News & Events

Coppell Engineering Expo Recap and Upcoming Events

by Dallas SWE on in Meetings, Outreach, Special Events

On November 3, 2013, Dallas SWE represented women in engineering at the Coppell Engineering Expo at Coppell High School.  Each year, Dallas SWE members take this opportunity to speak to local high school students and their parents about different types of engineering, what to expect in a college engineering program, and how to become a collegiate SWE member.  Juanita Miller coordinated our participation and was assisted by Jennifer Vilbig (Dallas SWE President) and Cheryl Naftzger.  Thanks, ladies, for volunteering!!

Dallas SWE volunteers at the Coppell Engineering Expo!
Dallas SWE volunteers at the Coppell Engineering Expo!

The Dallas SWE booth was colorful this year, decorated with a green tablecloth, white and yellow streamers, and a SWE banner was prominently displayed.  After decorating the table, we inflated several balloons to use as door prizes.  As the crowd arrived, we pulled out our prize jar and began interacting with students and adults who stopped by.  The students drew for door prizes including items like wooden puzzles, key chains, bandannas, pencils, and balloons.  The balloons were a big hit with younger children (<4th grade) and the parents appreciated that we let the little ones pull something from the jar too.  Several teachers, from Coppell and other districts, came by to ask about the engineering disciplines and careers for their classes.  The Coppell Engineering Boosters put on their usual “red jacket” hospitality with a very nice event.

During the event, we talked to 58 students and their parents (about 145 people total).  We love being at this event every year!  Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit.

 

In other news, we have some upcoming events that you’ll want to put on your calendar.  In November we’re LEEDing the way to a greener tomorrow!  What are these “LEED buildings” you keep hearing about? LEED buildings impact commercial and residential energy usage, accounting for 39% of the energy used in the US. Come learn how Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is aiding engineers, architects, and contractors in how to go green and build energy efficient buildings.

About the Speakers:
Paulina Diaz, P.E.
Paulina is a Mechanical Engineer with 7 years of experience and exceptional training in the design of comprehensive mechanical systems. She joined the ccrd team in 2011 and has worked on numerous LEED projects. Current projects include energy modeling and related mechaincal credits under LEED 2009 for the Neuroscience Cancer Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Laura Geiger
Laura Geiger is an Electrical Engineer with ccrd. She also joined in 2011 and has worked on several projects, including a Psychiatric Facility in Georgetown, TX which is currently under construction. Laura recently passed part 1 of a two part test to become a LEED Green Associate.

Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Time: Networking starts at 6:30 pm, Main Event starts at 7:00 pm
Location: La Madeleine near SMU’s campus, 3072 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, TX 75205 (click for map)
Cost: No cost to RSVP for this event!  Dinner will be available for purchase at the expense of the individual attendee.  Please RSVP so we can get an accurate headcount!

Be on the lookout for more information about upcoming events including a Holiday Party in December and an Award-Winning Sci Girl Training in January!  You can join our mailing list by submitting your email address in the sidebar.

Lastly, we’ve selected a date for the next Design Your World Event at UNT on March 29, 2014. For more information and updates on that event, please visit the Design Your World website.

WE13 SWE Annual Conference Recap

by Dallas SWE on in Special Events

Last week, Dallas SWE members Laura Geiger, Shelley Stracener, Nicole Navinsky, and Wanda Holmes attended the Annual Society of Women Engineers Conference (WE13) in Baltimore, MD.  Attendance was at an all-time high this year: over 7,000 people were present to enjoy this year’s event!  The Career Fair was also the largest ever for a National SWE Conference, with representatives from industry, government, and graduate education recruiting engineers of all types and ages.

Celebrate SWE crowd on Saturday evening!
Celebrate SWE crowd on Saturday evening!

National conference is always a great time to recharge our batteries, take care of SWE section business, and get inspired to improve ourselves and our careers through education, networking, and collaboration.  We posted lots of real-time info on Twitter and Facebook, so check those out if you want the play-by-play report of the week’s activities.  Thursday was kicked off with an inspiring talk from Cristina Amorim, Chief Sustainability Officer of Life Technologies, about how visibility (seizing and in some cases creating your own opportunities to be noticed and recognized for your excellent work) is key to success for women in engineering.  There were some truly amazing sessions, including a film screening of Top Secret Rosies, advice on how to grow your career in a growing organization, influencing without authority,  and several sessions on how to effectively run meetings even if you participate via a virtual work environment.  Technical talks included highlights in the fields of biometric identification devices, cloud computing and storage, smart power grids, and mobile application development.

Joint Collegiate and Professional Region C Meeting
Joint Collegiate and Professional Region C Meeting

At the Region C meeting, professionals and collegiates from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi got together to discuss membership and recruitment, leadership training resources, proposed bylaw changes, outreach activities, and some new collegiate sections.  At Celebrate SWE, the conference’s closing ceremony and celebration, Nicole Navinsky, our Fundraising Committee Chair, received an award for Outstanding Collegiate Member!  The SMU student section got the Outstanding Collegiate Section Silver Level Award.  To top off the shared successes of this year, the Dallas SWE section was presented with a Section Award for our Outreach Event Series, Design Your World!  We are honored to be recognized for the events on which our volunteers and officers worked very hard and also had a lot of fun!!  It was a great way to end the conference.  Congratulations to all the award winners for this year!

If you didn’t get to attend this year, plan on joining in on the conferences for 2014!!  The Region C Conference will be February 7-9, 2014 in Houston, TX.  Early bird registration prices are available through December 31 so don’t wait!  Visit their website for details and to register.  The National SWE Conference will be October 22-25, 2014 in Los Angeles, CA.  Stay tuned for details and a website link next year, but mark your calendars now!

Event Review: Texas Instruments DLP Center Tour

by Dallas SWE on in Meetings

On Tuesday, October 15, Texas Instruments and Dallas SWE got together for an exciting and informative tour of TI’s DLP Center in Plano, TX.  Thirty attendees, including several TI employees, enjoyed refreshments from Quiznos and networking with one another before each TI employee introduced themselves to the group and gave a short summary of their job responsibilities.

DLP

DLP-Theater
Kim Smith speaks to attendees in the TI DLP center theater.

 

Then, Kim Smith, Chair of the TI Wide Women’s Information Network (WIN), entertained and enlightened us with a history of her decades-long career at Texas Instruments.  She outlined the wide variety of integrated circuit products that Texas Instruments team members design, manufacture, and sell all around the globe.  She told us how she used her technical knowledge, networking skills, and collaborative spirit to solve problems, inspire and lead teams, and help women at TI make the most of their employment and their lives through WIN initiatives of Professional Development, Personal Growth, and Community Involvement.  Kim inspired us to get out of our own small areas, especially in a large company, to network and meet people as a way to develop mentor relationships, become more resourceful, and seek out opportunities to show off our strengths.

Amber Scheurer shares info about TI's DLP center
Amber Scheurer shares info about TI’s DLP center

After Kim’s talk, the group migrated out to the DLP showroom where engineers Amber Scheurer and Kiki Schuck explained the history of Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology and the mind-blowing process of manufacturing a DLP chip!  Thousands of microscopic mirrors are bonded to a substrate and then actuated, changing the direction in which they reflect light.

Dallas SWE Secretary Morgen Schroeder has fun posing with one of the many Emmys on display!
Dallas SWE Secretary Morgen Schroeder has fun posing with one of the many Emmys on display!

All that movement creates the color and brightness of individual pixels on a projector screen, from a pico-projector built into a cellphone to huge movie screens!  We also saw how many companies are using DLP technology to create medical devices like the VeinViewer, a device which projects, then collects reflected infrared light to locate a patient’s veins, then creates and projects that real-time image back onto the patient’s arm!  This process reduces the amount of time and effort for nurses and phlebotomists to locate and penetrate a vein for patient blood draw or IV insertion.  It’s really incredible stuff!

Thanks to our hostesses (named above) , Dallas SWE Vice President Barbara Read, and to TI for setting up this great tour and speaker meeting.  If you missed this event, stay tuned for details on our next monthly meeting, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 19.   Also, if you’re interested in speaking to high school engineering students about SWE and what it’s like to be an engineer, consider volunteering at the Coppell High School Engineering Expo on November 3 from 2-5pm.  Email us at dallas.swe@gmail.com if you’re interested!

Last but not least, this year’s SWE National Conference is NEXT WEEK!   Dallas SWE members will be there and reporting via Twitter and Facebook, so keep up with all the exciting activities there and on the SWE National Twitter as well!  Hope to see you there!

FY14 SWE Scholarship Recipients

by Dallas SWE on in Collegiate

Recently, several college scholarships were awarded to students from both SWE National and Dallas SWE.  Congratulations to all of our SWE Scholarship Recipients!  We wish you all the best!

Adriana Blanco of UNT

Adriana Blanco, a University of North Texas senior studying Electrical Engineering, was awarded a $5000 scholarship from SWE National.  The scholarship and the General Electric internship in which she was invited to participate are sponsored by the General Electric Women’s Network.  Read more about Adriana and her internship experience on the UNT website!

 

 

Our Dallas SWE section was able to fund two new $500 scholarships to incoming college freshmen who are from the Dallas area!  Applicants were evaluated based on need, academics, community involvement, and their plans to become engineers.  Recipients are also eligible for renewal for up to four years when they demonstrate their ability to maintain a high GPA and continue in their engineering studies.  Thanks to the Dallas SWE Scholarship Committee for taking the time to review a record number of applications!  Congratulations to this year’s recipients (biographies below).

Jocelyn Chilson of Ponder, TX

Chilson“I live in a small town with my mom, dad and younger sister, Elizabeth.  My mom works as a teller at the bank here in town .  My dad works as a salesman for Cargill, Inc.  My sister is a year younger than me, 2 inches taller than me, and a junior in high school.  I like to spend my time playing sports, video games, and the piano.  When I’m not doing that, I like hanging with my friends, taking pictures, drawing, camping, star-gazing and listening to music.  I’m on my high school’s varsity softball and volleyball teams, a member of the National Honor Society, student council, and choir.  I also sing for my church choir.

I am the type of student who likes being challenged and getting good grades.  I took all the college classes and AP classes that my school offered.  I hope to graduate college with a 3.5 or higher GPA from Texas A&M and major in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Visual Arts.  At A&M, I also plan to join the Society of Women Engineers group, among other engineering groups, as well as their female a capela group.”

Madeline Drake of Richardson, TX

Drake (2)“For many years, I have played defense  on highly competitive soccer teams as well as my high school team.  Through this experience, I learned a lot about others and myself.  Team sports are a good way to make new friends, travel, and have fun.

I am slightly introverted (another reason I want to go into engineering) and am happiest in my room at night, when the house is quiet.  During this time, I enjoy sewing, knitting, and crocheting.  I find it fun to create things from scratch into something wearable and fashionable.

Babysitting is my main source of income and I adore the children I get to work with.  I like being independent and not asking my parents to pay for everything I want.  Since I work for my own money, I like to spend it as frugally as possible,  I do this by shopping at thrift stores and altering clothes to fit me.

My other hobbies and activities include greenhouse gardening, solving Sudoku puzzles, going to church and exploring healthy eating options.  i think I am unique in many things I do and I take pride in the projects I dabble in.”

October 15 Professional Development Meeting and Tour

by Dallas SWE on in Meetings

Does the name Texas Instruments make you think “calculators?”  Come expand your knowledge of TI and enjoy an open house of the DLP® Demo Center.  DLP® is the projection technology that has won two Emmy Awards and powers Projectors, Pico Porjectors, HDTVs, Digital Cinema, and many new innovative devices all over the world.  During the meeting we’ll hear from Kim Smith, the TI-wide Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) Chair.

Kim Smith’s mission has always been to make a difference in the lives of others. She has accomplished this by leading teams across Texas Instruments ranging from the factory where chips are made, to working on partnerships globally, to leading various IT departments to most recently managing Analog Products for Internet Marketing. In addition, Kim uses her passion to give back to others by helping women grow across TI by leading the Women’s Employee group and giving back to others by leading Community Involvement Team.

Outside TI, Kim speaks to classrooms about the importance of math and science, volunteers at the Women’s Crisis Shelter, is a Big Sisters participant, volunteers with United Way of Dallas and the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, and is a board member on the Girls, Inc.

When: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 – Networking begins at 6:00pm, Main Event beings at 6:30pm.

Where:  Texas Instruments DLP (click for map)

Cost & Registration: Space is limited to 30 for this great event! There is an associated cost of $10 for SWE National Members and $15 for non-members. You MUST register and prepay on EventBrite in order to attend.  Dinner will be provided!

See everyone on October 15th for this awesome meeting!  For more information on other upcoming events and volunteer opportunities, please view our latest Constant Contact newsletter and join our mailing list in the sidebar to the right of this page.

WE13 Early Bird Registration ends this Friday!

by Dallas SWE on in Announcements

It’s only a month until the SWE Annual National Conference, WE13, in Baltimore, Maryland!  If you’re planning on attending, register before September 27 (THIS FRIDAY) to save 19% off professional registration or 28% off collegiate registration.  For more information and to register, check out this announcement from SWE National.

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