PittSWE Newsletter - March 2013

PITT SWE Volume 2, Issue 3

March 2013 Edited by: Lisa Volpatti

6th Annual SWEepover Outreach Written By: Christina O’Donnell This year, Pitt SWE hosted its 6th annual SWEepover for high school seniors who have been admitted to the Swanson School of Engineering. Thirty-four seniors and thirty hosts participated in this year’s event. During the course of the events, guests learned about Pitt and the engineering program from their hosts, a student panel, and lab tours.

The lab tours covered various aspects of engineering, and included stops at the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers lab, Human Movement and Balance lab, Controlled Drug Delivery lab, and the Watkins-Haggart Structural Engineering lab. Each lab focused on mechanical, bio, chemical, and civil engineering, respectively.

After the lab tours, the students were taken to dinner at Frick Fine Arts where they could talk to their hosts and gather more information about Pitt. Students could then decide between going on a scavenger hunt before partaking in desserts and craft night at the Union. The night ended when students and their hosts decided to return to the dorms.

SWEepover hosts and guests decorating coffee mugs.

Upcoming Events April April 3 – Law and MBAs: Redefining Career Paths April 6 – Outreach with SEMFS! April 14 – Behind the Scenes at the Zoo April 17 – End of the Year Picnic April 18 – Panel Discussion with Young Professional Women in Energy

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4

6th Annual SWEepover Upcoming Events Research Workshop Region G Conference Origami Night Entrepreneurship Seminar Dinner with Professionals WE13. Make connections. Make history.

Personal Finance Seminar SWE Sudoku Community Based Research Fellowship E-Week Results Pitt SWE Officers

University of Pittsburgh – Society of Women Engineers – March 2013 - 1

Research Workshop Professional Development Written By: Lisa Volpatti Pitt SWE’s Counselor, Dr. Ipsita Banerjee, presented her research and provided members with tips for poster presentations during our Research Workshop on February 26, 2013. Dr. Banerjee is an Assistant Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.

Pitt SWE members in attendance learned about both the computational and experimental approaches of her research in developing new methods to differentiate embryonic stem cells to pancreatic cells for the potential to treat diabetic patients through regenerative medicine.

Additionally, Dr. Banerjee shared her advice on poster presentations to prepare students for the upcoming OXE Poster Competition, the SWE Region G Conference Poster Competition, and the Undergraduate Research Fair. Some of her tips included:

There was a break for a networking luncheon at 11:30AM, and more workshops were held in the afternoon. These included: Making the Cut: How to Scope a Game in 15 Minutes, the Pittsburgh Inventress, From Engineer to Author, and Nuclear Energy.

The joint collegiate meeting was held in the afternoon.

Collegiate members discussed the upcoming elections for the Collegiate Leadership Team, SWEFL nominations, bylaws, and a proposed endowed scholarship for Region G members. The meeting ended with a game of human bingo!

At the Saturday evening banquet, Region G awards were announced. Pitt SWE was awarded the only Region G Achieving Collegiate Section Gold Award in addition to the Aspiring Program Award for Elementary Engineering Extravaganza! Congratulations to all Pitt SWE members who made these awards possible!

• Choosing the appropriate text size, poster layout, and color scheme, • Arranging sections in a logical manner, • Finding an appropriate balance between figures and text, • And slimming down large blocks of text by using bullet points.

This meeting was a great opportunity to network with our advisor, learn about her research, and develop important skills for professional poster presentations.

Region G Conference Regional News Written By: Lisa Volpatti On March 1-3, Pitt SWE members participated in an Engineering Adventure on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus for the Region G conference right here in Oakland!

The conference consisted of workshops, activities, and plenty of networking. The conference commenced on Friday night with a social event sponsored by Toyota.

The second day began with a joint meeting over breakfast followed by a series of workshops including SWE Succession Planning, Women in Manufacturing, Closing the Engagement Gap, and Funding your Graduate Education.

Left: Lisa Volpatti accepting the Achieving Collegiate Section Award. Right: Sandy Liu accepting the Aspiring Program Award.

Origami Night Social/Relaxation Written By: Lisa Volpatti On March 5, Pitt SWE held a relaxing social night of Origami and Sushi. Origami paper and instructions were provided, so no prior experience was necessary. During a hectic week of exams, members enjoyed taking a break and folding paper into various creatures and creations, such as cranes, seals, boxes, baskets, and bowties! All origami from the event will be donated to children in UPMC Presbyterian.

University of Pittsburgh – Society of Women Engineers – March 2013 - 2

Entrepreneurship Seminar Professional Development: Seminar Series Written By: Lisa Volpatti The Entrepreneurship Seminar, held on Feb. 28, was the first seminar of the series hosted by Tau Beta Pi Honors Engineering Society and Pitt SWE. The guest speaker was Dr. Eric Beckman, the George M. Bevier Professor of Engineering and Co-Director of Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation at the University of Pittsburgh.

Additionally, Dr. Beckman co-founded Cohera Medical, Inc.® and is the primary inventor of the company’s proprietary adhesive technology.

During his presentation, Dr. Beckman discussed the various steps involved in becoming an entrepreneur and related his advice to his personal experiences. One of the most important aspects of starting a company is identifying the opportunity or the gap that exists between the current products on the market and the customers’ desired outcomes.

Dr. Beckman noted that opportunity incorporates aspects of the market such as the number of customers and the desired outcomes, in addition to the competition (i.e. how well do current products work?).

A list of “Questions for Conversation” was included on the reverse side of the agenda in the event of a lull in conversation. Some of the questions for the professionals ranged from “How did you get started in your line of work?” to “Who is your favorite author?” while questions for the students included “Why did you choose to major in engineering at the University of Pittsburgh?” and “What do you love/enjoy most about your major?” The tenth question on each list involved obtaining contact information so that the students and professionals could stay in touch.

WE13. Make connections.

Make history.

Societal News The WE13 website is now live! Check out the call for participation at http://we13.swe.org/WE13. The conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland from October 24-26, 2013. Keep checking back because registration will open soon!

In addition to identifying the opportunity and creating a novel product or service that meets the desired outcomes of the customer, entrepreneurs need to secure funds from grants, competitions, or venture capital firms to jumpstart their company. Other aspects of consideration include office space, employees, manufacturing, and intellectual property, among others. Students who attended this seminar learned that while entrepreneurship requires an investment of time and money, the rewards may be worth the risks.

Dinner with Professionals Professional Development: Networking Dinner Written By: Lisa Volpatti On March 27, Tau Beta Pi and Pitt SWE jointly hosted a “Dinner with Professionals” at Frick Fine Arts. Professionals included Tau Beta Pi alumni, Pittsburgh Professional SWE members, and University of Pittsburgh deans and professors.

Seven professionals joined twenty-three students for this networking dinner. The goal was to limit registration to a small group of thirty people to encourage more personal conversation between the students and the professionals.

Personal Finance Seminar Professional Development: Seminar Series Written By: JoAnna Male Pamela Rikstad from the University of Pittsburgh and James Sells from 3 Rivers Wealth Management Group presented on personal finance and investment basics for students on March 21 for engineering students.

University of Pittsburgh – Society of Women Engineers – March 2013 - 3

Pam focused on budgeting basics, including taking a close look at your take-home pay versus your expenses, and building and protecting your credit. She suggested Mint.com as a great tool for keeping track of your finances.

James presented on diversifying your investment portfolio with different kinds of stocks and bonds (taking advantage of the benefits of mutual fund options) as well as other investments and women-specific financial considerations.

If interested in obtaining the presentation slides from this event please send your request to tbp.pittsburgh@gmail.com.

The event was hosted jointly by the Society of Women Engineers, Tau Beta Pi, and Women in Business.

Community-Based Research Fellowship Research Fellowship Opportunity Applications due for the Community-Based Research Fellowship Program which supports University of Pittsburgh undergraduate students while they are conducting community-based research projects. Please go to: http://www.honorscollege.pitt.edu/community-basedresearch-fellowships for more information.

E-Week Results are IN! Swanson School of Engineering News

SWE SUDOKU Pitt SWE would like to challenge you to a sudoku!

The first University of Pittsburgh student to email PittSWE@gmail.com with the correct answers will receive a $10 dollar gift certificate as a reward.

Blah

After a great week of engineering competitions, the final standings for E-Week are: 1st - ChemE 2nd - CivE 3rd - BioE 4th - ECE 5th - IE 6th - MEMS 7th - Freshmen Congratulations to the Chemical Engineers for taking first place!

Pitt SWE Officers President – Lisa Volpatti Vice President – Sandy Liu Treasurer – Christina O’Donnell Secretary – Julia Wasas Reprinted from Plus50Lifestyles.com.

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

University of Pittsburgh – Society of Women Engineers – March 2013 - 4