Archive for October, 2008

Scholarship and Fellowship Opportunities from the American Society of Engineering Education

{ October 31, 2008 @ 9:32 am } · { Uncategorized }
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Scholarship and fellowship opportunitiesfor STEM field students from the American Society for Engineering Education.  Funding is available for undergraduate and graduate students, post doctoral researchers, faculty, and those on sabbatical leave.  For more specifics on each agencies funding interest, please see each program’s synopsis below and visitwww.asee.org/fellowships. 

Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program.   The purpose is to promote the education, recruitment and retention of outstanding undergraduate and graduate students in science, mathematics, and engineering studies; the DoD is also interested in supporting the education of future scientists and engineers in a number of interdisciplinary areas. Scholarships awarded include a cash award, full tuition, required fees, and a book allowance.  The SMART Program will allow individuals to acquire an education in exchange for a period of employment with the Department of Defense. The program is intended for citizens of the United States; students must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible for an award.  Application open and the deadline is December 15, 2008.  For information and to apply online, go to http://www.asee.org/smart

The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program (NDSEG). The fellowship program is sponsored by the Army Research Office, Office of Naval Research, Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program. This program is intended for U.S. citizens at or near the beginning of their doctoral studies in science or engineering programs. The fellowships are for three year tenures and include full tuition and fees, a competitive stipend, and a health insurance allowance. The application deadline is January 5, 2009.  Go to:http://www.asee.org/ndseg for applications and detailed program information. 

The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). For U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent resident aliens at or near the beginning of their graduate studies, this program offers a stipend of $30,000 a year for three years and a $10,500 cost of education allowance and a one-time $1,000 travel allowance.  For application and deadline information, go to: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov. For additional program information, go to: www.nsf.gov/grfp .  Application open and closes early November.

The National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (NSF-EAPSI) Program.  The East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes provide U.S. graduate students in science and engineering first-hand research experience in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore orTaiwan.  Students receive a $5000.00 stipend and international roundtrip airfare. The primary goals of EAPSI are to introduce students to East Asia and Pacific science and engineering in the context of a research setting, and to help students initiate scientific relationships that will better enable future collaboration with foreign counterparts. The institutes last approximately eight weeks from June to August.  Application open and closes December 9, 2008.  For additional program information, go to http://www.nsf.gov/eapsi.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Summer Faculty Research and Sabbatical Leave Program. This program is intended for U.S. citizens who hold teaching or research appointments relating to science and/or engineering at U.S. academic institutions. A competitive stipend, relocation and travel allowances, and a pre-program site visit are offered. Application now open and closes December 5, 2008. Go to: http://www.asee.org/summer.

The Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship Program (SFFP).  This program is intended for US citizens or permanent residents who have an earned doctorate in science or engineering and who hold full-time science or engineering faculty positions at US colleges, community colleges and universities.  The duration of this summer fellowship is from 8 to 12 continuous weeks and research is performed on-site at Air Force laboratories.  There is a competitive weekly stipend, and relocation and daily expense allowances are available for those who qualify.  The application is now open and closes November 21, 2008.  To apply online, go to: http://www.asee.org/sffp .

The Navy Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs.  This program is open to US citizens and legal permanent residents and offers a competitive stipend as well as insurance, relocation, and travel allowances.  Locations include Navy Research Lab (NRL) and Naval Surface Warfare Center/ Indian Head.  This program offers one to three year postdoctoral fellowships designed to increase the involvement of scientists and engineers from academia and industry to scientific and technical areas of interest and relevance to the Navy.  This program has a rolling admission.  Go to: http://www.asee.org/nrl/ .

The Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program (NREIP). NREIP is a ten week summer research opportunity for undergraduate Juniors & Seniors, and Graduate students, under the guidance of a mentor, at a participating Navy Laboratory. The stipend amounts for the program are $5,500 for undergraduate students and $6,500 for graduate students. U.S. citizenship required; Permanent residents accepted at certain labs (Please see website for details.) The application opens October 15, 2008 and must be completed by January 12, 2009. Go to: http://www.asee.org/nreip.

The Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP). SEAP is an eight week summer research opportunity at participating ONR laboratories for high school student who have completed at least grade 9, must be 16 years of age for most Laboratories, and a U.S. citizen. A graduating Senior is eligible to apply. The stipend for the summer program is $1,500 for new students; $1,550 for returning students. The application opens October 15, 2008 and must be completed by January 26, 2009. Go to http://www.asee.org/seap.

NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program.  The purpose of this NASA program is to help advance the nation’s aeronautics enterprise by investing in the educational development of the future aeronautics workforce and to provide opportunities to attract highly motivated undergraduate and graduate students to aeronautics and related fields. Scholarships awarded include competitive stipend payments anticipated amount for undergrad up to $15,000 and up to $35,000 for graduate. There is an option to attend a summer internship (up to $10,000 per summer) at a participating NASA Research Center. The undergraduate program is open to U.S. citizens, and applicants should have completed their sophomore year of college by fall of 2009, and should be in good standing at an accredited college or university. The graduate program is open to U.S. citizens, the applicants should be accepted or enrolled in an accredited program, and remain in good academic standing at their respected college or university. Application is now open and closes January 2009. For more information, contact nasa.asp@asee.org

Colorado State University: SWE Can Do It Race for the Cure

{ October 30, 2008 @ 12:00 am } · { Collegiate Events }
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by Christina Watanuki
Colorado State University

Standing amongst the crowd of thousands of supporters adorned in pink were members of Colorado State University’s Society of Women Engineers (SWE). As a firm believer in breast cancer research and being impacted directly by women who survived as well as lost the battle to cancer, I have participated in the Komen Race for the Cure for many years. The SWE motto “SWE can do it” sparked an idea that will hopefully continue to grow in future years.

I thought to myself, where does the cure come from and how can SWE enhance the possibility of it becoming a reality? Chemical engineers, biomedical engineers, math, science, women, financial support, and research were some ways that came to my mind. Being a female automatically puts a person at much greater risk for breast cancer, being an engineer greatly enhances a person’s ability to develop the methods for a cure. What better place to find female engineers then in my SWE section? I then decided to start a team with fellow SWE members and began seeking out more team members and financial supporters. 

Early Saturday morning of October 5, 2008 seven students wearing CSU SWE t-shirts stood shoulder to shoulder with strangers of all stages and areas of life coming together for one amazing cause. The start of the race was marked with the National Anthem, tears streaming down faces, survivor t-shirts worn by those who have fought and are fighting, and family members wearing signs of remembrance for those who lost. The gun went off and hand-in-hand we began our fight. At this time in our lives, many students are not able to develop a cure but SWE can do it through financial and emotional support while spreading words of encouragement that there are female engineers dedicated to fighting for those who no longer can.

Financial support came from student members of SWE at CSU, professional SWE advisors, career liaisons in the engineering department, family members, friends and even the company we ordered our t-shirts from. It is the hope of CSU’s section of SWE that Racing for the Cure will become an ongoing tradition not only for CSU but for every section of SWE in Colorado. Next year more planning and preparation will go into this event, including organizing a state wide team of SWE members, both students and professionals.  It is important in the eyes of our SWE section that volunteering and outreach opportunities go not only to benefit our students and those in our community but the nation and world at large. Participating in the fight for a breast cancer cure is one small way that SWE members at Colorado State University hope to make a difference.

Christina Watanuki (watanuki at engr dot colostate dot edu) also serves as secretary for the Colorado State University section. 

Colorado School of Mines: Evening with Industry

{ October 27, 2008 @ 11:47 pm } · { Collegiate Events }
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Tables from above before the event. Courtesy of Brandy Laudig

Tables from above before the event. Courtesy of Brandy Laudig

 by Fallon Donohue
submitted by Brandy Laudig
Colorado School of Mines

On the evening of September 8th, approximately 360 Colorado School of Mines SWE members, CSM faculty, and company representatives from across the nation shuffled their way into Friedhoff Hall for the largest “Evening With Industry” (EWI) ever held.

As the 16th annual Evening With Industry, it has become a tradition for our section to host a networking dinner the night before the Career Fair providing our student members with the opportunity to connect with company representatives before the busy day of the Career Fair. Many students made connections with representatives from over 50 companies as talk of possible internship and job opportunities enveloped the networking hour.

We were lucky to welcome Kristy Schloss, the President of Schloss Engineered Equipment, Inc., as our keynote speaker for the evening. She gave an incredible and inspiring speech that touched on her personal experiences, and situations encountered by women she had mentored, that demonstrated to our members that their struggles, while significant, were not uncommon. With the networking hour, dinner, and the speech all done, not to mention countless hours of preparation from our executive board, the night came to a successful close.Eryn Ammerman (Awards Chair) and Andrea Ham (President) enjoying themselves at the event. Courtesy Brandy Laudig

A company representative mentioned to me after the program, “That was a great dinner, a wonderful speech, and you can count on us coming back next year; we had a great time tonight.”Finishing on time, our guests left satisfied, but were even more content knowing that they could make it home in time to see the kick-off for the Bronco-Raiders Monday Night Football game (or maybe finish their homework).

Fallon Donohue (fdonohou at mines dot edu) is the current FY09 vice president for the Colorado School of Mines section and has previously served as the event treasurer. Brandy Laudig (brandy dot laudig at gmail dot com) also serves as the photographer and webmaster for the section. 


 

 

Colorado School of Mines: Kick-Off Barbeque

{ October 22, 2008 @ 11:20 pm } · { Collegiate Events }
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Courtesy of Brandy Laudig

by Andrea Ham
submitted by Brandy Laudig
Colorado School of Mines

The SWE Kick-off BBQ on August 26th, was a huge success. Our faculty advisor, Candy Sulzbach estimated “we had about 500 there and it looked like everyone really enjoyed it!” Xcel energy brought awesome representatives and sponsored loads of yummy food for the attendees that filled Stratton Commons. Everyone had a chance to meet the new officers, get a “taste” of SWE, and practice networking with company reps. This is our biggest SWE-awareness event and the freshman turnout was spectacular. Only one week into school and this year is already shaping up to be full of participation across the board. Look forward to more fantastic SWE events as we LEAP into SWE 08 – 09!

Andrea Ham (aham at mines dot edu) serves as the current FY09 president of the Colorado School of Mines section and has previous served as the treasurer. Brandy Laudig (brandy dot laudig at gmail dot com) also serves as the webmaster and photographer for the section. 

SWE Collegiate Leadership Coaching Modules

{ October 21, 2008 @ 9:56 pm } · { Best Practices }
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Updated October 2008

Please contact Callie Baker (crbaker1 at gmail dot com), our Collegiate Leadership Coaching Lead for Region i, for more information. These modules are presented free of charge to you. All you need is to have a free weekend, and the Collegiate Leadership Coaches will work with you to best develop your section and solve challenges!

Learning Leadership Styles

This module contains a brief overview of different leadership theories, leadership types and situations where leadership can be effectively applied.  It is best given to a group of young leaders or students who are thinking of assuming larger roles in SWE.

 

Value of Diversity

This module provides a forum to discuss diversity in engineering and in SWE.  It discusses what diversity is and how to respond to questions regarding diversity as well as statistics that provide a frame of reference for the diversity of the engineering profession. 

 

Fund Development

This module is ideal for SWE sections that fundraise to support meetings, conferences and other expenses.  This module is broad enough that it encompasses fundraising for meeting all the way up to securing funds for members to attend the SWE National Conference.  From getting organized with your fundraising needs to creating a corporate packet, this module provides a great introduction into the art of fundraising.

 

Building Membership

After this module is presented, the participants will have information and tools to develop a plan to increase their membership through recruitment and retention initiatives.  Upon completion of this module, participants should

-       Understand why people join organizations

-       Be prepared to develop a recruitment and retention plan for her/his SWE section

-       Gain ideas for how to target new member and retain members

-       Be able to personally recruit new members.

 

Effective Personal Communication

This module is designed to give an overview of personal communication.  It deals with email, face to face and phone communication.  It is highly effective if the crowd participates and asks questions.  It can be geared toward the workplace or students striving for a job.  Some of the highlights include a proper way to shake hands and how to leave a voice mail.

 

Strategic and Tactical Planning

This module will help the section plan for the future.  The strategic plan will help the section align its objectives with the national organization’s objectives.  The tactical plan will discuss the importance of a plan this year.

 

Nuts and Bolts of SWE

This module presents information on the structure of the section, SWE bylaws, section responsibilities, officer responsibilities, how to write SWE reports, and where to go for help.

 

Effective Planning and Advertising

This module is designed to give helpful hints for planning events from large conferences to monthly meetings.  This module will also discuss the importance of advertising.

Building Teams: Here Today!

The Team Building Module defines what a team is compared to a group, discusses the phases of developing a team, teaming strategies, effective team traits, and how to continue to develop the team in the future.  This module describes forming, storming, norming, and performing as the cycle of building a team.

 

Conflict Resolution

The Conflict Resolution Module explains six steps to conflict resolution, describing conflict types and characteristics as a basis for understanding.

 

Fund Development

The Fund Development Module is ideal for SWE sections that fundraise to support meetings, conferences and other expenses.  This module is broad enough that it encompasses fundraising for meeting all the way up to securing funds for members to attend the SWE National Conference.  From getting organized with your fundraising needs to creating a corporate packet, this module provides a great introduction into the art of fundraising. 

 

Knowledge and Benefits of SWE

The Knowledge and Benefits of SWE module contains a brief overview of the organization of SWE from the national, regional and local levels.  It provides a common framework and understanding of SWE for participants and is recommended for all persons in SWE leadership positions. 

 

Managing Effective Meetings

The Managing Effective Meetings Module describes the characteristics of effective meetings and introduces the tactics and methods to be employed by meeting facilitators to manage effective meetings.  At the conclusion of this training, participants should:

  • Be familiar with tactics for managing effective meetings
  • Understand the three main SWE meeting types
  • Know how to take effective meeting minutes
  • Be familiar with meeting leader roles, skills and tactics

 

Women in Engineering (From College to Career)

The Women in Engineering (From College to Career) module is designed to help women in SWE understand the differences between college and the real world.  The module gives statistics on diversity in college and in the work force and provides some helpful hints for making the transition from college to career.

Washington University in St. Louis: Evening with Industry

{ October 20, 2008 @ 11:18 pm } · { Collegiate Events }
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by Leslie Abrahams
Washington University in St. Louis 

The Washington University chapter hosted its second annual Evening with Industry on September 17, 2008. Evening with Industry is a formal dinner during which students have the opportunity to sit at a table with a representative from a company and engage in meaningful, in depth conversation. The evening begins with an informational career fair so that students may interact with all of the attending companies. After dinner, the students have the opportunity to learn more about a company by going to an hour-long information session. Invitations to Evening with Industry were distributed to all undergraduate and graduate engineering students at Washington University and there were enough seats for fifty students. Those who were not able to attend the dinner were encouraged to come to the company presentations later in the evening.

Preparation for Evening with Industry began in early May. The president of Wash U’s chapter of SWE, Lisa Skultety, was pleased with the event saying, “Evening with Industry was a huge success–everyone I talked to thought this was a great opportunity to get to know a company they were interested in working for.” We are looking forward to expanding the event for next year by inviting more companies and including more students.

Leslie Abrahams (lsa1 at cec dot wustl dot edu) also serves as secretary of the Washington University in St. Louis Section. 

University of Tulsa: Industry Dinner at the Petroleum Club

{ October 9, 2008 @ 1:11 am } · { Collegiate Events }
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by Jordan Detlaff and Amanda Emnett
 University of Tulsa 

SWE had an Industry Dinner meeting at the Petroleum Club in downtown Tulsa, Tuesday September 16th. We had  20-30 students that got to mingle with four industry members. Most of the industry members were from Conoco-Phillips with an additional representative from the Department of Environmental Health.

In the past, SWE has always held an actual industry dinner but this year the event was changed to a reception setting.  It is always held the day before the University of Tulsa’s Career Fair.  The change in setting was mainly for the purpose of talking on a more personal level with the representatives from different companies.  It was relaxed but informative and we learned a lot about what kind of jobs businesses had available. The food was also stupendous even if it was just cocktail snacks. This made the job fair the next day more interesting to a lot of the students too!

Overall we were very pleased with the turnout since this was our first time holding the event at the Petroleum Club.  We hope that we made a very positive impression on the industry members present so that, in the future, more career fair attendees will come to our reception.

 

 

Leadership Profile: Amanda Emnett, FY09 President of the University of Tulsa Section

{ October 8, 2008 @ 1:06 am } · { Meet the Region }
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Background

I am a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Tulsa.  This summer I worked at Ford Motor Company and also participate in fatigue research on campus.  In my free time I enjoy learning to play the guitar and making chainmail.

Why I love SWE

I love SWE because it empowers women in technical fields.  I also feel like it offers very valuable opportunities on the national level to network and learn about different fields.  At TU it has been an excellent source for information on what being an engineer is like.

SWE Experience

  • TU SWE:  Board member since 2007
  • TU SWE:  Brownie Day
  • TU SWE:  Retreat for High School Girls
  • TU SWE: Member since 2005

Other Activities

  • Tau Beta Pi OKB President
  • IAESTE TU Co-President
  • MEPS (Mechanical Engineers Professional Societies) Board Member
  • Fatigue Research
  • Creep Research

Resources for October Hot Topic: SWE Resources

{ October 8, 2008 @ 12:33 am } · { Best Practices, Hot Topics, Uncategorized }
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When we were looking at this Hot Topic, it threw us into a little bit of a tizzy. SWE Resources? But after a Google search and a few emails, we found some excellent links that you can add to your own section’s website!

SWE All-Together Collegiate News: You should be getting this in your email inbox each month. It contains general information about SWE and collegiate specific topics. 

SWE Communities of Practice (aka MySWE Communities): This is a great resource to check out what is going on nationally and regionally! If you are interested in joining a national committee, or just want to find other SWE members who love knitting, click on “Login” at the website. There is also a “Region i Collegiate Members” community especially for you to join. 

SWE Resources for Outreach Programming and Career Planning: Contains outreach information targeting elementary, middle, and high school kids. Also, the site connects you with female engineers and asks the question of “Is engineering really for me?” (A questions without a definite answer until my junior in engineering).

SWE Scholarships: Offered yearly and due in the early winter or spring, there are scholarships for every engineering or computer science major out there (provided that you have above a 3.0 GPA and your school is on the list of approved schools) from National SWE. Also, don’t forget to check with your local collegiate section and professional section to see if there’s a scholarship there for you! Islin Moy, the FY09 Region Collegiate Newsletter Editor, won the national SWE Jill Tietjen scholarship this year as well as a few others, so if have any questions about scholarships, let her know. 

Section Resources: If your section is ailing (everything from dearth of leadership to new marketing techniques), contact your local Collegiate Leadership Coach Lead, Callie Baker at crbaker1 at gmail dot com.

Do you know about any other great links or resources? Post a comment to this blog or email me at rcne dash i at swe dot org.

Leadership Profile: Heather Conrad, FY09 President of the Wichita State University Section

{ October 5, 2008 @ 12:35 am } · { Meet the Region }
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Background

I am a senior majoring in Industrial Engineering at Wichita State University. In addition to pursuing my Bachelor’s, I just started pursuing my Master’s degree. I am hoping to graduate in May with my BS and December with my MS. I recently finished an internship at Hawker Beechcraft of a year and a half. I also have a part time job as a waitress at Texas Roadhouse. In my free time, what little I do have, I spend time with my husband, family and friends.

 

Why I love SWE

 

SWE is an amazing organization that opens doors for women in engineering. It allows students to see the tremendous amount of opportunities that engineering has. SWE also encourages young women to pursue engineering and has active community involvement.

SWE Experience

  • FY08 Wichita State Section President

Other Activities

  • Institute of Industrial Engineers, Spring 2007-present
  • Alpha Pi Mu, President, Spring 2007-present

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