transport, where safety is of the utmost importance.
To answer your question, I cannot separate the two areas and both represent an exciting topic for research.
As a female professional in a traditionally male-dominated field like electrical engineering, what challenges have you faced, and how did you navigate them?
I don’t think I’ve ever had this problem. I have always believed that a woman can succeed in any field she wants. It was hard at the beginning because I had the feeling that I was not taken seriously and that we, the female doctoral students, the young female assistants, are just a decoration in this world of men.
It is more difficult to reach a management position and be left to implement the proposed program. I realized this when one of the persons (male) from the university’s management told me, without a bit of embarrassment: «Claudia, I knew that women are wagons, but you are a strong locomotive!» I know that I looked deeply into the eyes of the person in question and I answered in the same tone: «Do you have the impression that I am looking as a wagon?». Answer that left him speechless.
It depends a lot on how you position yourself in relation to the work you do and the attitude you have towards possible sexist behaviors. You have to believe in yourself and your ability to succeed and never give up.
What do you believe are the key factors that prevent more women from pursuing STEM careers, especially in fields like electrical engineering?
I don’t think there are, at least at this moment, factors that prevent a woman from pursuing a career in STEM. Maybe just prejudices and, I think, at least as far as the younger generations are concerned, the lack of motivation in any field. STEM are difficult fields that require a lot of work, patience, dedication. Nevertheless, it is interesting and gratifying to see more and more women pursuing studies in these fields and who choose to continue through master’s and doctorate programs.
Can you share an experience where you mentored or inspired other women or students in STEM? How do you approach encouraging young women to pursue careers in engineering?
Most of the time I do this since my first classes. I have the Electrical Machines 1 course, one of the most difficult courses in the curriculum of the second year of our faculty. Every year I tell the students about my professional journey, because it is an example for everyone that you can go beyond the limits. Just as I told myself, at their age, that I will not be a teacher and that I will not work in the field of electric machines because it is very difficult and I am not able, and in the end it proved the opposite, so they can pass beyond their own limits. For female students, it is all the more important to see that a woman, married, with a child and with household duties, can pursue doctoral studies, enter mobility programs or carry out research internships and succeed as a teacher and as a researcher.
I organize face-to-face or online meetings, individual or in groups, with the students of the 3rd and 4th years to present to them the research activity of our group (Electromechanical Systems) and of our master’s program (Electric Mobility Systems), for which I am the coordinator and tutor. I follow the students’ activity and try to attract the best and I do this by contacting them directly on Teams and inviting them personally. I do not discriminate between girls and boys, but I encourage girls to have more courage and confidence in themselves.
In recent years, for our master program, the percentage between girls and boys is almost 50%-50%. I encourage and support all students, but especially girls, to participate in different mobility programs, such as Erasmus, to enter competitions for scholarships awarded by different companies, to attend courses and participate in extracurricular workshops.
I have been a PhD coordinator since 2014, after I defended my habilitation thesis. So far, 9 doctoral theses have been completed under my supervision, of which female doctoral students developed 2. Now I am coordinating 10 PhD students, 6 of whom are females. I think this says a lot about my work to attract females in the research activity in the field of electrical engineering in general and electrical machines in particular.
How do you think universities and research institutions can create a more inclusive environment for women in STEM fields?
From my experience, the biggest problem that women have to solve, in general, not only in academia and in research, is that of reconciling the activity at home with that at work, especially when they have children. It is hard to come back with the same strength and availability after giving birth; it is hard to keep up with male researchers, who allow themselves the luxury of focusing exclusively on their professional career. I have noticed that in recent years men are getting more and more involved in household activities and in raising and educating children. However, there is still a lot of work in this direction. Universities and research institutes could help, in addition to the already existing facilities (especially flexibility in the organization of the didactic and research program for female researchers and/or teachers) by creating nurseries and kindergartens that provide children with appropriate conditions for growth and education, and mothers the certainty that they are well taken care of, and they can focus on a period of the day, on their professional career.
In your opinion, what are the most promising emerging trends in electrical engineering, and how can young engineers prepare for them?
Electrical engineering is by its nature at this moment a promising field in its totality and integrity. We are talking here about the electrification of transport, the development and integration of new, efficient, secure and flexible renewable energy sources, the increase of energy efficiency in industry, robotization, the integration of artificial intelligence in a growing number of applications, all of which represent research areas that, to a certain extent, make appeal to the field of electrical engineering.
Regarding the training of future engineers, I believe that a new, multidisciplinary approach is necessary. In today’s society, when most applications in any field are complex, inter and multidisciplinary, developing competences, skills and abilities to meet these challenges is of major importance.
Who or what has been your biggest inspiration throughout your career, and how has that influenced your journey in academia and engineering?
Throughout my life, several people have been by my side and instilled in me the desire to be better, on all levels, and to fight to achieve my dreams.
The first and most important person was and remains my mother, who was by my side and always supported me. She was the first example of fairness and professionalism for me.
Then, throughout my school years in my hometown, I had two mentors. Professor Sorin Mureșeanu, professor of history, doctor in History of the University Al.I. Cuza from Iași educated generations of pupils, dedicating his entire activity to studying the history of Dobrogea, the historical region of Romania. He was the first model in my life, contributing to the formation of the feeling of belonging to a community and giving. I think now that from him I learned the importance of education and the transmission of knowledge and experience to pupils and students.
Then there was Professor Stefan Constantin, the one who during high school made me understand and love physics, the most important discipline in understanding phenomena and the one that contributes to the training of engineers, whatever the field.
During the university studies, and especially after completing my studies, during the first years of activity as an assistant professor and doctoral student, I had examples of the two teachers mentioned at the beginning. Professor Radulescu taught me to see the whole, to understand the system and then to analyze its components one by one. From him I understood the importance of collaboration and openness to the new, to innovation. On the other hand, Professor Biro taught me to trust my instinct as an engineer, to support my opinion with well-organized arguments, not to make compromises.
The last ten years have brought other people into my professional life from whom I have learned a lot: dr. Herman van der Auweraer (Siemens Industry Software Leuven), Alain Bouscaryol (Universite Lille, France), Stephane Clenet (ENSAM, Lille, France), Elena Lomonova (Eindvohen University of Technology, The Netherlands). Each of them had an impact in one way or another on my professional life and career. And I will always be grateful to them for everything I have learned and achieved so far.
How has leading Work Package 3 in the MAXIMA project, along with your involvement in EU research projects, shaped your career?
My involvement in European projects opened up new opportunities for collaboration and development for myself but most important for my group. We had the chance to align our research activity to the European trends, the research and innovation capacity of the group was enhanced, the research management capacities and administrative skills were strenghtened. The reputation, the research profile and atractiveness of our group was raised.
Being part of MAXIMA, and being responsable of the electrical machine design workpackage increased my reputation as a researcher in the field of electrical machines.