Erienne Kriesch: Council of Outstanding Early Career Engineers - 2017

Submarine Warfare Instructor and Assistant Professor of Naval ScienceThe Ohio State University | Columbus, Ohio

Erienne Kriesch was an enlisted nuclear mechanic with the U.S. Navy during her undergraduate years at Oregon State. After graduating, she not only made it through an extremely competitive process to become a commissioned submarine warfare officer, she also made history by earning a place among the first small group of women assigned to serve onboard a submarine."Prior to my year group, the position was closed to women," said Kriesch. "There were 19 women selected nationwide to go on submarines, and some didn’t make it through the training pipeline."It wasn’t easy being one of two nuclear-trained women on board with a crew of about 130 men, and adjustments were necessary. "There were a few growing pains at the beginning, but everyone was very professional and they all had a job to get done," said Kriesch. "It was a difficult three years, but very rewarding."Kriesch said that her Oregon State training in radiation health physics uniquely prepared her for her position as an officer in charge of monitoring a submarine crew’s radiation exposure and occupational risks during deployment. "I was very prepared to make that transition," she said.She is currently serving as an assistant professor of naval science, but she recently passed exams qualifying her to become a high-ranking submarine officer in charge of all nuclear and support equipment aboard a submarine. She won’t learn what her new assignment is until June. "That’s what’s so exciting about the Navy — every few years you get a new assignment," she said.