Grace Henderson considers herself a hungry and driven person who always strives to be the best. So, she is excited to learn all she can about the oil and gas industry as a midstream process engineer for Phillips 66 after graduating from Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) in May.
During her time at Tech, she involved herself in a wide range of academic, research, and industry experiences that reflect the numerous career paths open to chemical engineers.
“I think chemical engineering will play a pivotal role in the future,” Henderson said. “There’s so much you can do with this degree.”
Varied Experiences
Her array of experiences during her undergraduate years included interning at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, in spring 2024, where she supported the development of solid-state batteries engineered to perform under extreme conditions, including those anticipated in lunar and Martian environments. Then, in summer 2024, she interned at Tesla, where she contributed to battery recycling initiatives.
Henderson also gained experience working on nanowires for semiconductors as an undergraduate researcher in Professor Michael Filler’s lab and then graphene battery technology as a member of the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program.
Career Goals
While she highly valued all those experiences, they helped clarify her career goals, leading her back to the oil and gas industry, for which she had interned with Marathon Petroleum in El Paso, Texas, in summer 2023. There, she worked on optimizing fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) reactor performance.
“I realized I missed the large-scale processes first encountered in oil and gas,” Henderson said. “What we learn in ChBE really prepares us well for large-scale projects.”
At Phillips 66’s operation in Greeley, Colorado, she will be working on managing natural gas pipelines that serve as the bridge between upstream production and downstream refining.
“I’m excited about the logistical challenges of midstream and ready to try something new after working in downstream,” she said.
She said that the oil and gas industry will be evolving rapidly in coming years, pointing to Phillips 66’s retrofitting of a refinery in California to solely produce renewable fuels.
“That is the direction the industry is heading, and I’m excited to be part of thattransition,” she said. “The industry is evolving fast, and I’m ready to evolve with it. I feel like there is a lot of growth potential there, and I look forward to mentoring my own interns one day."
Time at Tech
When Henderson won acceptance to Georgia Tech as a high school student in Omaha, Nebraska, she thought she would major in biomedical engineering and pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry. But after a summer 2021 research internship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, she decided to shift her focus. “I realized I loved chemistry,” she said.
During her years at Tech, Henderson has dedicated herself to mentorship and community service. In addition to working as a teaching assistant, she supported first-year students as a peer mentor and served as the chair for Georgia Tech’s chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). In the latter role, she said her favorite experience was organizing a women-in-engineering panel featuring ChBE faculty members.
Overall, Henderson’s favorite experience during her undergraduate years was her time abroad through Georgia Tech’s exchange program with the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejon, Korea, during fall 2024. “That immersive experience was amazing and eye opening,” she said. “I encourage students to go.."
Finding Balance
Outside the classroom, Henderson found creative outlets through painting, crocheting, and making earrings that she sold with a friend at the weekly campus farmers’ market.
“Having a balance between academics and outside interests is important as is developing a support network,” said Henderson, who held the Suzanne C. and Duncan A. Mellichamp scholarship.
She also advises students to stay on top of their work and take advantage of professors’ office hours.
“And don’t be afraid to apply anywhere,” she said. “There are so many opportunities open to chemical engineers.”
[HG1]"The industry is evolving fast, and I’m ready to evolve with it" or something to relate to the other quote? not to make up quotations haha