PittSWE Newsleter - November 2012

PITT SWE

Volume 1, Issue 3

Congratulations Lisa!

Recognition Written By: Julia Wasas Lisa is currently majoring in Chemical Engineering with minors in Bioengineering, Polymer Engineering, and Chemistry. When asked about her academic interests, Lisa responds, “I am interested in applying my knowledge of both chemistry and engineering to research with applications in the medical field.” Accordingly, she conducts biomaterials research at the University of Pittsburgh in the Wang Lab in the Department of Bioengineering. During her second semester in the Wang Lab, she proposed to utilize the fabrication technique of thermally induced phase separation to create porous poly(sebacoyl diglyceride) (PSeD) scaffolds for diverse applications in soft tissue engineering.

Preliminary results are promising, and she was accepted as one of ten Poster Competition Finalists to present her research on the “Fabrication of Porous Poly(Sebacoyl Diglyceride) Scaffolds for Applications in Soft Tissue Engineering” at the 2012 Society of Women Engineers National Conference (WE12). As an illustration of the merit of this work, her poster was awarded third place in the overall competition. She is currently in the process of applying to graduate programs and intends to pursue a PhD in Bioengineering after receiving her Bachelors degree from Pitt. We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors!

November 2012 Edited by: Julia Wasas

Upcoming Events December December 6 - Holiday Card Decorating December 12 – Holiday Party December 10 - 15 – Pitt Finals Week

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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Congratulations Lisa!

Upcoming Events Henna Tattoo Night Etiquette Dinner PMADD Regional News National News AAAC Distinguished Alumni Dinner SWE Riddle Halliburton Elementary Engineering Extravaganza Current Officers

Lisa accepting the award.

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Girl Scout Engineering Day

were enthusiastic about helping out in the Oakland community and are looking forward to another work day!

Outreach

Pitt SWE Wins Awards from WE12

Written By: Aimee Pickering On Saturday, November 3, Pitt SWE held its third Girl Scout Engineering Day. Junior Girl Scouts from surrounding Pittsburgh communities traveled to Benedum Hall and enjoyed an afternoon discovering that women have a place in engineering. With the help of SWE volunteers, the Girl Scouts cycled through a series of stations where they listened to presentations and participated in hands-on activities related to each field of engineering. For the Bioengineering station, the girls were exposed to controlled drug delivery as they created “pill coatings” for Skittles. They competed in a bridge building contest to learn about Civil Engineering and made lip gloss for Chemical Engineering. In the Computer and Electrical Engineering station, the girls were taught about color mixing and how computers create images. They designed efficient, futuristic factories as part of the Industrial Engineering station and made wind-powered cars for Mechanical Engineering. Lastly, the Girl Scouts had fun making bracelets from recycled materials such as water bottles to learn about Environmental Engineering. The activities also met the requirements for the “Science in Everyday Life” badge so the girls gained the immediate satisfaction of earning a badge.

The Girl Scouts eagerly participated in the activities and enthusiastically asked questions. We hope that after attending Pitt SWE’s Girl Scout Engineering Day, they realize that engineering is not only for men and consider it as a possible career. Pitt SWE will hold another Engineering Day in the spring and will also continue to do so in future years as it is extremely important to expose young girls to the opportunities available to them in engineering.

Habitat for Humanity

Recognition Written By: Sandy Liu Based on the 2011-2012 academic year, Pitt SWE received two awards at the SWE Society Conference! The first award is the Outstanding Collegiate Silver Award, which is based on overall improvement in the areas of membership, professional development, outreach, and membership retention. The second award is the Professional Development Award, which was based on an application for the Diversity Dinnerview event held last January. This is the first time that Pitt SWE has won the Professional Development Award!!

Pitt SWE executive board holding the awards Pitt received at the society conference.

Regional News Region G

Service

Written By: Julia Wasas

Written By: Alicia Kolling

At the society conference on November 8th through the 11th there was a competition between all regions for the most spirit. This competition included a photo competition, a dress up completion, and other spirit activities. Region G won this competition! Our region was very well represented at the conference. We hope to win again next year.

On Saturday, November 17th, SWE participated in a community work day with Habitat for Humanity. This work day took place at the Church of the Ascension in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. SWE members helped the church congregation by assisting in tasks such as painting, cleaning, and replacing storm windows. Participants

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National News SWE National Written By: Lisa Volpatti

Pitt SWE showing our region G pride.

SWE RIDDLE Pitt SWE would like to challenge you to a riddle! The first University of Pittsburgh student to email PittSWE@gmail.com with the correct answer will receive a $10 dollar gift certificate as a reward.

Three guys rent a hotel room for the night. When they get to the hotel, they pay the $30 fee and go up to their room. Soon, the bellhop brings up their bags and gives the men back $5 because the hotel was having a special discount that weekend. So the three guys decide to each keep one dollar of the five dollar discount and to give the bellhop a $2 tip. However, when they sat down to tally up their expenses for the weekend, they could not explain the following details: Each one of them had originally paid $10 (towards the initial $30), then each got back $1 which meant that they each paid $9. Then they gave the bellhop a $2 tip.

HOWEVER, 3 • $9 + $2 = $29 The guys couldn't figure out what happened to the other dollar. After all, the three paid out $30 but could only account for $29.

On November 8th through the 11th the Society of Women Engineers held their 2012 society conference. The conference included workshops, tours, a career fair, and other amazing opportunities. WE12 had over 250 exhibitors present at the career fair looking for intern and entry level employees. The workshops covered the seven main tracks of the conference: career and life transitions, careers in academia, careers in government and military, inclusion and cultural awareness, innovation in technology and business, management and strategy, and outreach. Pitt was represented by over 10 students at the conference. Look out for a conference special edition newsletter covering many of the workshops our members attended while at the conference.

Also if you are interested you can sign up for webinars on www.swe.org

Engineering Innovations of the Year Recognition Written By: Julia Wasas Pitt SWE would like to recognize some great innovations that have happened in this past year. Popular science has chosen seven innovations that have beat out the rest, for now.

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Can you determine what happened?

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Dockwise Vanguard – An offshore dock to help repair vessels when they are in the middle of the ocean.

Al Hamra Firdous Tower – This is the tallest building in the world. The building has one stone wall. This is not for strength, but to keep the building cool.

Rapid Blocs – These are Lego-like pieces that can be used to make a man made water course.

Russky Island Bridge – The world’s longest cablestayed bridge.

Pixel – This is a building in Australia. This building, the most sustainable workplace ever, cleans and recycles all of its water on site and has many other features giving it a LEED rating of 105/110.

Milton-Madison Bridge – A revolutionary way to build a bridge.

Isometrix – Device used for geologists to see below the Earth’s crust.

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Holiday Party!

What are you doing on December 12th? Take a break from

Pitt SWE Officers

studying and come to the SWE holiday party! We will be

President – Lisa Volpatti

giving out free food and prizes. Rumor has it that there may

Vice President – Julia Wasas

even be a gingerbread house decorating contest. Even if you can't make it, SWE would like to wish you a happy finals week, and may the odds be ever in your favor. Happy

Secretary – Sandy Liu Treasurer – Christina O’Donnell

holidays!

To stay updated on news and events visit our website www.pitt.edu/~pittswe.

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