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She has been CEO of a legal association, a technical consultant, a board member, a business generator, and an officer and director of publicly traded companies. She’s been a forensic engineer investigating accidents in the government and private sectors, getting to the bottom of how cracks grow in materials and why things break. She’s worked  on aircraft investigations for the Canadian Department of National Defense.

She’s done analyses related to the sinking of the Titanic, James Dean’s fatal car accident and John F. Kennedy’s assassination for television shows or mock trials. “I love that no accident is the same,” she said.

At this year’s Íæż½ã½ãLyle commencement, she has a powerful message for graduates:

“Never stop learning,” she said. “If you’re not continuously improving yourself, you’ll fall way behind. This is just the beginning, not the end.”

Dr. Steffen Meyer is an “Íæż½ã½ãlifer,” she says. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1983, her master’s in 1985 and her Ph.D. in 1987, all in mechanical engineering. Ahead of her commencement speech for Spring 2024 graduation, Latest at Lyle caught up with her to talk about her time at SMU, her advice for students and her fascinating career.

How has Íæż½ã½ãLyle changed?

Lyle is a very different place than it was when I attended. I would love to be a student there now. I’m very impressed with how they’ve changed over the years – they’ve really put themselves on the map.

I’m also glad to see more women at Lyle. My graduating class was less than 10% female. In the early ‘80s, you were kind of an odd duck if you were a woman in engineering. My twin sister and I were very active in engineering life at SMU. When I was working on my master’s degree, I helped sell Íæż½ã½ãLyle and recruit more women to the school.