Christine Barman, BSME ’94, Principal, New Shore LLC

When Christine Barman came to Purdue, she thought her mechanical engineering degree would set her on the path to medical school. But summer internships in the automotive industry changed that path. After a career with several executive positions in the Chrysler family of companies, she is now principal at New Shore LLC.

As a mechanical engineering student at Purdue, she focused on approaching difficult topics with logic and learning to collaborate in other areas of expertise. Barman says Purdue provided her with a strong, application-based engineering education, enabling her to hit the ground running in the workplace.

“Never give up. Break it down, understand it and develop a plan to succeed,” she says. “It may not work the first time, but you’ll learn. Eventually you’ll achieve success.”

For her contributions and advancements of system design and development in the automotive industry, Barman was named one of Michigan’s 100 most influential women of 2016 and is an exemplary role model for young women in engineering and the automotive industry.