SWE Distinguished New Engineer
Irina Belozerova, Ph.D.
Intel
For technical achievements in water conservation and environmental risk assessments; for mentoring women engineers; and for teaching youth about soil and its role in biodiversity.
Irina Belozerova, Ph.D., started playing volleyball when she was 9 years old. She dreamed of being able to both pursue a competitive volleyball career and eventually become a scientist or an engineer. Following her passion, she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry while being awarded with volleyball Conference Player of the Year honors. As an undergraduate student, Dr. Belozerova discovered she enjoyed scientific research and worked in microbiology, chemistry, and marine and earth science labs, which exposed her to a range of scientific and engineering fields. She earned an M.S. and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and decided to explore the semiconductor industry.
She began her career as an ultrapure water technology development engineer at Intel. Ultrapure water is the purified water used in semiconductor manufacturing for rinsing wafers during the chip manufacturing processes. She was responsible for ensuring that Intel’s site had sufficient water infrastructure and capacity to meet manufacturing water demands. Over time, she became an expert in water usage forecasting. With her knowledge of water usage, Dr. Belozerova was able to identify and pursue water conservation opportunities. For her achievements as co-leader of the Intel global manufacturing water conservation team, Dr. Belozerova received the Intel Environmental Excellence Award and the 2017 SWE Global Team Leadership Award.
At the same time, Dr. Belozerova has conducted multiple projects that focused on process efficiency, automation, and waste reduction, resulting in significant cost savings for maintenance, electricity consumption, and consumables. These projects were carried out in other Intel manufacturing facilities around the world to ensure uniformity in materials and operations for all ultrapure water systems.
Dr. Belozerova later transitioned to environmental engineering at Intel, where she co-directed environmental risk assessments for Intel sites in the U.S., Europe, and Asia to determine environmental risks associated with semiconductor manufacturing chemical usage and emissions.
A member of the Society of Women Engineers Columbia River Section, Dr. Belozerova has served as an outreach VP, collegiate VP, and eventually scholarship chair. She has also served on the Society-level women in academia committee. In addition, she has served as president of the Oregon Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society. Dr. Belozerova has often recruited SWE members to create and lead programs and activities to engage students in STEM, conservation, and the environment. She has volunteered at numerous outreach and mentorship events for both SWE and Intel, has served as a volunteer research assistant for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Institute for Sustainability, and has received the AIChE Environmental Division Early Career Award.
Dr. Belozerova attributes her professional successes to sport-nurtured persistence, passion for teamwork, and remarkable collaborators who have surrounded her at Intel and professional organizations outside of work.