Distinguished Engineer Citations

Charlyn G. Plunk 

Distinguished Engineer

2024

Degree

B.S. Petroleum Engineer - Texas Tech University 1992

M.S. Industrial Engineering - Texas Tech University 1995

Citation

At time of Nomination in 2024

Charlyn Plunk is an engineer, wife and mother of 3 children, and a passionate advocate for STEM education.   She has work as an engineer for 25 years in various roles and companies and is passionate to help inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and mathematicians. 

She began her career with Texaco E&P in west Texas after graduating from Texas Tech University in 1992 with a Petroleum Engineering degree.  At Texaco, Charlyn was responsible for the production and reservoir analysis for the Dean, XIT and Southwest Levelland units with total production of 5,000 BOE/day.  

After going back to school to get her masters degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas Tech in 1995, she went to work for Texas Instruments in Mckinney, Texas.  She worked as an Ergonomic Engineer until Raytheon acquired the defense sector of TI.  After the acquisition, Charlyn became the Environmental, Health and Safety Manager for the Spring Creek, Texas facility along with the Top Secret DoD programs in the North Texas.  During this time, she was responsible for the environmental compliance, health and safety of 1,500 employees which included training, safety inspections and audits, lost time intervention programs and EHS policy, compliance and strategic planning.  

In 2001, after Charlyn had her first child, she decided to start her own company so she could have more flexibility for her family.  During this time, she joined Junior League of Collin County and quickly got involved with an exploratory committee looking into the viability of a community science center in the Collin County area.  After 2 more kids and 5 years of strategic planning, meetings with community leaders, branding and fundraising, in 2008, Charlyn open the first children's science center in Collin County located in Frisco, Texas.  The Sci-Tech Discovery Center provides dynamic, educational experiences that inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to embrace discovery and innovation through the active exploration of science, math and technology.  The center hosts over 50,000 people every year, inspiring them with innovative exhibits and programming.  Since opening, Charlyn has served on the Board of Directors as the BOD chair and Development chair responsible for raising $500k during her term and the Brainiac Bowl Gala chair for 3 years raising over $250k for the center.  

In October 2015, Charlyn became the Chief STEM Advisor for the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas and their STEM Center of Excellence, Camp Whispering Cedars, which opened in South Dallas the summer of 2016.   She is heading up the STEM Advisory Council made up of community STEM experts and leads strategic planning, community impact studies, and girl and troop programming.  This facility and corresponding programming throughout Northeast Texas hosts girls from ages 5-18 focusing on environmental science, biomedical science, robotics, engineering and astronomy.

Charlyn is currently chairing the steering committee for the Sci-Tech Discovery Center studying the feasibility of turning the science center into the only children's museum in the North Texas area. She is also on the Texas Tech Robotics Initiative Committee, which started April 2023 and is moving quickly to offer an interdisciplinary minor in Robotics starting fall 2024 and a MS in Robotics and a Central Robotics Institute by 2029.  

She served on the Texas Tech Industrial Engineering Industrial Advisory Board, is a member of the Texas Tech IMSE Academy and currently serves as the President for the Whitacre College of Engineering Dean's Council.  She serves on several philanthropic Boards including Sci-Tech Discovery Center, Girl Scouts, Treasured Vessels Foundation and Special Forces Foundation.

Charlyn is a third generation Techsan and grateful for her husband of 30 years, Jake, and her 3 amazing children Branson, Tatum and Cortlyn.  She is an avid community volunteer, tennis player, golfer, world traveler and adventure seeker.