GAINESVILLE, FL:  While many engineers start out in manufacturing, they often migrate to other areas of interest or pursue management positions over time.  But Ms. Natzia Jimenez-Drack started in semiconductor manufacturing as a student intern at Intel, graduating with a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from UF in 1998, and has remained in the field ever since.  She confessed when addressing students in the “Introduction to Industrial and Systems Engineering” class on Monday, September 24, that she loves the chaos.  “I love technology,” she told students about the industry.  “It’s always about ‘what’s next’.”

She is now a Senior Industrial Engineer at TriQuint Semiconductor, a major supplier to the cellphone industry in Apopka, FL, having joined in 2007. Her responsibilities in this role have been diverse, including capacity modeling, capital strategic planning, process improvement, and systems deployment along with traditional industrial engineering activities. She previously worked at Infineon Technologies/Qimonda, Lucent/Agere Systems and Intel.