Today we celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science by highlighting Stephanie Boxel and her journey at StellarNet. In this short Q&A, Stephanie shares her path, insights, and passion for applying spectroscopy to real-world challenges.
Can you tell us a little about yourself? Who are you?
I’m Stephanie Boxel – I’ve been with StellarNet for 9 years now, and I recently took on the role of Director of Sales and Marketing. I’ve been working hand in hand with the marketing team for the past few years and am looking forward to pushing our sales and marketing teams to the next level! In my spare time, you can find me riding my bicycle (I rode across the state of Florida last year!) Or taking my dog, Relish, on a nice walk.
It’s “International Day of Women in Science”- Can you tell us about your Scientific Journey?
Of course! I’ve always been interested in science – my science classes were always my favorite throughout grade and middle school. In high school I was able to take physics and we did a lot of hands-on experiments. During the spring semester we built solar marshmallow cookers and in the fall we built mouse-trap cars – my car went the furthest of all of the classes! That physics class pushed me to getting my bachelor’s in Physics at Loyola University Chicago.
How did you find StellarNet if you were living in Chicago?
While I was living in Chicago, I was visiting the Tampa Bay Area frequently as I had a handful of friends move to the area throughout the years. I decided to make a big move across the country and began looking for jobs in Tampa. I came across StellarNet and by chance, they were going to be exhibiting at PittCon the next week after I reached out. I went to the conference and met the team. It was a great fit and 3 weeks later I moved to Tampa!
In your words… what makes StellarNet different?
Something that makes StellarNet unique is that we are engineer-owned and operated. We don’t have shareholders so we answer to the customer instead. I joke that we are the ‘hipsters’ of spectroscopy. We are very solution oriented – we’ve done a lot of custom work for a lot of our end-users – from custom software to full custom systems (like the StellarSCOPE AM/PA).
What do you like about spectroscopy?
Every day it seems like we come across a new interesting application for our instruments. Spectroscopy is so interesting because it really can be used in every industry. One day I can be talking to someone from NASA about using a spectrometer in space (the BLUE-Wave has been there!) and then later that same day talking to someone in the lighting industry in Hollywood. I love being able to be a small part in new scientific discoveries and hopefully making the world a better place.
Thank you, Stephanie, for sharing your story and for the expertise and dedication you bring to our team every day. We’re proud to celebrate you—and all women whose work continues to shape the future of science and engineering.
