News & Events

Sci-Girls Event Review

by Dallas SWE on in Outreach

Outreach is aspiring! Sci-Girls, a PBS KIDS weekly series and website, is out to change how millions of tween girls think about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM! In addition to the television show, SciGirls training workshops integrate inquiry-based science instruction with a commitment to gender equity. To date, the SciGirls team has used both online and in-person methods to train over 500 formal and informal science education providers, offering professional development opportunities at numerous conferences nationwide.

SciGirls Group, Dallas 2014
SciGirls Group, Dallas 2014

On Saturday January 25, 2014, Dallas SWE hosted a Sci-Girls workshop enabled by a mini grant from the Twin Cities Public Television. We had around 30 girl scout leaders, school and university educators, SWE Dallas engineers and UNT SWE students attend the program led by two volunteer coordinators, Katelyn Wamsted from GirlStart and Danielle Rodgers from Girl Scouts of Central Texas. The program started at 9 am and participants learned data and research driven suggestions on how to communicate with a tone of inclusion to both genders. The response to event and club opportunities differed among boys and girls and it became clear that with good intentions people keen to bring more underrepresented groups into engineering can be more effective with small changes. The interactive approach brought participants to communicate with each other.

Lunch was provided from Dallas SWE with a good ‘ol Cowboy Chicken assortment. The afternoon session was designed around 3 activities that were hands on experiences of Sci-Girls activities for engineering, physical science and forensics. The closing program confirmed the increasingly positive comments in the day with all participants thanking the coordinators and Dallas SWE for an experience that was high impact, encouraging and enabling. Bria Miles, event chair for UNT Student section and Design Your World- Stem conference for Girls, co-chair, said “I think the workshop was very enlightening and enjoyable. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun.” Mayaria Johnson, UNT SWE section President said “I thoroughly enjoyed Sci-Girls as well. It was very motivational.  I am looking forward to incorporating some of the activities and techniques we learned to get girls engaged in STEM!” JoAnn Harris Hill, of IBM, showed through her creative circuit that the Sci-Girls theme of create engages more than build that the two were indeed one. A Title I teacher who drove in from Mesquite said she felt inspired to be able to bring more opportunities to enable emergence from poverty.

In addition to hosting the Sci-Girls Connect workshop, Dallas SWE has pledge its support to Twin Cities Public Television for a new Latina Sci-Girls television special and an educational outreach program! We hope that Latina Sci-Girls is selected by the National Science Foundation so we can share this excellent resource with the Spanish-speaking community in North Texas.

In summary, the event was educational, inspirational and will enable all who attended to encourage young men and women to #BeThatEngineer.

-Nandika DSouza, Dallas SWE Vice President of Outreach

January Professional Development Meeting and Upcoming Events

by Dallas SWE on in Collegiate, Meetings

Happy new year, everyone!  We hope you had a bright and happy holiday season and we’re excited about the busy year ahead.  We’ll be starting the year off with our monthly professional development meeting: “Forging Pathways to Leadership.”  Are you curious about what HR looks for in employees? Do you want to develop your leadership skills? Then RSVP to attend just joint professional development meeting with Dallas SWE and UTD SWE! We will hear a great presentation from Sam Dwinell, the Vice-President of Human Resources for Texas Instruments!

When: Wednesday, January 22, 2014.  Networking begins at 6pm, main event begins at 6:30pm.

Where: UTD Campus, Naveen Jindal School of Management, Executive Dining Room, 1.606 (click for map).

Cost: FREE for students, $5 for SWE members, $10 for non-members

Registration: Please RSVP at the Eventbrite registration page (click here) no later than January 20.

samanthandwinellAbout the Speaker: As Vice President of Human Resources, Samantha Dwinell leads TI’s global talent management function, ensuring that TI has a continual pipeline of diverse internal and external talent ready and committed to meeting TI business needs. Her areas of expertise include organizational change, organization development, leadership development, coaching, communications, employee engagement, and talent management. Samantha has a strong background in global HR, including direct experience managing HR in foreign locations.

 

There are also a number of events coming up in the next few months.  For details on the events listed below, visit our Calendar page where you can bring up more information from our Google calendar.  Save these dates!

January 23: Expo Experts Engineering and Technology Career Expo
January 25: SciGirls Outreach Training Event (SOLD OUT, but there’s another being hosted in Killeen on January 17 if you just can’t miss it!)
January 30: ASCE, SWE, AWWA, and SWE Younger Members Happy Hour
February 7-9: Region C Annual Conference – Click here to visit the event’s website and to register.
February 16-22: National Engineers Week
February 18: She Networks, She Wins! at SMU
March 18: Dallas SWE Monthly meeting
March 29: Design Your World at UNT

Also, we’ve added a couple of new events and job openings to our Careers page so if you or someone you know is looking for engineering opportunities, please go take a look.   That’s about it for now!  Stay tuned for updates on these and other events throughout the winter and spring.

Texas Girls Collaborative Project at Discovery Park:Saturday, January 25, 2014

by Dallas SWE on in Outreach

The Dallas Society of Women Engineers is teaming up with the Texas Girls Collaborative Project to host the next SciGirls Connect Workshop for adults at Discovery Park, University of North Texas.

This is a day-long workshop based on SciGirls, a PBS KIDS weekly series and website out to change how millions of tween girls think about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. Educators across Texas are invited to attend this free professional development opportunity and discover how to engage young women (ages 8-13) through research-based, high quality activities and resources.

Participants (adults) attending the workshop will:

  • Learn about the latest research for exciting and engaging girls (and boys) in STEM.
  • Experience four hands-on STEM activities such as using dough to teach circuits, designing unique ways to measure your strde, manipulating an object to be neutrally buoyant, and creating your own experiment to identify mystery plastics.
  • Leave with curriculum for 20 hands-on, video-enhanced activities that put a creative twist on teaching STEM.
  • Learn how to modify any activity to excite and engage kids in STEM using the SciGirls Seven.
  • Discover additional online resources that enhance teaching and learning experiences for all kids.

Registration is required (click to register!). Lunch is provided.  We hope you can join us for this special event!

Dallas SWE will follow the success of its October 19th event Design Your World-STEM conference for girls at the same location March 29th for 6th through 12th grade girls. Stay tuned here for details on this and other efforts!

Nandika D’Souza
Dallas SWE Vice President of Outreach

November LEED Speaker Meeting Recap

by Dallas SWE on in Meetings

On November 19, 2013, Dallas SWE hosted a speaker meeting at La Madeleine near SMU’s campus with guest speakers Paulina Diaz, P.E. and Laura Geiger.  Paulina and Laura work for ccrd, an engineering consulting firm, on projects promoting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) with a special focus in the healthcare industry.

Their informative presentation gave an overview of the LEED rating system, what it takes to become a credentialed LEED professional, and some of the specific projects they have been a part of at ccrd including the Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, TX and the Baylor Cancer Center in Dallas, TX.   It was really interesting to hear about the different challenges LEED engineers face when designing modifications to existing buildings or new buildings from scratch.  Paulina and Laura highlighted the delicate balance between the state of existing infrastructure, cost, functionality, and environmental concerns.  Thanks to Paulina and Laura for enlightening us on your experience with green energy design, and thanks to Dallas SWE Vice President Barbara Read for setting up this month’s meeting location and learning opportunity!  You can view the LEED topic PowerPoint presentation here.

After our speaker presentation, Dallas SWE President Jennifer Vilbig went over some SWE business and awarded afew lucky attendees with door prizes!  You can view this month’s meeting agenda at our Newsletter page.

If you haven’t already RSVPed for the December 12 Holiday Party, hosted jointly by Dallas SWE and DFW ATW, you can do so at the Eventbrite website!  It will be a great time to celebrate the successes of 2013 and enjoy each other’s company for the holidays so don’t miss it!!

Last but not least, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!  We hope to see you again soon.

Dallas SWE and ATW Holiday Party

by Dallas SWE on in Meetings

It’s that time of year!  Dallas SWE and the DFW Alliance for Technology and Women (ATW) are teaming up for a night of networking,  holiday cheer, and giving to a good cause.   Appetizers and Cash Bar will be available.  Join us!

Charity Donation
In the spirit of Holiday giving, we are supporting The Family Place. Specifically, we’re donating to help the women they serve. Please bring a small unwrapped personal item to donate such as; picture frames, books, spa items, gloves, hats, clothing items, jewerly.  *No candles, please*

About ATW
DFW*ATW is a dynamic non-profit organization that supports women and men worldwide who share the common interests of empowering women in technology, increasing the number of women in executive roles and encouraging women and girls to enter technology fields.

When: Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 6:00pm
Where: Blue Mesa Grill, 14866 Montfort Dr, Addison, TX 75254
Cost: $20 for ATW and SWE Members, $25 for Non-Members (guests), $30 at the door.
Register: Click here to register for this event!

 

Reminder for Tuesday’s Professional Development meeting:
Please RSVP if you plan on attending the LEED Event so we can get an accurate headcount!

Design Your World 2013 Recap

by Dallas SWE on in Collegiate, Outreach, Special Events

DYWEarly on Saturday, October 19, 2013 110 girls (4th and 5th graders) and 45 adults with over 75 volunteers converged on the SMU campus for a day of fun.  LIttle did they know that they would also learn a lot about STEM (science, technology, engineering, ad math).

PXD_3292
Girls launching the rockets they made!

The adult break-out session (first ever for Dallas SWE) was for parents and educators to learn a bit more about how to encourage their daughters to pursue a STEM career.  The adults heard a panel of speakers in the morning, and a chance to visit any of the ongoing activities the girls were attending, and during the afternoon played with a hands-on activity to learn and take home.

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Twenty girls attended a variety of sessions.  Twenty girls spent the day in Fasion Camp learning about Lily Pad Arduino processors and fashioning blinking light headbants.  The remainder of the girls each participated in three events:

  • Up, Up and Away – building rockets using the basics of electrical circuits with buzzers and lights
  • Marshmallow Towers that reached the ceiling
  • Cosmetics and Lotions
  • Principles of Polymers – creating scented sparkling charms
  • Creating a Lollipop Express with mechanical cars and tours.

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The women of Dallas SWE and SMU SWE hosted the event and made all the magic happen.  The bright, sunny day ended too early for many of the girls and parents.  The fun, the learning, the experiences, and the enthusiasm were contagious.  When surveyed, 96% of parents responded that they would attend an event again, and 98% of parents responded that they would recommend the event to others.  The girls responded 82% and 88% to the same questions, and 86% said that they enjoyed the fact that this was an event just for girls.

The following quotes from the girls sum up the day’s success:

  • “I wanted to stay all night!”
  • “I had soooo much fun.”
  • “Next time make it longer.”
  • “Thank you for doing this, hope I can come again soon!”

The next Design Your World event is scheduled for March 29, 2014!  Stay tuned to the Design Your World site for updates, or add your email address to their mailing list to get information sent directly to you.

DYWgirls

 

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