Conference Session

Using Teams, Seminars & Research Opportunities for Retention

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carolyn Vallas, University of Virginia; Anaïs Miodek, University of Virginia; Larry Richards, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

society. Although laboratory research represents some of the real-life applications ofengineering concepts, it is not a core component of many engineering programs. As a study fromArizona State University indicates, this lack of classroom exposure to the professional reality ofengineering careers serves as a deterrent to students and graduates.4 In order to give engineeringstudents a balanced view of engineering, laboratory experience should be included tocomplement their academic classroom experience. This hands-on component of engineeringeducation can provide an important motivation for otherwise unenthusiastic students to stay inthe field and even excel.According to demographic data, groups that are traditionally underrepresented in

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Recruiting Women

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ann Beheler, Collin County Community College

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

technical fields. Thetarget audience for the event includes middle schools girls, together with one or more of theirparents, their teachers, and their counselors. Attendance is limited by the number of computersavailable in a small to medium-sized laboratory (ideally 20 or less) so that attendees may receiveindividual attention. Each element of the recruitment event is designed for a specific purposethat aligns with a best practice to encourage more women to participate in STEM subjects.Introduction The National Science Foundation awarded a four-year, $2,469,000 grant in 2004 toestablish a Regional Center for Convergence Technology (CTC) in North Texas. The award wasmade to a group of three colleges: Collin County Community College as the

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Recruiting Women

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Emma Seiler, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

Carbide Laboratory, and the High Voltage Laboratory. Page 11.1337.3Participant SelectionTo attend WISE Women, participants must have completed the ninth, tenth, or eleventh grade.A total of 30 girls are selected to attend. They must fill out an application that includes math andscience activities, grade point average, ACT score, transcripts, teacher recommendations, and anessay. Most participants are from Mississippi, although there have been a few from other statesin the region. Some participants know very little about engineering, while others know whatengineering is in general, but not about the specific disciplines.To advertise the program

Conference Session

Climate Issues for Women Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Litzler, University of Washington; Sheila Edwards Lange, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

implications of these findings?Conceptual FrameworkThe conceptual framework utilized to guide the research is built off previous research. Theexpectation is that multiple factors affect ones overall perception of climate. Classroomexperiences, laboratory experiences, relationships with faculty, degree of professionaldevelopment, and work/family balance are all factors which impact climate. Climate then has Page 11.480.3effects on the retention of students, but especially women students. This paper focuses in onclassroom experiences and faculty relationships since those are the most obvious way in whichthe context of education is different for

Conference Session

International and Sustainability Perspectives and Women in Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela Bielefeldt, University of Colorado-Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

topurchase portable water quality analysis equipment. This student completed a laboratory researchcomponent to learn and evaluate the robustness of a microbial water quality indicator test. Allthree students worked with a team of other students and a professional mentor on the EWBproject, and traveled internationally to their community over the course of the project experience.Of the two women and one male student mentored by Prof. Bielefeldt, one is now pursuing aMaster’s degree and the other two are working in the engineering profession. Two are stillinvolved with EWB projects.In December 2005 a written survey of 110 questions on the learning outcomes from working onthese EWB/Independent Study projects was e-mailed to the three students who worked

Conference Session

1st Year Retention Programs for Women Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Whitney Edmister, Virginia Tech; Amanda Martin, Virginia Tech; Bevlee Watford, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

creating a supportive and cohesiveenvironment for the Hypatia women. The women are block scheduled for their first semester atVirginia Tech, meaning that they will be among at least ten other Hypatia students in all of theirengineering, science and math related classes (chemistry and chemistry laboratory, calculus,engineering education, and linear algebra). Placing the students in classes together, creates amore comfortable environment by reducing the sense of isolation for the women and naturallyfacilitates the formation of study groups and collaboration on group projects and reports.Another feature of the program that helps to create a supportive environment along withproviding personal and professional development for the students is team

Conference Session

International and Sustainability Perspectives and Women in Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alicia Abadie, Louisiana State University; Ann Christy, Ohio State University; Marybeth Lima, Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

spouses handle running the home. The social pressures and responsibilities of motherhood greatly exceed those of fatherhood especially in the early years of childhood. It is a solid societal belief in this country that infants need their mothers more than their fathers. This doesn’t change in any way for women who have careers of equal or greater intensity than their husbands.Respondents were asked if they had experienced gender related salary inequities. Eleven percentreported that they had, 78% reported that they had not, and 11% did not respond. When askedabout laboratory space inequities (e.g., the MIT study), 11% of respondents reported that theyhad experienced space inequities, and 89% reported that they had not

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Recruiting Women

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jan DeWaters, Clarkson University; Susan Powers, Clarkson University; Mary Graham, Clarkson University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

materials as fine and coarse aggregates, and measure their compressive strength during afield trip to Clarkson University’s Civil Engineering testing laboratory. The strength results areevaluated, together with additional qualitative criteria, with a matrix approach that demonstratesthe use of a multi-criteria engineering decision making process. Students ultimately select theirbest choice of waste aggregate material and produce their final product. Table 2. Environmental Problem Solving Curriculum: Converting nonbiodegradable solid waste into a usable product 1. Define our problem: Introduction to Problems associated with Solid Waste ‚ Definitions and statistics about solid waste generation, including an

Conference Session

Women Faculty Issues and NSF's ADVANCE program

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Catherine Pieronek, University of Notre Dame

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

. Medicalleave ensures that a new mother has time to recover from her pregnancy and care for her newchild and, at the same time, protects her from other disadvantages she might suffer if pregnancywere treated differently. As the 2004 GAO Report notes, for example, “relief from teachingduties [to deal with family issues such as the birth of a child] may benefit male faculty more thanfemale faculty. In connection with the arrival of a child, to the extent that male faculty may haveless involvement in caring for newborns, male faculty may use the extra time to do additional Page 11.1066.13research or laboratory work.”12 Thus, while either family or