Women in CFD with Morna Baillie

28 Mar 2024 • 6 minute read

In this edition of the Women in CFD series, we are excited to feature Morna Baillie, a product engineer for Cadence Celsius EC Solver. Morna is a multi-talented woman, skilled in engineering and rock climbing, demonstrating exceptional determination, focus, and expertise in these challenging fields. Read our conversation with Morna to learn a little about her, what sparked her interest in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and her advice for aspiring graduates who want to pursue a career in CFD.

Tell us something about yourself.
I am from Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. I grew up in this wonderful city. After completing my high school education, I decided to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. I opted for an integrated master’s degree, a five-year program comprising undergraduate and graduate-level courses. During my time at university, I studied a wide range of topics related to mechanical engineering. For my undergraduate thesis project, I focused on the effect of patterned heating on natural convection in a 2D cavity. It was a theoretical analysis where I examined different sinusoidal patterns and their impact on heat transfer.

Model of an automotive liquid-cooled system created in Celsius EC Solver. The model shows cooled liquid entering the system and drawing heat away from the electronics.

What sparked your interest in CFD?
I became interested in CFD during my undergraduate project. Prior to that, I had completed a year abroad with my degree. I studied at San Diego State University in California and took a challenging heat transfer class covering in-depth details on convection, conduction, and radiation. It was an interesting course, and I gained in-depth knowledge in heat transfer that my fellow students back at Strathclyde did not have.

How did you land a job with Cadence (formerly Future Facilities)?
I finished my dissertation in Spring 2020 and started looking for internships. Due to the pandemic, everything was online. I came across a job posting from Future Facilities for a thermal simulation position, which was perfect as I had just completed a project on heat transfer. The job was based in London, which I had not previously considered as I was looking for something in Scotland. However, since the position was remote, I was able to take advantage of it. The internship lasted for two and a half months, during which I worked with the Celsius EC Solver (formerly 6SigmaET) team and created many models for thermal analysis of electronics. This was primarily for marketing material for the tool.

After completing my internship, Future Facilities offered to consider me for open positions after graduation. A graduate product engineer position became available during my final year of studies, and I was hired. I stayed with Future Facilities for around ten months and rejoined once Cadence acquired Future Facilities.

Morna's work desk.

Can you tell me about your day-to-day responsibilities in your current job?
I am responsible for managing various research and development projects for the Celsius EC Solver tool. My primary role is to investigate new features that could be added to the software in future releases. In addition, I work on testing and improving the tool's CAD functionality.

I also provide support to both new and existing customers. As part of pre-sales support for new customers, I function as a second line of support. Existing customers can contact me through Cadence Online Support or the support inbox. We have a joint Cadence Reality DC Design and Celsius EC Solver support workflow.

Do you have experience working with other CFD software? If so, which one is your favorite among them?
I have experience with several third-party CFD tools, but I believe Celsius EC Solver's solver and GUI are superior. Moreover, the pre-and post-processing capabilities are excellent, and you can easily import models from other CAD or EDA tools. The models rarely need to be simplified, saving time. Celsius Solver also automatically handles gridding, which is much more efficient than tools that require manual grid creation. We can complete tasks faster, sometimes in minutes to hours, which would otherwise take days.

What other profession would interest you if you were not working in CFD?
That is an interesting question! Design has always been my area of interest, particularly from a mechanical point of view. Although I am not inclined toward the creative and artistic side of design, I have envisioned becoming a design engineer. In my free time, I enjoy rock climbing, and if I had the chance, I would pursue it as a profession, but I would require sponsorship. I am not at an expert level where that would be possible.

Morna rock climbing during spring and winter.

Do you have any hobbies or other interests in your free time?
As I mentioned, I enjoy rock climbing since I live in Fort William, a town amidst the mountains in the Highlands of Scotland. The weather is cold and snowy, making it a perfect time for winter climbing. However, spring and summer are just around the corner, which means I will be able to climb big rock faces in the mountains, something I absolutely love doing.

What are your thoughts on women in technical fields, considering their low representation in these fields?
There is some progress in gender balance in the workforce, but perhaps not as quickly as it should be. It is improving, but not necessarily in a linear fashion. Despite this, the balance is good compared to many other industries. In my course, there were about 30% women students, which was a record high. However, the previous year, only about 3% of the students were women, which was quite low. This shows that there is still work to be done to encourage girls and young women to pursue careers in traditionally male-dominated fields, and this effort needs to start at an early age.

Not all jobs require a degree, but you must be well prepared if you are considering going to university. This means considering your entry requirements as early as age 13. I attended an academically rigorous high school that encouraged students of all genders to take challenging courses. I never felt discouraged from pursuing any subject due to my gender. However, I know that the perception that certain subjects are only for boys still exists and needs to be addressed.

Another point I would like to add is that in the workplace, it is important to create an environment where women feel comfortable working and respected by their peers.

Morna’s two cents for young graduates planning to build a career in CFD:

If you are interested, apply for a job position despite the lack of skills mentioned in the job description. You can always learn the necessary skills on the job.
Gaining work experience through internships or temporary jobs can increase the chances of being hired full-time compared to inexperienced candidates.
You are valuable! Ensure the job is suitable for you, and advocate for important conditions.

To learn more about Morna, connect with her on LinkedIn.

At Cadence, our commitment is towards establishing an inclusive workspace where women feel empowered to achieve their professional best. Anchored by our One Cadence—One Team ethos, we take pride in fostering a community where our driven, devoted, and skilled women employees excel, making exceptional contributions to our customers, communities, and one another.

Morna Baillie is currently working on testing and pre-sales of the Celsius EC solver from the comfort of her home while also being able to take out some time for rock climbing. If you too are interested in excelling at work while maintaining a work-life balance, check out the job listings at Cadence 'A Great Place For Women to Work' by clicking the button below.

Read the previous editions of the Women in CFD series -