PITT SWE Volume 2, Issue 1
January 2012 Edited by: Julia Wasas
Middle School Engineering Day Outreach Written By: Lisa Volpatti Pitt SWE hosted our second annual “Engineering Day” for middle school students on Saturday, January 28 in the Swanson School of Engineering’s Benedum Hall. This event was open free of charge for any sixth, seventh, or eighth grader in the Pittsburgh area interested in math or science. The students had the opportunity to participate in fun, engineering-related activities, compete with their peers to win prizes, and learn about education opportunities and careers in engineering.
Two middle school students making slime as part of the Chemical Engineering discipline representation.
Registration was initially closed at 80 students. However, with the sponsorship of Michael Baker Corporation, Bettis Laboratories, and Schlumberger, we were able to expand registration to 100 students and provide them with lunch and prizes. Even after expanding the event, however, there was still
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Current Officers Upcoming Events President - Sandy Liu President – Mary Beth Biddle Vice President – Lisa Volpatti Secretary – Julia Wasas Treasurer – Stephanie O’Neil Visit Our Website for a complete list of officers. www.pitt.edu/~pittswe
February 5 - Pitt Men's Basketball Game vs. Villlanova: Join Pitt SWE in the Zoo February 8 - Graduate Student Panel (Room 102)
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Middle School Engineering Day
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Current Officers
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Upcoming Events
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Diversity Dinnerview
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SWE Leadership Summit
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February 8-9 - Spring Job Fair: Talk to potential employers; get 2 business cards to receive points!
Girl Scout Engineering Day
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Engineering Crossword
February 15 - What's Your Major? Upperclassmen Panel will discuss majors and classes (Room 102)
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Regional News
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SWE’s Annual Blood Drive
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Call for Artistic Engineers!
February 22 - Professional Development Seminar: Learn about STAR style interview, business dinners, work attire, email etiquette, and other useful tips February 27 – Evening with Industry (157)
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a significant wait list. On the day of the event, 98 students and 25 Pitt SWE volunteers were present. The students rotated through four different activities, each corresponding to a different field of engineering. The engineering topics covered were chemical, civil, industrial, and mechanical. The activities included making slime, constructing the tallest possible tower out of pipe cleaners, creating a ball and ramp clock (this activity required the students to design a ramp that will allow a marble to fall to the floor in a specified amount of time), and building a puff mobile (a car that is propelled by their breath). At the end of the day, there was a presentation summarizing each field of engineering covered by the activities and providing information on other disciplines including electrical, computer, and bioengineering. Although the Society of Women Engineers especially encourages girls to consider a career in engineering, our chapter’s goal of outreach is to expose all students to engineering at an early age in hopes of sparking an interest in the field. We believe that this event helped us accomplish our goal. Out of the students who were not considering a career in engineering before this event, 79% reported that they are now considering a future career in the field. Furthermore, 88% of all students said that they know more about engineering after completing the day’s events. In addition to exposing the students to engineering, we also held a presentation for the parents. During this presentation, the University of Pittsburgh’s Darryl T. Wiley discussed Pitt’s Investing Now Program and the benefits of preparing students for college and careers early on. About 75 parents were in attendance. Several parents approached me after the presentation and commented on how beneficial and eye opening it was. It was the most rewarding, however, when we received numerous emails the week following the event from parents thanking Pitt SWE for hosting this event and commenting on how much their children enjoyed it. We would like to especially thank our presenting sponsor, Michael Baker Corporation, and our supporting sponsors, Bettis Laboratories, and Schlumberger for making this event possible.
Diversity Dinnerview Professional Development Written By: Sandy Liu
On January 11th, SWE and the Co-op office partnered to present the Diversity Dinnerview, which included 26 representatives from 14 companies and more than 60 students from the Swanson School of Engineering. The purpose of the event was to encourage students to practice their interviewing skills as well as to practice speaking to employers in a more relaxed setting. Dinnerview began with opening remarks from Eaton about interview tips and proper business attire, followed by a casual dinner with employers, multiple mock interviews, and closing remarks by PJ Dick and Trumbull about following up after an interview. Student feedback showed that the event was very successful. Of the students in attendance who were looking for a co-op, 100% said that the event was beneficial for them the following day at the co-op fair. 92% of all students in attendance felt more comfortable speaking with company representatives after the event, and 100% of pre-registered students received at least one mock interview with one of their top two companies in attendance. One student replied in a survey, “Casually talking with the recruiters about interviewing was the most beneficial part of the event. It created a laid-back atmosphere in which we could converse without the typical pressures of an interview. They also gave me specific tips on how to better present myself to employers.” Another student said that the event was “great and I hope it continues to benefit students in the future.”
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SWE Leadership Summit Collaboration Written By: Mary Beth Biddle On January 28th, members of Pitt SWE joined women from Carnegie Mellon, West Virginia University, Penn State, Georgia Tech, and the University of Akron for a Region G Leadership Summit. Also in attendance was the Region G Governor, Jessica Rannow. The event allowed for networking between the various SWE chapters, and sections had time to bounce ideas off each other in order to learn which programs are successful and how to target students in order to draw a big crowd. Among the topics discussed was membership. As seen in the chart to the right, there are many reasons to become a part of SWE, outreach being the number one. Having looked at this chart, Pitt SWE can continue to tailor its events to meet the desires of the SWE community. This, in turn, will hopefully lead to an increase in membership and involvement. Another important topic that was addressed was the transition from collegiate to career. Governor Rannow stressed that all areas of the country have SWE chapters, or the possibility to start one. In addition to all of the reasons for membership seen in the chart, there are numerous other
benefits to being a professional SWE member. Not only do professional sections strengthen the population of female engineers, but many continuing engineering education courses can be substituted for SWE activities. For example, many professional sections offer events and activities that can count towards retaining a Professional Engineer license. Overall, the event provided Pitt SWE with a lot of insight for how to keep in line with the mission of the Society of Women Engineers, increase membership, and retain membership. Pitt SWE hopes to build upon these lessons in order to have continued improvement within our section.
Reasons for SWE Membership
Outreach Programs Professional network Personal Support Seminars & Workshops Enhanced Credentials Leadership Opportunity Issues Relevant to W in E Give Back to the Profession
The diagram above shows reasons to be a SWE member.
Girl Scout Engineering Day Outreach Written By: Aimee Pickering On January 21, Pitt SWE introduced 15 Junior Girl Scouts from the Pittsburgh area to the endless opportunities for women in the field of engineering by holding a Girl Scout Engineering Day. The girls listened to presentations and participated in hands-on activities with female engineering students. These activities acquainted the girls with the various disciplines of engineering, as well as gave them the opportunity to ask questions about a future in engineering. We also coordinated our program with the requirements for the Junior Girl Scout “Science in Everyday Life” badge. As a result, at the end of the event, each girl received her badge. Although our main goals were to promote women in engineering and to help the girls build a better future, this project also showed the community at large that SWE cares and aspires to make a difference.
The activities were set up in 7 stations, each dedicated to a field of engineering, as well as addressing the specific requirements for the badge. The stations included building bridges with toothpicks and gumdrops; modeling the human heart; making lip balm; learning about optics; performing a time study by making friendship bracelets; creating windpowered cars; and making recycled bracelets out of water bottles and fabric. One of the best measures of the success and impact of our Girl Scout Engineering Day was seen through the excitement and participation of the girls. Their enthusiasm and interest in each activity and at the informal question and answer period at the close of each station was contagious. They listened attentively to each presentation, enjoyed the handson activities; most importantly, they had fun learning about engineering.
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ENGINEERING 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 their choice of Oakland restaurants. (Two answers have spaces in them.) Across: 1. The first artificial heart implanted - called the ____________ Artificial Heart after its inventors - was implanted on April 4, 1969. 3. What’s Missing Here: Set, Sort, Sustain, Standardize, and _____? 5. What is the type of plastic used in Legos? 7. What thermodynamic property of a real gas is an effective pressure? 9. What is the force that causes the interaction between electronically charged particles? Down: 2. Whose law relates stress and strain? 4. What is the branch of physics dealing with physical phenomena where the action is of the order of Planck’s constant? 6. What is an effective method expressed as a finite list? 8. Concrete contains _________ plus sand and gravel.
Regional News Region G Written By: Julia Wasas The Region G annual conference is approaching fast. Registration is open for the March 2-4, 2012 event being hosted by the University of Cincinnati. The University of Pittsburgh’s chapter of SWE has won the “Regional Gold Award for Outstanding Collegiate Section.” For fiscal year 2011, National SWE awards included “Best Collegiate Section Website” and “Outstanding Collegiate Section Silver Award.”
SWE’s Annual Blood Drive Service Written By: Julia Wasas The University of Pittsburgh’s SWE held their annual Blood Drive in coordination with the Central Blood Bank on January 30. The event was in Benedum Hall room 102 and ran from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. The amount of donations was as expected at around 20 donations collected which will potentially save 60 lives.
Call for Artistic Engineers! Our SWE chapter would like to make some new t-shirts this year. We already have two shirts right now. One is the equation that says “You = Sexy” and the other says “Finding a guy in engineering, the odds are good but the goods are odd.” We would like for anyone with new t-shirt ideas to send them. Whoever designs the chosen t-shirt will receive their shirt for free once it is made. You can scan a drawing in and send it to pittSWE@gmail.com or drop it by the SWE office at G23 Benedum Hall, located in the Student Organization Lounge.
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