Girls In Milwaukee Learn About Engineering.

27 Sunday Oct 2013

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From the ASEE aggregator:

On its website, WIHI-TV Milwaukee (10/24, Kacner) reports more than 100 Milwaukee-area middle school students attended an event at Saint Joan Antida High School on Thursday where they learned about engineering. The focus of the event “was on women as engineers.” The students heard from an employee of “GE Healthcare Manufacturing Engineer about what it was like being” an engineer.

I look forward to hearing if this event results in an increase in engineering applications and registrations by women in the future.

APEGBC Council – Opportunities to Influence Change

13 Sunday Oct 2013

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It is with great gratitude that I announce my election to the Council of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC council). From the first conversations with peers as I was considering running in the election, through to the wonderful response by colleagues and connections within the Victoria branch as I was collecting nominating signatures, and finally in the overwhelming votes of confidence by members, I am aware of the support within the profession for women and diversity in engineering.

We will have six women on council this year! What an amazing representation of our future vision for engineering.

The call for increased fairness has been heard. It is time for us to respond.

How nice, too, that the election closed the Friday before the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. How considerate that all candidates were personally contacted and informed before making the results public. For the kindness and support of engineers throughout BC, again, I thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hackbright Academy Places Female Coders In Their Own League.

13 Sunday Oct 2013

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More positive news from the ASEE aggregator:

The San Francisco Chronicle (9/26, Floum) reports on the Hackbright Academy. The academy teaches “women how to program in a supportive, all-female environment.” In its first year, the San Francisco ten-week crash course graduated close to eighty female software engineers. The article notes that “55 women graduated with computer science or related bachelor’s degrees from UC Berkeley, and 27 women graduated with computer science degrees from Stanford in 2012,” according to the American Society for Engineering Education.

Under the headline, “Why Aren’t Women Interested in Computer Science?,” the Wall Street Journal (9/25) “Digits” blog reported the number of women pursuing computer jobs has been falling. Women made up 27 percent of computer jobs in 2011, but the number has fallen since 1990 when it was on 34 percent.

Record Numbers Of Women Majoring In Engineering At The University Of Texas.

12 Saturday Oct 2013

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As reported on the ASEE aggregator

On its website, KXAN-TV Austin, TX (10/11, Schwaller) reports twenty-nine percent of the freshman engineering class at The University of Texas are women. University officials say the “increases have become more rapid in the last five years.” According to Tricia Berry, director of the Cockrell School’s Women in Engineering Program, “the increase reflects a national trend to put an emphasis on” STEM.

I must find out what they are doing…

US Must Educate More Female Engineers, Professor Of Mechanical Engineering Writes.

18 Wednesday Sep 2013

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From the ASEE aggregator:
In US News & World Report (9/17) Amy Fleischer, PhD., a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Villanova University and the Director of the Novatherm Laboratory, wrote that if our nation does not acknowledge that America’s lack of “is not an ability-driven gap but instead a pervasive socialization problem that begins at the earliest ages, then we will continue to alienate and exclude half our population from these critical fields.” Fleischer wrote that “it is overt social pressures that continue to steer most girls away from these fields despite their natural talents and abilities.” She wrote that if the US wants to continue its “dominance in technology development and secure our nation’s economic future, it is absolutely imperative that we educate thousands more engineers.”

Hurricane in a Rowboat

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

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From the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC
Sept. 16, 2013 email

(Last chance to register) World Traveller’s Dinner Event – Sept. 19, 2013
Share your Story – Online Profiles to Showcase Engineering and Geoscience Careers
Hello Victoria and Vancouver Island Branch members,

Thank you to everyone who has already purchased tickets for the upcoming Rowboat in a Hurricane Dinner Presentation on September 19, 2013. Online registration for this event will be open until midnight tonight. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity. If you are interested in attending this event please ensure you register before the end of the day today.

Sincerely,
Pamela Schmitt, EIT
Chair, Victoria Branch

(Last chance to register) Rowboat in a Hurricane: Dealing with Change and Unexpected Setbacks featuring Colin and Julie Angus brought to you by the Victoria Branch

Date: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013
Time: 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Location:
CFB Esquimalt Officers’ Mess (Wardroom)
1586 Esquimalt Road,
Esquimalt, BC

Description:
Colin and Julie recreate the experience of surviving a hurricane from the confines of a rowboat – highlighting strategies we can all use to deal with adversity and transition. Change and negative setbacks can be an opportunity to alter course and flourish. They show us how to modify our perception so that we use uncertainty and transition as a tool to grow and prosper. Using captivating stories, Julie and Colin help us anticipate and prepare for change, assess risks, improve our communication during difficult times, set goals and motivate ourselves.

“Your presentation was truly inspiring.”
Deepak Chopra

“Bold Visionaries with World Changing Dreams”
Outside Magazine

“I was so moved it brought tears to my eyes. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
– Michelle Burchill, Helly Hansen

“Thank you for being with us and for delivering your presentation with such enthusiasm, humour, sincerity and spirit.”
– Jimmie Spencer, President & CEO, Canada West Ski Areas Association

Cost:
$55 for APEGBC members, guests and non members
$385 for a table of eight seats (only 10 of these discounted tables are available)
$25 student rate for high school and university students

Register: Register Online

Speakers: Colin and Julie Angus

Colin Angus completed the first human-powered circumnavigation of the world in 2006 when he cycled into Vancouver after 43,000 km of travel. During the course of two years he rowed across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, trekked and cycled through 16 countries, endured winter in Siberia and searing heat in the tropics.

Colin has made a career exploring remote parts of the world and sharing his adventures through best selling books, films and presentations. He has navigated the Amazon and Yenisey Rivers from source to sea, sailed the South Pacific Ocean, and rowed thousands of km in waterways around the world. He has co-produced four documentaries which collectively won ten awards at international festivals including the Dijon and Telluride Festivals of Adventure Films. His work is published in numerous publications including the Globe and Mail, Reader’s Digest and Cruising World.

Outside Magazine listed Colin as one of the top 25 “bold visionaries with world changing dreams” for his work in promoting lifestyle changes to help the environment. Colin and Julie continue their efforts in promoting zero-emissions transportation as a healthy way to maintain a healthy world.

Julie Angus is the first and only woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean from mainland to mainland. During the worst hurricane season in history, she spent 5 months rowing unsupported across 10,000 km of unforgiving seas. Throughout this challenge, she and her partner rowed through 4 cyclones, encountered great white sharks and fished for survival.

Julie is a molecular biologist, adventurer, writer, filmmaker, and motivational speaker. She has two undergraduate degrees with honours from McMaster University (Biology and Psychology) and a graduate degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Victoria. She spent over a decade studying and developing treatments for heart disease, cancer and genetic ailments.

She has been lauded for her work on environmental awareness and has written for publications including The Globe & Mail, National Post and enRoute. Her photography has appeared in Outside Magazine, Explore Magazine, Reader’s Digest, National Geographic Adventure and The Guardian, among others. Julie’s book Rowboat in a Hurricane, which details her Atlantic row and the changing state of our oceans, is a national bestseller. Julie and Colin’s most recent book, Rowed Trip, is co-written and covers their rowing and cycling journey from Scotland to Syria.

Equality or Fairness?

31 Saturday Aug 2013

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As many of you know, I am dedicated to the issues of gender balance and diversity. However, I assert that equality is not the point in question: fairness is.

Certainly, equal pay for equal work, equal respect and equal inclusion are vital. Yet the concept of equal work for all is ridiculous: each of us has different strengths and abilities. We need to recognize and value those differences, and emphasize what we can accomplish through diversity.

Equal work for all? Clearly not.

Fairness for all? Yes.

American Library Association: equality vs. equity
DifferenceBetween.com
Youth in Transition

Trust Me, Trust You

21 Wednesday Aug 2013

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From The Ryan Group, offering the Trust Me, Trust You Assessment [which] addresses behavioral characteristics in key dimensions of trust associated with team, group, department, and organization performance.

What is trust? Trust is to have belief or confidence in the purpose, honesty, actions, competency, decisions, and intentions of a person, organization, or team based on predictable behaviors observed over time. Trust is also the positive expectation of a person or group’s methods, measures, principles, decisions, and outcomes demonstrated by the consistency and congruence of behaviors expressed in words and actions.

Why is trust important? As a team member, you have a critical role in helping your team identify and address trust issues that hinder your team’s growth and effectiveness.

In an ideal work situation, people trust each other; they do not feel people will do them harm; they feel that their members have the knowledge, skills, and motivation to interact with each other and get things done.

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Seattle-Area Educators, Electronic-Game Developers Working On Game To Keep Girls Engaged In Math, Science.

14 Wednesday Aug 2013

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From the ASEE aggregator:

The Seattle Times (7/1, Long) reports, “On Friday, some of the best gaming and education minds in the area gathered at the Northeastern University-Seattle campus to kick off an ambitious, long-term project to create” a game to keep girls engrossed in math and science. “G.A.M.E.S. — short for Girls Advancing in Math, Engineering and Science — includes participants from Northeastern, the University of Washington’s Center for Game Science, the private DigiPen Institute for game developers, and game companies such as Big Fish and Her Interactive.” The person behind the idea, Tayloe Washburn, dean of Northeastern-Seattle, “thinks a successful game could underscore the advantages of a career in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields for young girls.”