Scientist thrives in Miss. environment

Clarion Ledger.com: Scientist thrives in Miss. environment
All her life, Melissa Pringle has been surrounded by strong, determined women.

Her grandmother, Edna Thomas Lobrano, worked as a bookkeeper at Perry Automotive and John Deere in Centreville at a time when most women stayed home and tended to domestic affairs.

Lobrano recently passed away at age 98.

"She was a really strong, feisty woman. She even carried a small derringer in her purse," exclaimed Pringle, laughing. "She was tough!"

Lobrano's tenacity was passed on to her daughter, Jacqueline Lobrano Gordon, a retired medical technologist in Meridian, and eventually her granddaughter, who today is vice president and senior principal scientist at Eco-Systems Inc. in Jackson.

Born in Oxford and reared in Meridian, Pringle had dreams of becoming a doctor like her father. Her interest changed when she enrolled at Millsaps College and was introduced to environmental science by professor Sarah Armstrong.

"I shifted from pre-med, the study of the human body, to the environment as a whole," she said. "I'm fascinated by the interconnectedness of science in all aspects of life. It's like a puzzle, and you have to put all the pieces together."

Upon graduation from Millsaps, Pringle began her graduate studies in oceanography and coastal sciences at Louisiana State University, where she met another influential mentor, professor Margaret Reams.

Pringle conducted her post-doctoral fellowship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C., in 1998, which also happened to be the International Year of the Ocean.

Pringle launched her consulting career in southern California. Though she enjoyed her work, she missed Mississippi.

"It was time for me to come on home and apply what I learned here," she said.

Eco-Systems, an environmental engineering and consulting firm, has been Pringle's professional home for 12 years.

There, she specializes in policy and management with a focus on natural and coastal resources. She currently serves on the Gulf of Mexico's Action Plan's Resilience Group and assisted in the development of the five-year resiliency plan for the Gulf.

As Eco-System's sole female senior principal scientist, Pringle said working alongside her colleagues is a rewarding experience.

"Engineers do not think like scientists and men do not think like women, but you learn from different viewpoints," she said. "There are times when we may not see eye to eye, but we always try meet in the middle."

At home, Pringle is a wife and mother of three children ages 4, 6 and 15.

She wants to instill in them the same strong-willed determination shown by their trailblazing great-grandmother.

"I can teach my children that hard work pays off," she said. "You can be hardcore and hardworking, but also have the passion and compassion that makes you relatable ... that makes you real."