Designing
woman
Christine Gagnon Piper ’86,
M ’88
Spring 2005
Chris Piper came to Clemson
from Massachusetts in the early 1980s to study architecture. While
a design student, she
took courses in construction
science and management, which gave her an appreciation for materials
and methods as well as designing with budgetary limitations.
When she finished her degree in design, she went on to earn a master’s
degree in building science and management. In fact, she was the first
female to do so.
Being female in a male-dominated field didn’t slow her down.
She joined Fluor Daniel as a project controls engineer, with projects
including chemical plants/process lines, industrial plants, a pharmaceutical
plant and a prison.
Piper began teaching at Clemson as visiting lecturer in 1992 while
on loan from Fluor Daniel. She later returned to teaching full time.
She’s also working on her Ph.D. at the University of South Australia.