Welcome

Welcome to the SWE Region i blog for FY2009! I am very excited to share with you the latest news from your fellow SWE sections as well as from the National and Regional SWE organizations. The blog is under construction but feel free to check us out!

May Hot Topic: Planning for the Year Ahead

Wendy: It is important to have a transitional meeting with old and new officers so that information and tips can be passed on.  Many sections do this as a large group and many have the officers meet one on one with their replacements.
 
Kristina: The University of Colorado had an all day officer training event.  They used the CLCC for training in the morning and then in the afternoon old and new officers met and passed on information.
 
Wendy: One thing that can help with the transition from year to year is keeping good records of what has been done in the past.  Many schools have binders associated with each position that they pass on.  Other schools store their files electronically.  It is very important that all passwords, etc. are passed on.  A group e-mail account can help to record the section’s communication history.
 
Sarah (new University of Colorado President): it was very beneficial to meet in person with the old offices instead of just being handed a bunch of old files.  The old officers were able to walk us through the files.
 
Wendy: You will also probably want to have a planning meeting either now or in the Fall with all the new officers.  At this meeting you can brainstorm ideas, set goals for the year, plan out the schedule for the semester.  At WashU we try to set all the dates of each event and meeting so as not to interfere with freshmen exams and then pass out handouts with the dates at our first meeting so students can mark their calanders in advance.
 
Kristina: invite your faculty advisor and SWE Couselor to your planning meeting.  They have been around for a while and often know what’s been tried before and what works and what doesn’t.
 
Wendy: Another resource is the CLCC.  As Kristina mentioned they can help with your officer transition meeting as well as with planning for the year.  Contact Gretchen (gretchen.gonzales@gmail.com) if you are interesting in having the CLCC work with your section (for FREE).  They are also a great resource in terms of attracting new members.  The CLCC can do a module on SWE and the requirements of being a section as well as provide your members with an overview of the structure of the entire organization and the resources it provides to all members.  More information about the CLCC and the modules they offer can be found on the Collegiate Leadership Coaching Community on My SWE Communities.
 
Wendy: Something else to start thinking about is WE09.  It is in mid-October this year and may require some planning and coordination over the summer.  It is in Long Beach, CA and so will be expensive.  You will need to coordinate flights, ground transportation, and hotel rooms.  Flights seem to be relatively inexpensive right now and I would recommend reserving a block of rooms (you can cancel them later if need be).  The conference website (http://we09.swe.org) is up and has promotional materials in the “toolkit” section.  Volunteer registration is also open and won’t be available for long (if you volunteer your registration is free).  Also, if you look in the “toolkit” section of last year’s site (http://we08.swe.org) you’ll find some fundraising materials.

University of Nebraska, Lincoln: Casino Night

by Dana Tabor
University of Nebraska, Lincoln

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln SWE recently collaborated with eight other student groups, SHPE, AlChE, BMES, NAHB, GCA, ITE, ASME, and IEEE, to put on a Casino Night for students in the college. On March 25^th a classroom in Othmer Hall was turned into a temporary casino as about fifty students from the college gathered to play blackjack, poker, and roulette. Students played for tickets to enter in the raffle to win prizes like gift cards and even an iPod shuffle.

Fabulous prizes aside, Casino Night was an opportunity for students to meet people from other years and majors. For sophomore Computer Engineering student Alex Habrock the Casino Night was a way to do just that, “I was able to meet people from around the college who are not usually in my classes in a fun and relaxed setting.”

The event was also a testament to how successful teamwork amongst student groups can be; when everyone contributes a little the result is much more than the sum of its parts. The SWE officers hope that the collaboration experienced at Casino Night is just a taste of what is to come for future events.

Dana Tabor (Dana dot Tabor at huskers dot unl dot edu) also serves as secretary of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln section. 

Hot Topic: Preparing to end the SWE Year

Jessica Nayes, the Region H Regional Collegiate Newsletter Editor did such a good job on this topic that we’ve linked to her post: Preparing to End the SWE Year.

Highlights from her post: 

May 1: Nominate a SWE Future Leader (freshman or sophomore showing high potential in SWE) by this date Nomination form  
May 15: SWE Region Programming Excellence Awards for “Managing Across the Generations” due More info and nomination form
May 10: Final quarter report due to Wendy, Region i Collegiate Representative 
June 30: Annual and Financial Reports due online (see Jessica’s how-to on SWE Communities to get it)
July 1: Multiple SWE Section Awards packet due  More info and awards packets

And as always, don’t forget to transition your role to the next “generation” of SWE leaders!

Collegiate Senator Elections!

Did you receive a letter from SWE at your dorm/apartment/residence? The letter contains a code that you need to log into a certain website to vote for the Collegiate Senator. If you have not receive it yet, SWE has sent it to the address you specified on your SWE Member Directory. (The Member Directory is currently down, but will be back up on April 15, 2009 if you are not sure which address you chose). 

The two candidates are as follows: 

Kristina Wang
Kristina current serves as the FY09 President for the I051: University of Colorado, Boulder section. See her video below:

Andrea Ham
Andrea current serves as the FY09 President for the I052: Colorado School of Mines section. See her video below:

Choose wisely. Best of luck to both candidates!

March Hot Topic: National Opportunities for Collegiates

by Islin Moy 
Region Collegiate Newsletter Editor, Region i

A variety of national opportunities are available for any collegiate (or professional) in the Society of Women Engineers–to go wherever your interests lies. This does not matter if you are a member or president of your section. 

National Committees

A good place to start is as a member of a national committee. All you need to do is email the committee chair that you are interested in seeing what the committee does, and if you are interested, see what your role can be. If you are going to a National Conference, there are committee meetings earlier in the week, but you can also schedule a brief (20 minute) meeting with the committee chair if you arrive later. To see last year’s WE08 National Conference schedule of committee meetings, please click on this link. The degree of involvement is completely up to you, as well as the hours each month you wish to dedicate. You can also have exposure to SWE leadership, and see if that may be a path you wish to take. 

A list of committees, their descriptions, and chairs are available to view on the committees list of the Society of Women Engineers Leadership page. You can contact these SWE members any time of the year via email. 

Regional Committees and Leadership

Another way is to bring the Region Conference to your school. As Region Conference Chair, you will be leading your own team to make the conference not only possible–but a memorable event that everyone will remember. Kristi Tanouye was this year’s Region Conference Chair, and the conference was hosted at Washington University in St. Louis. 

You can also become Region Collegiate Representative, and the time commitment is approximately two to four hours a week (with significantly more time leading up to National and Regional conferences). Your duties would include: 

• Vital collegiate voice within the Region and to Region leaders in SWE. 
• Serves on Region Council as the voting collegiate member for the region. 
• Serves on the Region Collegiate Team working to make sure collegiate and section interest and concerns are discussed among the region leadership and plans are made to improve the region collegiate experience. 
• Prepares the Collegiate Report to the Governor 3 times a year after collecting Collegiate Section Reports.  In regions with 2 RCRs sections will be split between the 2.
• Leads the Collegiate sections of the Region meeting at the National and Regional Conferences.
• Works with other RCRs and RCNEs on yearly goals to improve the collegiate experience in SWE.
• Attends Collegiate Leadership Forum (CLF) in the summer to receive Leadership and SWE Training. 

If you are more into writing, you can become a Region Collegiate Newsletter Editor! The time commitment is approximately two to four hours a week (with significantly more time leading up to National and Regional conferences, same as with Region Collegiate Representative). Your duties would include:

• Maintain the Region Collegiate Blog, by working with the Region Web Master, Region Governor, RCR and Collegiate Sections.
• Write and Post Monthly Hot Topics on the Blog – Topics could include Membership, Fund raising, Rewarding Members, Program Ideas, etc.  You don’t have to know all the answers there will be resource to help write these.
• Work with Collegiate Sections to get 2 postings/articles a year from each section.
• Serves on the Region Collegiate Team working to make sure collegiate and section interest and concerns are discussed among the region leadership and plans are made to improve the region collegiate experience. 
• Prepares Report to the Governor 3 times a year updating the Governor on the blog, region collegiate team and other happenings.
• Works with other RCRs and RCNEs on yearly goals to improve the collegiate experience in SWE.
• Attends Collegiate Leadership Forum (CLF) in the summer to receive Leadership and SWE Training.   

The regional collegiate representative and newsletter editor positions are elected at the Region Conference, with applications available in December and due in January, depending on when the Region Conference is. 

Regional and National Leadership 

The Regional Collegiate Senator role is uniquely positioned. You will act a link between your region and national issues. You would: 

• The Senator is a vital collegiate voice within the Region and to National leaders in SWE. 
• Serve as the collegiate voice for the region on the National Senate. They will help set the direction for the society working with 2 Professional Senators from the 10 Region, 2 International Senators, and 2 Special Directors. 
• Attend 2 face-to-face Senate meetings at National Conference and in the spring, as well as monthly conference calls.
• Trained with the other Senators

This position is elected, and details for future years’ elections will become available. 

Islin (islinmoy at gmail dot com) also serves as FY09 COR MEGA Issues Task Force Chair. 

2009 AMALTHEA REU Program in Machine Learning, at Florida Institute of Technology, Mid May to Mid July, 2009

We are happy to announce the availability of a research

experience for undergraduates this summer in Central

Florida, namely the 2009 AMALTHEA REU Program. Its

intellectual focus is the theory and applications of

Machine Learning (ML) and is a cooperative effort of

Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne and

University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando. The

program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation

and is held for 10 weeks in the summer, starting in mid

May and ending mid July.

 

We are looking for talented Engineering or Science

undergraduates that are US citizens or permanent

residents and are in good academic standing.

Minorities, women and the disabled are especially

encouraged to apply.

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  MARCH 30

HOW & WHERE TO APPLY:  www.amalthea-reu.org

 

 

Benefits for students:

 

• Exposure to the exciting research area of Machine

Learning (ML) and its applications

 

• Participate in a primer course to familiarize

yourself with ML

 

• Work with experts and experienced researchers in

the field

 

• Participate and contribute to cutting-edge,

ML-related research

 

• Attend industrial visits

 

• Exposure to the research environment of two

universities, FIT and UCF

 

• Travel from and to the summer program as well as

accommodation expenses are covered; student

participants will receive a stipend for per diem

expenses.

 

• Visit Central Florida venues such as the Disney

attractions, NASA’s, Kennedy Space Center

 

• Meet new people and make new friends

 

 

 

For more information please visit our website at

 

http://www.amalthea-reu.org

 

or contact

 

Dr. Georgios C. Anagnostopoulos

AMALTHEA REU Program, Director

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Florida Institute of Technology

150 West University Boulevard

Melbourne, Florida 32901-6975

Tel: (321) 674-7125

Fax: (321) 674-8192

Email: georgio@fit.edu

URL:   http://my.fit.edu/~georgio

NASA Summer Research Program at Carnegie Mellon University, June 6-August 1, 2009

Program Title: NASA Summer Research Program 
Program Dates: June 6- August 1, 2009 
Program Coordinator: Nancy Klancher 
Email: neetha@andrew.cmu.edu 

This program is designed to introduce undergraduate students majoring in engineering, math and science to research opportunities in space-related sciences, both theoretical and experimental. Applications from women and minorities are especially encouraged. Participants in the program receive research experience and mentoring from CMU research faculty, a stipend of approximately $3,000, and housing in a CMU dormitory. To complete the program, participants must submit a written report on their research project. The program must be completed to receive the total amount of the stipend.  Applicants may choose from two space-related research projects. Please review the project descriptions below to see if one fits with your interests and/or any related coursework you have completed.

Projects:
Wetting of Hydrogels by Surfactant Solutions
Principal Investigator, Professor Stephen Garoff, Department of Physics and the Center for Complex Fluids Engineering

“Snake Robots” 
Principal Investigator, Associate Professor Howie Choset, Robotics Institute, and the Medical Robotics Technology Center, the Center for Robotic and Synthetic Performance, and the Space Robotics Initiative.

Application Process:
The program is intended primarily for undergraduates who are in their junior year at the time of application. However, all undergraduates currently enrolled in a U.S. college or university are eligible.  Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or holders of a Green Card indicating their intention to become a citizen.

The deadline for receipt of all materials relating to your application is March 6, 2009. 

Awards will be announced after March 15, 2009.  Selected applicants will be notified by telephone.

To apply, you must print out the application at 
http://www.cmu.edu/uro/NASA%20Summer%20Rsrch%20Pgm%20APPLICATION%20FORM_2009.pdf 

Fll it out and mail it to:
Office of Graduate Education
Carnegie Mellon University 
Warner Hall, Room 530B
5000 Forbes Avenue 
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

February Hot Topic: Getting People Out When It’s Cold

by Islin Moy
FY09 Region Collegiate Newsletter Editor, Region i

When I was staring blankly at this month’s hot topic, I realized it was time for help. 

me: What does SWE mean by “Getting People Out When it’s Cold?” 
lmuniste:  A health piece. Something about exercise? 
me: Possibly? We’ve written a bit about events, so perhaps a continuation of that? 
lmuniste: I don’t know.
me: Me neither.  

Local Events

After some further thought, there are a variety of things to do in your local area right by your college (or inside of it!) with your SWE-isters! Google the follow terms and the town you live in or where you have a close proximity (for example: Denver art gallery): 

• Art museum
• Art gallery
• History museum
• Science museum
• Skating rink
• Sledding hill (I kid you not: Sledriding.com)
• Independent bookstores (Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and now Things I’ve Been Silent About visited the local Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver)
• Events (a treasure trove for the unashamed natives) 
• Discounted symphony and orchestra tickets for students 
• Swing dancing

The list goes on. I invite to add your own by commenting on this post. 

Last thoughts on the cold…

Also, if you find that you move slower in the winter outside, the Society of American Military Engineers paper on The Effects of Cold Weather on Productivity  has an explanation for that too, complete with nomographs to find out your decrease in efficiency. And remember, if you are griping about the cold, be happy that it isn’t 1709 (New Scientist). 

Islin (islinmoy at gmail dot com) also serves as FY09 COR MEGA Issues Task Force Chair. 

Congratulations to the FY10 RCR and RCNE for Region i and the winner of the conference bid is…

by Islin Moy
FY09 Regional Collegiate Newsletter Editor, region i 

Congratulations to this year’s new collegiate leadership for Region i! The FY10 RCR is Katrina “Kati” Keilholz with the FY10 RCNE being Emily Miller! Both are from the University of Missouri. Region i is happy to have you represent us in the upcoming fiscal year!  They were voted in during the Collegiate Business Meeting on February 7, 2009 at the Region i Regional Conference at Washington University at St. Louis. 

University of Missouri will also be the host for next year’s Region i Conference! Great prep work and keep it up!

January Hot Topic: Making the most of Regional Conference & Preparing Future Leaders (revisited)

Kristina: Send mostly underclassmen to region conference and encourages them in the future to consider positions such as RCR, RCNE, etc.

Wendy: RCR/NE must be at least a sophomore, junior. Must be a paid SWE member (nationally) for at least two years.

Kate: My biggest advice is to have a post-conference meeting with those who attend from your section. This gives you time to discuss what you learned, succession planning, and how you can implement ideas in your section. 

Wendy:  It is a good idea to send section officers to the Collegiate Leadership Coaching Committee presentations to gain info on improving your section.  In the past my section has encouraged members to attend these sessions and/or current officers have attended them with potential future officers.  We have also sent people to different sections to take notes that can then be shared with everyone later.

Wendy: It is also good to encourage all freshmen and sophomores that have shown potential to attend the regional conference. Often just telling them you think they should attend is enough to make them consider the idea.

Wendy: One of the biggest opportunities regional conference provides is the opportunity to network with members of other SWE sections.  It is good to encourage members to talk with members of other sections.  You may also want to brief your members attending on the section practices/issues you want more info/advice on.