Sep 02, 2026
Duffield Engineering
Michelle Walther ’15, M.Eng. ’16
For Michelle Walther ’15, M.Eng. ’16, what initially seemed like a specialized interest—cellular and tissue engineering—provided skills that helped set her apart in her career. As an M.Eng. student, Walther worked on a project that studied nerve regeneration using a drug-delivery system tested on a rat model. When she entered the medical device industry as a Scientist II at Becton Dickinson (BD), she found that her cellular-engineering background was relatively uncommon among colleagues focused primarily on mechanical devices and platforms. That difference became an advantage, allowing her to contribute to projects that bridge engineering and biology, including her current work on products devoted to cancer research and identification.
Her Cornell training also gave her an opportunity to take on responsibility early in her career. When moving into an entry-level engineer position at BD in their Specimen Management department, Walther was given the responsibility of leading product verification for a joint venture project, which exceeded the typical expectations for someone at her level. She successfully led the project and was promoted within a year. She credits her Cornell degree and the skills demonstrated during her interviews with convincing her managers that she was ready for the challenge.
