Cara Sullivan is a technical leader within biomedical engineering. In our conversation together, Cara dispelled myths of creativity within engineering and highlighted the necessary linkage between structure and creativity. Cara is a huge proponent of women in engineering and highlights the diverse creativity of thought that they bring to the field!

Here are some of my main take-aways from our conversation:

• Structure and creativity are linked, not in conflict: Cara often “doesn’t have the luxury of conflict” between creativity and structure. Instead, she works to bring a creative flare even to the most practical of tasks within engineering.
• Minorities can enhance creativity: Due to the male-dominated nature of engineering, Cara finds women in engineering bring a deeper level of empathy, advocacy, and creativity due to their experience as a minority.
• Idea generation during flow state: Cara keeps an ‘ideas list’ when she goes deep into a flow state to tackler her ‘to do list’. She finds when her mind is at ease focusing on a task, new ideas pop up.

To get in touch with Cara, reach out to her on Linked in!