Cal Berkeley professor Lisa Pruitt ScM ’90, Ph.D. ’93 returned to Providence to discuss her latest book Soul of a Professor: Memoir of an Un-Engineered Life.
In the world of academia, Lisa Pruitt is an accomplished professor and researcher, authoring more than 300 publications in her research field of failure analysis, biomaterials and medical devices. The Brown Engineering graduate school alumna has received numerous awards and honors throughout the decades of her educational pursuit, including a National Science Foundation CAREER award, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, and a Congressional citation. She is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.
However, the latest publication of the professor known for the study of fractured and fatigued materials tells the story of the cracking of the façade upon which she built her academic life. Pruitt found solace in the rigor of engineering, hiding from a fear of unworthiness by creating layers of addictions and tools to protect herself from the depth of her sorrow and insecurities. Now she is ready to share these struggles, in the hopes of helping others to their truths.
Pruitt spent a day with Brown Engineering in February, joining with STEM faculty members for lunch, and offering a fireside chat with engineering students in the evening. Her message from her book Soul of a Professor: Memoir of an Un-Engineered Life was the same for both gatherings: She is sharing this story of hope to provide space for others to claim lives filled with purpose, self-acceptance, and joy.
(Spoiler alert: The irony that Pruitt is a materials engineering professor at heart is not lost in the book. As a self-proclaimed “complex alloy” herself, her retrospection into the protective armor and patinas she hid behind easily finds its analogies in the book, and resonates deeply with those familiar with even rudimentary metallurgy.)
“Imposter Syndrome, anxiety, depression - we really didn’t have the vocabulary for these things when I was a student and in the early stages of my career,” she said to the roomful of students gathered who had been given copies of her book the week before. “To struggle is an absolute in the journey of life. Until you can speak your truth, you cannot find authenticity in this world.”
A life-threatening horse accident was the catalyst for Pruitt to face the eating disorder and alcohol addiction she had hidden from everyone in her life for nearly three decades. Deeply ashamed, she refused to ask for help within academic circles, and traditional recovery methods failed to work for her. Instead it was her beloved thoroughbred JJ who served as the conduit for recovery, self-acceptance, and worthiness. “He saw beneath my façade and witnessed the scared little girl who was trying to hide herself from the world. JJ offered me unconditional love and a path for self-acceptance. He served as my guide to healing, not only in body, but in spirit,” she writes.
Pruitt shared with the Brown faculty group how her personal story made it into print, and the fear of what sharing her story might mean to the academic career she had so carefully cultivated. “Before it went to the publisher, I printed copies, and asked two of my Ph.D. students to read it,” she said. “Then I asked them simply, ‘What do you think?’ and ‘How does this land for you?’
“The support that came back was astounding,” she said, and in that pivotal moment she knew that this story, her very personal journey, needed a space to be told. For the professor who analyzes failures as learning opportunities, her personal failures were about to become life lessons.