On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Ergon recognizes the contributions of women and girls who push past stereotypes to contribute to science every day. We are proud of the highly competent women, like Ergon Refining Inc.’s Ashmita Niroula, who help steer product development and quality control efforts across our organization. They are helping change the narrative of science being a male-dominated field.

Meet Ashmita

Ashmita Niroula, a native of Nepal, moved to the United States in 2014. She graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and began her career in science as an intern for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Ashmita joined Ergon Refining in July 2019 and currently serves as Market Technical Support Representative – Dielectric Fluids (formerly Insulating Oils). Dielectric fluids are specifically used for equipment such as power and distribution transformers, switchgears and circuit breakers. Ashmita’s role requires extensive knowledge of this equipment as well as the electrical properties of different dielectric fluids and their impact.

No stranger to transformers, as a child, Ashmita spent time in her father’s electrical shop in Nepal taking small transformers apart to see what they were comprised of. This curiosity led her to pursue an electrical engineering career. “It wasn’t until around ninth grade when I started spending more time in my father’s shop that I decided engineering was what I wanted to pursue,” said Ashmita.

Breaking Barriers in STEM

Ashmita is one of many women breaking barriers in the STEM career field. But there’s still progress to be made. It has been reported that while there have been strides in the number of women who enter STEM-related fields, there are still fewer women than men who begin careers in this field, and they leave these careers at a “disproportionately higher rate than men.”

When asked what she would say to young girls interested in science specifically, Ashmita suggested they should stick with it because science should have no relationship with the gender of the discoverer. “Never feel bad for being the only girl the class. Instead, feel special, trust yourself and study with passion. You can make a difference,” she said.

Women Make a Difference at Ergon

As an equal opportunity employer that respects the diversity of ideas and of people, Ergon is honored to support the women in science within our Ergon family. Read about a few other women in science and technology at Ergon here: Ergon Women in STEM.

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Want to become part of the Ergon family? Visit ergoncareers.com for job openings today.