Society of Women Engineers

Transcription

1 Society of Women Engineers July 2011 SWE-MN FY11 Executive Council President: Lesley Wyckoff Vice President: Charlene Willenbring Secretary: Sara Beck Treasurer: Laura Kooistra Section Reps: John Kasab, Melissa Stiegler Awards & Recognition: Cassie Svendsen Fund Development: Amy Raffa, Kalyani Malllela Membership: Lynn Davenport & Nicole Danielson-Bartelt Outreach: Rachel Borchers & Kristina Wagstrom Professional Development: Katrina Sanders, Jacalyn St. Dennis, Elaine Reeves Scholarship: Naomi Brill & Holly Kimball Website Coordinator: Senja Lopac Newsletter Editor: Michaeline Sheehy Volunteer Coordinator: Kathrine Oxford Collegiate Section Counselors: Martha Escobar (MN State Mankato), Charlene Willenbring (U of MN), Angela Neidermire (St Cloud State), & Melissa Stiegler (U of St Thomas) Inside this Issue Pg 2: Pg 3: Pg 4: Pg 7: Pg 8: Pg 9: President s Report & SWE-MN Sponsors VP Spotlight SWE-MN Scholarship Awards SWE-MN Executive Council Awards Rochelle Perry Scholarship Announcement Member News Pg 10: Pg 11: Pg 12: Pg 13: Pg 14: Pg 17: Member Spotlight: Getting to Know SWE-MN Outreach Professional Development Fund Development Section Representatives Report Calendar of Events

2 President s Report I can t believe it is July already! Summer is already halfway over.oh my! As a reminder, SWE s fiscal year is from July 1- June 30th, so here in SWE-MN we are busy completing our transition meetings and getting ready for the new year. FY12 officially started on July 1st! I am honored and very excited to represent the MN Section this year as Section President. I am looking forward to meeting a lot of new members, participating in our Professional Development, Outreach, and Membership events, and taking part in awarding many scholarships to our collegiate members. I am confident that our SWE-MN Executive Council, made up of both returning and new faces, will bring our members the same quality of programs and events that we have been doing for the past 30 years! As we begin FY12, I would like to take a moment to announce the SWE-MN members who will hold national positions during FY12. These women have been major contributors to the Society on the section, regional, and national level for the past several years. We wish them the best as they transition into these new positions this month. Alyse Stofer President Elect Elizabeth Bierman Secretary Allison Pedersen Chair Elect, Curriculum Committee Cathy Krier Chair, Leadership Coaching Tricia Walker Chair, Task Force, Strategic Awards Assessment Lindsey Roberts McKenzie Chair, Region H Audit Committee Kalyani Mallela Chair Elect, Awards & Recognition Chair, Region H Awards Be sure to take a minute to read through this month s newsletter to meet the new SWE-MN EC members and find out how you can get involved during FY12! Also included in this month s publication is our Annual Awards Banquet Recap where we awarded 9 scholarships totaling $12,000! We also thanked our corporate sponsors for the year, our many volunteers, and presented some special SWE-MN awards to EC members and top volunteers! If you would like to get involved in any way this year, feel free to contact a member of the EC or myself at president@swe-mn.org. I look forward to a great year! ~ Lesley Xcel Energy Banner Engineering Lockheed Martin *If you or your company would like more information about becoming a SWE supporter, please contact: Lesley Wyckoff at president@swe-mn.org 2

3 VP Spotlight Greetings! SWE-MN recently celebrated a great FY11 at our annual Spring Banquet and even though the year is just barely behind us, I am already looking forward to all the successes we will accomplish in FY12. I am very excited to have this opportunity to be your FY12 Vice President, helping to lead the Executive Council alongside Lesley Wyckoff and assisting her however I can. I ve been involved with SWE-MN for quite some time holding a range of positions including Section Representative, University of Minnesota Counselor, and as a Committee Member for both Outreach and Professional Development. I hope to use those experiences to provide insight and guidance to the Outreach and Scholarship Committees and to the university counselors. Enjoy the rest of your summer! I plan on spending some time outdoors camping, hiking, and biking with my family. Take care, and I look forward to seeing you all this fall!. ~ Charlene 3

4 SWE-MN Scholarship Awards The Minnesota Section proudly announces our Section and Corporate Partnership 2011 Scholarship Recipients For Fall Semester, 2011 the Minnesota Section of the Society of Women Engineers has awarded nine tuition-based scholarships, totaling $12,000. We congratulate the following recipients and gratefully thank the following corporate sponsors for their partnership in making this program a success! Check out our corporate partners websites for more information about these great companies. Banner Engineering Scholarship Sarah McMahon, an electrical engineering / engineering physics student at South Dakota State University, is the recipient of the $2,000 Banner Engineering Scholarship. Banner Engineering is the sensor market leader with the broadest line of products and solutions in the nation. See for more information. Boston Scientific Scholarship Silvia Canelon, a biomedical engineering student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, is the recipient of the $1,500 Boston Scientific Scholarship. Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices who, for more than 25 years, has advanced the practice of less-invasive medicine by providing a broad and deep portfolio of innovative products, technologies and services. For further information, visit (Continued on page 5) 4

5 SWE-MN Scholarship Awards (Continued from page 4) General Dynamics AIS Scholarships Ashleigh Hayes, an electrical engineering student at the University of St. Thomas, is the recipient of the $1,000 General Dynamics AIS Scholarship. General Dynamics AIS is a leading provider of transformational mission solutions in command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. See for more information. Lockheed Martin Scholarships Megan McCoy, an electrical engineering student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, is the recipient of the $1,500 Lockheed Martin Scholarship. Sarah Gilbertson, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, is the recipient of the $1,000 Lockheed Martin Scholarship. Special thanks to Lockheed Martin for sponsoring two scholarships! Lockheed Martin s vision is to be the world s best advanced technology systems integrator. Visit for more information. (Continued on page 6) 5

6 SWE-MN Scholarship Awards (Continued from page 5) Medtronic SWEnet Scholarship Michelle Ngatino, a biomedical engineering student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, is the recipient of a $1,000 SWEnet Scholarship. Erin Syverson, a biomedical engineering student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, is the recipient of a $1,000 SWEnet Scholarship. Special thanks to Medtronic SWEnet for sponsoring two scholarships! SWEnet is a professional network of Society of Women Engineers members who work at Medtronic, the global leader in medical technology. These dedicated women have donated their time and talents to create this scholarship opportunity. For further information on Medtronic, visit MTS Systems Corporation Scholarship Karin Hanson, a mechanical engineering student at South Dakota State University, is the recipient of the $1,500 MTS Systems Corporation Scholarship. MTS Systems Corporation is the world s leading supplier of mechanical testing and simulation equipment. For more information, visit The Minnesota Section Scholarship Isha Shrestha, an information technology student at Minnesota State University, Mankato, is the recipient of the $1,500 Minnesota Section Scholarship. This endowed scholarship is for a full time women student entering her junior or senior year of an accredited engineering or computer science program at schools in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Visit us at Congratulations to all of these outstanding women engineering students! 2012 Minnesota Section and Corporate Partnership Scholarships Information will be posted on this website on November 15th! FFI, us at scholarships@swe-mn.org 6

7 SWE-MN Executive Council Awards Key Contributor Award Lindsey Roberts McKenzie The Key Contributor Award recognizes a section member who has provided continuity and stability inside our organization for a period of several years and has been vital to our organizational success. Most Dedicated Member Award Kalyani Mallela The Most Dedicated Member Award acknowledges a member who does not have time to volunteer as a committee chair but attends meetings regularly and is ready to volunteer for a specific project. Professional Spirit Award Holly Kimball The Professional Spirit Award recognizes a member who is passionate about SWE s mission and consistently represents the Section in a positive, professional manner. Most Active New Member Award Cheryl Moeller The Most Active New Volunteer Award acknowledges the contribution of section members who are new to our organization. Cheryl contributed to the Section both within the Outreach and Professional Development Committees Significant Achievement Award Melissa Kaufman The Significant Achievement Award recognizes a committee that has made a significant contribution to the long-term goals of our Section. Melissa received this award for her contributions to Fund Development this year. Most Innovative New Program Award Lesley Wyckoff The Most Innovative New Program Award recognizes a program new to SWE-MN that addresses Section goals and has been implemented during the current fiscal year. Lesley created and implemented the section s Social Media Plan this year. Bravest Volunteer of the Year Award Lynn Davenport & Nicole Danielson The Bravest Volunteer Award acknowledges members who have thrown caution to the wind and have been willing to undertake unfamiliar and challenging tasks to better our Section membership. Most Reliable Contributor Award Laura Kooistra The Most Reliable Contributor Award recognizes a section member who always completes tasks in a timely manner and regularly attends Executive Council and Professional Development SWE-MN meetings. This year, Laura has been extremely reliable as our secretary, sending out the weekly and completing other tasks in a quick and reliable fashion. 7

8 Rochelle Perry Scholarship Announcement Announcing the Society of Women Engineers Scholarship in Memory of Rochelle Perry Rochelle Nicolette Perry graduated from Altmar-Parish-Williamstown High School in 2005 and Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelors and Masters degree in Industrial Engineering in Upon graduating, she moved to Waterloo, Iowa, where she worked as an engineer for John Deere. In March of 2011, Rochelle Perry was involved in a tragic accident. Rochelle was extremely devoted to her community and friends. She taught Junior Achievement classes to grade-school children, volunteered at the food bank, and was an active member of the Jaycees. Rochelle also was a valuable member of SWE. Her commitment to the organization was extraordinary both as a student and professional, and she was a founding member of the Cedar Valley Professional Section (Region H). Rochelle enjoyed sharing her passion for engineering and technology with the community. Her drive allowed her to do so much for other people. She impacted many lives and set a wonderful example of generosity and community involvement. Rochelle s dedication to her community is to be the example to follow for candidates of this scholarship. The Rochelle Nicolette Perry Scholarship is to be awarded annually to a currently-enrolled college student (2nd year or higher), studying engineering/engineering technology in Region E or Region H. The student is to be an active SWE member, who is involved in their community with planning and participating in events or other organizations. Through the examples the student shares in essay form, they are to show a high level of dedication and passion for their own community, organizations, and engineering in general. The candidate is to have a minimum GPA of Each year the $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to one student. The SWE Board of Trustees is to select the scholarship recipient each year. To make a donation to help fund this scholarship, please send your check payable to RIT-SWE Rochelle Perry Scholarship to: Dr. Marca Lam SWE Faculty Advisor WE@RIT, BLDG GLE Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester, NY

9 Member News Thanks to all who attended the picnic co-hosted by SWE and MFESTS! We had a great turnout, despite the weather being on and off rainy. Hopefully all who attended had a chance to mingle, eat, and even play a little ladder golf if they wanted! Special thanks to Lynn Davenport for putting it together and Kurt from MFESTS for being the grill master. Hope to see you all again next year! Thanks, ~ Nicki & Lynn 9

10 Member Spotlight: Getting to Know SWE-MN Congratulations to SWE-MN member Elaine Reeves for obtaining her Minnesota Engineering In Training certification!! What is the EIT, how do you obtain it, and why should you? Below SWE-MN Member and Outreach Committee Co-Chair Elaine Reeves outlines what it means to her to have earned her Engineering in Training (EIT) certification. For more detailed information about the EIT and to determine if you qualify to sit for the certification exam, also known as the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam, contact the Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design (AELSLAGID): The EIT certification is the first step towards obtaining a Professional Engineering (PE) license, which requires at least five years of experience once the EIT certification is granted. Some engineering specialties require or strongly encourage obtaining a PE, for example if you work on certain kinds of public projects or own your own engineering company. Whatever the case, I highly recommend to all SWE members to consider preparing for this exam, which is offered only twice per year in the spring and fall. You never know where your career might lead you. Even though my background is in Electrical Engineering and EIT certification isn't required to work in my area of expertise, having my EIT indicates to others that I have a well developed broad based knowledge of the technical aspects of the engineering discipline. As a result, I am more likely to be considered as a resource for others on more in-depth projects within my work environment. In addition, by obtaining my EIT, clients put more trust in my credentials and ability to do exceptional work on their behalf. While many positions now currently mention engineering in the description or title, this fact alone doesn t necessarily mean the employee has been through the kind of rigorous engineering training that a four year degree requires. As only those who have graduated from an ABET accredited engineering program can take the EIT exam, having the EIT provides further confirmation to others that I have an engineering degree. My achievement, along with my efforts to prepare for the inarte EMC certification, which is specific to my field, serves to improve my company s reputation as a leader in the field and bring further recognition to the organization as one who invests in their employees in order to stay ahead of the curve. ~Elaine Getting to Know SWE-MN is in search of great members to profile in upcoming newsletters! Were you a champion pumpkin cannon builder in college? Did you discover engineering at a SWE sponsored event when you were 10? Do you have a friend who has a great SWE story? Please contact us at membership@swe-mn.org and we would love to see your photo and story in the near future! 10

11 Outreach Upcoming Outreach Events: 7/12-7/14 : Volunteer at Engineering is Science & Math & Creativity Too! (E=SMC2)-Present on engineering design process to youth Normandale Community College As we've shifted into the summer months, our Outreach activities have taken on a more celebratory tone. It was great to see the ladies who came out for a Wow! success celebration evening at Salut! on Grand for drinks and dinner. About twelve of the Outreach Committee and Wow! participants were able to join marking another Wow! event in the books and an end to the SWE FY11 Outreach Committee calendar. A big thanks to everyone who has helped with Outreach this year! June continued on as a popular month for the Egg Mobile activity. The Egg Mobile was presented at Teacher Training with The Works and again at the STEPS camp at St. Thomas. As we roll through the summer months we'll continue with a variety of upcoming activities. We would love for you help at any or all of them! We have an exciting new opportunity to help with STEM day at the fair. Please contact Outreach (outreach@swe-mn) for more info! ~ Rachel & Kristina 9:00am-10am (contact volunteer@swe-mn.org) 7/21: Volunteer at Urban Summer Camp "Science Week" - make silly putty and talk about engineering. Minneapolis 10:15am - 12:15pm (contact volunteer@swe-mn.org) 8/2-8/4: Volunteer at Engineering is Science & Math & Creativity Too! (E=SMC2)-Present on engineering design process to youth St. Paul College 9:00am-10am (contact volunteer@swe-mn.org) 8/25: Volunteer at STEM day at the Fair with Sci- Girls - make electric play-dough with Sci-Girls and the University of St. Thomas. Shift 1: 6:00am-12:00pm Shift 2: 11:30am - 5:30pm (contact volunteer@swe-mn.org) 11

12 Professional Development As the FY11 year comes to a close, we would like to say thank you to all who attended PD events this year and we hope you have a great summer. We hope to see lots of new and familiar faces at the FY12 Fall Open House! Look for the FY12 Open House announcement in the next newsletter and upcoming weekly announcements. ~Jacalyn, Katrina & Elaine 12

13 Fund Development As the FY12 Fund Development Chairs, we are excited to work towards our mission: To plan and execute fundraising objectives to enable SWE-MN to reach its goals in encouraging girls to aspire to technical leadership, to advance the profession, and achieve our full potential as engineers and leaders. You and your company can help us provide programs for our members and community activities to promote engineering to students of all ages. Any size donation is welcome and there are a variety of sponsorship opportunities available, including Speaker Events, Industry Tours, Outreach Events and Scholarship Awards. The benefits of being a sponsor are well documented under the Sponsorship Level section of our website: We are also seeking Committee members who can help us with fundraising events such as our Winter Fundraiser. Last year we had a Wine Tasting event, which was a huge success. With help from our members and company sponsors, we were able to raise significant funds towards are organization goals. ~ Kalyani & Amy 13

14 Section Representatives Report As SWE s new fiscal year begins, SWE-MN has two new section representatives who are eager to get started with SWE-MN. John Kasab is looking forward to a great year with the Minnesota Section. A Senior and Life Member of SWE, John has served in several elected and volunteer roles at the local, regional, and national levels of the Society since he joined as a graduate student in Most recently, John was the Region H Secretary and a Section Representative for the Detroit Section. Since 2003, John has worked at the premium engineering consultancy Ricardo, where he is Chief Engineer for Chemical Technology and Innovations. In this capacity he is responsible for identifying, winning, and leading projects in the areas of emissions control technology, fuels and lubricants, and hydrogen and fuel cells. John has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the UW-Madison, and an MSChE and BSChE from Washington University in St. Louis. Melissa Stiegler is a Senior Marketing Engineer at Emerson Process Management in Chanhassen, MN. She has been at Rosemount for seven years starting as a design engineer. Melissa has a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Carlson School of Management also at the University of Minnesota. Melissa is currently working in the Rosemount Measurement Division as a product manager in the wireless group. Melissa has been involved with SWE since her freshman year of college and has been a Collegiate Section Counselor to the University of St. Thomas since graduation. Last year she was the treasure for SWE- MN and looks forward to the upcoming year as a section representative. (Continued on page 15) 14

15 Section Representatives Report (Continued from page 14) FY12 SWE Election Results President-Elect Alyse R. Stofer Secretary Elizabeth Bierman Deputy Speaker of the Senate Deborah Willems Secretary Elizabeth Bierman Director of Education Kelly Griswold Schable Director of Professional Development Linette Patterson Deputy Director of Regions Colleen M. Layman Trustees Majorie Inden & Carolyn F. Phillips Speaker of the Senate Helen Patricia Deputy Speaker of the Senate Deborah Willems Also, Lana Fountain Flakes was elected by the SWE Senate to complete the remaining year of Alyse Stofer's term as Director of Membership. The following individuals will be continuing in their leadership roles based on previous elections: President Melissa M. Tata Treasurer Stacey M. DelVecchio Director of Emerging Initiatives Semahat S. Demir, Ph.D. Director of Regions Linda M.S. Thomas Trustees Kathryn Mueller Cunningham, Michele Fitzpatrick, Florence D. Hudson, & Angela Nickels Region H Governor Wendy Schauer Landwehr Regional Professional Senator: Region H Christine Cabrera & Diane LaFortune Alternate Professional Senator Region H Stacy Thayer (Continued on page 16) 15

16 Section Representatives Report (Continued from page 15) Mark Your Calendars! WE11 - The Annual Conference for Women Engineers Raising the Heights of Innovation October 13-15, 2011 Chicago, Illinois Raise the heights of innovation with more than 5,000 women engineers and technologists at the WE11 Conference. Throughout the conference participants will experience numerous career-shaping opportunities. You ll have access to more than 120 professional development workshops and seminars, over 250 exhibitors at the Career Fair, and endless networking opportunities. Hotel registration is already open and conference registration is open as well Region H Conference University of Wisconsin - Madison SWE section February 17-19, 2012 As mentioned in the previous newsletter, the University of Wisconsin - Madison SWE section will be hosting the 2012 Region H Conference. Mark your calendars for February 17-19, 2012! It is very exciting to have the Region H conference within driving distance. We hope that many SWE-MN members will attend. 16

17 Calendar Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat EC Meeting Urban July 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Paul College August 2011 Paul College & Summer Camp Science Week Paul College State Fair W/Sci-Girls 17