PittSWE Newsletter - February 2012

PITT SWE

Volume 2, Issue 2

February 2012 Edited by: Julia Wasas

Engineer the Future at the Carnegie Science Center Outreach Written By: Lisa Volpatti On Saturday, February 18, ten Pitt SWE members volunteered at the Carnegie Science Center in collaboration with the Pittsburgh professional section of the Society of Women Engineers. To kick off National Engineers week each year, many professional engineering societies and companies participate in the two-day “Engineer the Future” event at the Carnegie Science Center. In hopes of inspiring young people to explore engineering, more than 50 event tables featuring presentations, demonstrations and hands-on activities were set up in addition to the daily exhibits of the Science Center. The 2012 National Engineers week theme, based on the projected world population of 7 billion, focuses on the many challenges that require engineering solutions. The Society of Women Engineers booth at the Carnegie Science Center taught children

Upcoming Events

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March March 2-4 - Region G Conference at the University of Cincinnati March 4-11 – Everyone have a fun and safe Spring Break!

March 14 – Global Links Service Event March 19-23 – Call for 2012-2013 Officers March 21 – How to Manage Your Money Seminar March 24 – Habitat for Humanity Service Event March 26-30 – Officer Elections March 30 – 5TH Annual SWEepover. Sign up to help out on our website: www.pitt.edu/~pittswe

2012 National Engineers Week Logo

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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Engineer the Future at the Carnegie Science Center What’s Your Major?

Graduate Student Panel Regional News National News Professional Communication Current Officers Pitt Facts Crossword Pitt SWE Visits the Oakland Zoo Upcoming Events

University of Pittsburgh – Society of Women Engineers – February 2012 - 1

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about the challenges of rocket science! The activity included creating a paper airplane and attaching it to an air-propelled balloon rocket to demonstrate Newton’s second law. The children, as well as the parents, had fun while learning about engineering and were exposed to the numerous opportunities for women in engineering.

In addition to the booth, the Society of Women Engineer’s Mary Zeis presented a program called “Women Engineering the Future.” This program, designed for Girl Scouts in middle school, introduced the audience to the many ways that women engineers affect all aspects of everyday life.

Volunteers from Pitt SWE attended the presentation to help pass out supplies, choose volunteers for the on-stage activities and create excitement in the audience. By attending the presentation, over 50 Girl Scouts earned a “Women Engineering the Future” patch. In accordance with these events, Pitt SWE registered for “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” on February 23, 2012 and pledged to introduce 80 K-12 girls to engineering by the end of the year.

A view from behind the booth at the science center

“What’s your major?”

representatives for the nuclear certificate and pre-medicine, as well as a professor discussing the benefits of the steel industry. Thirty-five freshmen and one high school senior attended the event.

Many of the freshmen in attendance knew what major they wanted to declare, so they used the opportunity to talk to upperclassmen about classes, professors, and what to expect in their sophomore year. All of the upperclassmen had experiences in research, internships, and/or co-ops, and were able to provide useful information about those subjects to interested freshmen as well.

Graduate Student Panel Mentorship Written By: Julie Fatula On February 8, Pitt SWE hosted a graduate student panel for undergraduate engineers interested in attending graduate school. Eight graduate students with various backgrounds in chemical, mechanical, electrical, and bio-engineering shared their experiences with the undergrads over free pizza and cookies. Undergraduates asked questions about applying and interviewing at different schools, finding the right faculty mentor, and conducting research for a master’s or doctoral thesis.

Our SWE chapter is interested in further involvement with the Swanson School of Engineering graduate students. In the future, we hope to create a mentorship program to connect undergraduate and graduate students to facilitate undergraduate research and advising connections. Also, we hope to add a graduate student section to our SWE chapter.

Any graduate students interested in becoming involved with Pitt SWE should email PittSWE@gmail.com.

Guidance

Regional News

Written By: Sandy Liu

Region G

SWE typically includes an upperclassmen student panel in the spring semester for freshmen who are still undecided about what major they want to declare. This year, SWE partnered with the Freshmen Engineering Student Council to create a “What’s your major” meet-and-greet involving twenty-nine upperclassmen on behalf of every department in the Swanson School of Engineering. Also in attendance were

Written By: Julia Wasas On February 21, the new regional officers were announced.

Congratulations to Karla Tankersley & Jennifer Norman for being the new Professional Senators, Miranda (Oaks) Wantland for being the new Secretary, and Virginia Brandt for being the new Treasurer.

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PITT FACTS CROSSWORD The first person to complete the crossword below and send the correct answers to pittSWE@gmail.com will win a $15 gift card to his or her choice of Oakland restaurant. Ignore spaces for all answers.

Across:

3. Founded in 1908, this newspaper is distributed Monday through Friday and is written by students.

6. This person served as Pitt's chancellor from 1891 to 1901.

7. What year was the University of Pittsburgh Founded?

Down:

1. This person is Pitt's current chancellor.

2. In 1909 Pitt Athletics became known as the Pitt ______.

4. The polio vaccine was created in what current Pitt building? (__ hall) 5. The cathedral of learning is __ stories.

National News SWE National Written By: Julia Wasas The Society of Women Engineers has decided to update their website to make it more user-friendly. Check it out on March 1st when they make the site open to the public! www.swe.org.

Professional Communication Professional Development Written By: Mary Beth Biddle On February 22, Pitt SWE hosted a Professional Development Seminar. In order to get the most out of the event, Jim McCarthy from Career Development Office was invited to present. Jim opened the meeting by discussing appropriate attire for different events such as work, professional meetings, and interviews. Pictures were shown so that attendees could clearly see the difference between an outfit that is appropriate and one that is too casual. He felt this was an important topic to discuss since the biggest complaint at this year’s career fair was that women were wearing skirts that were too short and heals that were too high.

Mr. McCarthy presenting to our members.

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University of Pittsburgh – Society of Women Engineers – February 2012 - 3

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Next, Jim explained the STAR method of interviewing – explaining the Situation, Task, Action, and Result – and provided students with sample questions. One student participated in a mini-mock interview in order to demonstrate good technique while participating in an interview. Attendees listened to his response to check that all aspects of STAR were covered. Various types of responses were then discussed to ensure that everyone understood the best practices when interviewing.

Lastly, Jim discussed communication with professionals, professors, and within our organization. He encouraged everyone to remove all slang and text lingo from all professional communication. In addition, Jim advised us to err on the side of caution when it comes to being informal.

For example, do not feel the need to always include a smiley face or multiple exclamation points in an email. Overall, the event was very helpful to those who attended and assisted in preparing our members for interviews and improving professional communication.

Pitt SWE Visits the Oakland Zoo Social Written By: Mary Beth Biddle Pitt SWE attended the Men’s Basketball game against Villanova on February 5th at the Petersen Events Center.

Our members were fortunate enough to see Pitt hold on to beat the Wildcats 79-70! Go Panthers!

Engineering Innovation of the Month Innovation Written By: Julia Wasas Engineers at UCLA have developed a device that attaches to your cell phone to detect the presence of bacteria in your food and water. The senor can detect the bacterium Escherichia coli or more commonly known as E-coli. It works by attaching the device which has LED light and a special lens to your current cell phone camera. Working off of the phone’s batter power the device will let your camera take a picture which will capture E-coli on the capillary surface. The concentration of bacteria on the surface can then be determined to see it reaches dangerous levels.

Pitt’s Tray Woodall makes a layup over a Villanova player.

Current Officers President - Sandy Liu President – Mary Beth Biddle Vice President – Lisa Volpatti Secretary – Julia Wasas

E-coli is a significant threat to global health. This inexpensive device has the ability to prevent hospitalization or death of many people in the years to come.

Treasurer – Stephanie O’Neill Visit Our Website for a complete list of officers. www.pitt.edu/~pittswe

Bacteria detecting device attached to a cell phone.

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