Gail Mattson is an American environmental engineer and leadership figure in professional engineering organizations. She is widely recognized for her work in environmental engineering, nuclear remediation, and leadership in women in engineering organisations. She first studied biology and chemistry in a pre-medical programme and later completed a master’s degree in environmental engineering at the University of Washington, one of the first U.S. universities to offer such a programme.
After being rejected from four medical schools, she returned to Bechtel, where she had worked during the summers, an opportunity arranged by her father, “a mechanical and chemical engineer.” She often says she “got into engineering sort of by default through my father,” whose support helped her navigate the gender specific challenges she faced early on.
Mattson went on to manage major U.S. Department of Energy projects, including a $200 million per year radioactive waste programme involving “20 subcontractors and 300 employees,” and later served as Associate Laboratory Director for Environmental Safety and Health at Brookhaven National Laboratory. She also contributed nationally to STEM outreach, helping redesign the Girl Scouts’ badges to include more science and engineering.
Before becoming President of INWES, she served as President of the Society of Women Engineers, later training INWES board members in non-profit governance. Her message to women entering STEM is clear: “be open for opportunities,” remember that “you can always change your mind… it’s not fixed in concrete,” assuring aspiring engineers that “you’ve got sister women engineers… around the world that will support you.”