Anna Edwards’10 devoted her four years at Beloit to honing her physics knowledge and skills, not only taking physics courses, but serving as a teaching assistant for Physics 101 and 102, participating in the physics club, and completing summer REUs at both the University of Minnesota and the University of Colorado.

On the side, she ran cross-country and track. She also studied abroad the spring semester of her junior year in Kenya, where as a participant in the Minnesota Studies in International Development program, she interned for 3 months with Reconcile, a research, advocacy, and capacity-building organization focused on the sustainable use and management of natural resources.

Following her graduation from Beloit College, Anna elected to acquire practical experience by working for Intel Corporation for three years, first as a manufacturing technician and then as a calibration technician. She realized, however, that sustainable energy had become her passion, and to work in that area, she needed further education. An MS from Washington University in electrical and electronics engineering followed, with a focus on power systems.

Today, after stints at Puget Sound Energy and Doosan GridTech, Anna is a senior electrical engineer at Oscilla Power, Inc., where she and her colleagues are developing an advanced wave energy converter to harness renewable energy.

“Beloit taught me the importance of interdisciplinary education and collaboration. These skills have served me well working in a small, fast-paced environment with a team from a variety of different backgrounds to figure out how to transform the mechanical power from the waves into electrical power that can be transmitted to the grid.”