PittSWE Newsletter - April 2015

VOLUME 5

ISSUE NO.8

PITT SWE

END OF 2014-15

THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS

Middle School Engineering Day

By Joy Huang On Saturday, March 28th, Pitt Society of Women Engineers had its annual Middle School Engineering Day (MSED). One of Pitt SWE’s many annual outreach events, MSED is an event designed to introduce middle school students to the different fields of engineering and encourage them to pursue engineering by allowing them to par ticipate in many fun activities based on tasks that real engineers perform. This year, group leaders led four activities, including biofiltration, in which students built their own biofiltration system based on oyster filter feeding; rocket ships, in which they used a water and AlkaSeltzer reaction in a film canister to launch the canister rocket; roller coasters, in which

they used insulation tubing to make a rollercoaster track for a marble; and an egg drop test, in which students designed ways to prevent an egg from breaking when dropped on the floor.

As an activity leader for the rocket ship activity, I was able to see how much the students appreciated the chance to build and test a design of their own invention. While I did give them instructions on how to launch the rocket and guidelines on how to launch their rocket, many students went above and beyond what was expected to

try and make their rocket more effective—one group of students even used three canisters taped together in

hopes of making their rocket launch higher. Seeing how excited the students get in the face of challenge and in solving problems is what makes MSED and other outreach events so great to be a part of!

Highlights: In this Issue ALSO INCLUDED:

RIDDLE: PAGE 2

OFFICER OF THE MONTH: PAGE 3

BEAUTIFYING THE ‘BURGH

PAGE 2

GIRL SCOUT ENGINEERING DAY PAGE 3

Beautifying the ‘Burgh

By Emily Kieffer

HAVE A FUN, SAFE SUMMER We would like to say goodbye and thank you to all of our graduating members, including: Erica Stevens, Kim Daloise, and Dhanu Thiyagarajin. We have no idea how we would have done it without you all and you will be dearly missed in years to come.

To all of our other members, thank you for your participation and can’t wait for another amazing year next year!

On March 21st, members of SWE had the opportunity to give back to the community through the Pittsburgh Cares Program. Teaming up with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Clean Street Team, we took on all the jobs that had been neglected over the winter. Our team split into sweepers and graffiti removers, and we moved down streets in the Strip District beautifying as we went. Those that were assigned to sweeping collected garbage from the sidewalks, the bike lane, and the road. Bags were filled with wet, sludgy leaves, cigarettes, and miscellaneous trash. More than once, pedestrians asked what organization we were with and we proudly answered. Passerbys and bikers alike smiled and thanked us for our work.

The graffiti removers used a “burn-your-skin-off” harsh chemical cleaner to remove all the markings from buildings, poles, and concrete that they could. Another volunteer followed them with paint and covered over any stubborn graffiti that remained. Efficiently and effectively, we traversed down Penn Avenue and accomplished the assigned blocks faster than the Clean Street Team had projected we would. Not only did we leave Pittsburgh a cleaner place, but we also bonded over the act of service to the greater

community. As we left, we felt good about the work we had accomplished and the people we had helped. In fact, it was a great way to begin a Saturday!

RIDDLE

What asks but never answers?

If you get the answer of this riddle go to the SWE office with your answer to claim a cool prize!

Girl Scout Engineering Day

By Lisa Cross The Pitt SWE chapter held a Girl Scout Engineering Day on April 4th.

The event lasted from 9am to 1pm and was offered to Junior and Cadette Girl Scouts (4th through 8th graders). The day started with the adults splitting from the girls.

Melissa Cooper, the Vice President of Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania, gave a presentation to the adults about how to get more involved with STEM. The approximately one hundred girls in attendance were split into groups to attend different stations. At each station, the girls learned about a particular engineering discipline and completed an activity related to the discipline. A favorite activity among the girls was building prosthetic hands out of office supplies in the bioengineering station.

The girls also enjoyed building marshmallow and spaghetti skyscrapers for civil engineering.

Another activity was in the chemical engineering station. Here, the girls

mixed common kitchen ingredients into a coating to protect a skittle from being dissolved by “stomach acid” (lemon-lime soda). A special station was led by a mechanical engineering senior design group.

They taught the girls about materials and the structure of materials. They also had demonstrations with an attachment that turns smart devices

into a microscope. This event taught the young girls that engineering is a fun and creative field and definitely a career for girls too. We completed the day with a game of jeopardy, and the girls had some souvenirs and a certificate of completion to take home with them.

OFFICER OF THE MONTH: EMILY KIEFFER Emily was chosen because she worked hard to get SWE giveaway items and put together a successful Chipotle Fundraiser.

Class: Sophomore Major: Biomedical Engin eerin

g

In Charge of: Fundraisin

g

Interests and Clubs: Ru

nning,

Emily’s favorite parts of SWE

Fitness, Food, Jewelry

are the opportunity for

Yoga, BMES, Phi Eta Sig

professional development

Design Hub

Making, ma, and

and being able to interact with other female engineers.

Thank you!