She recently concluded a one-year assignment operating control systems in a greenhouse at the South Pole Station in Antarctica. Using her engineering skills to help others has been a key component of Kozdras’ career.

She started as a volunteer with AmeriCorps and spent two summers ago with Engineers for a Sustainable World, assisting in the construction of a water treatment plant in rural Honduras. Kozdras also serves as an engineering mentor for an all-girls high school competing in the FIRST robotics competition and is active in the Society of Women Engineers.