We are teaming up with Fort Worth SWE to teach kids about circuits at the Moon Day event in Dallas. This event is organized by the National Space Society of North Texas and the Frontiers of Flight Museum to celebrate the anniversary of the first moon landing. This will be a great opportunity for SWE members to share their enthusiasm about science and engineering. To volunteer a few hours for this event, contact Nandika D’Souza .
News & Events
Watersense Home Event Review
With the summer weather heating up outside, water conservation and green energy concerns are becoming an important focus for many people. The Watersense Home at the Texas A&M AgriLife Center is a shining example of how existing homes can be retrofitted to save water, energy, and money, all at the same time! On June 20, Dallas SWE members and guests enjoyed learning all about practical ways improve our homes and lives.
After a welcome and introduction by Program Manager Clint Wolfe, twenty attendees got a tour of the landscaping outside the Watersense Home. Filled with natural rock, recycled glass and concrete features, and native, drought resistant vegetation, the design is both aesthetically pleasing and easy to maintain. Patrick Dickinson, Program Coordinator, taught us about how using the land’s natural drainage paths and using drip irrigation, rather than higher pressure pop-up sprinkler heads, is both a cost effective and efficient use of space and water. He showed us a huge rain collection tank behind the house that is filled by one of the home’s gutters and is the source of the entire yard’s irrigation needs.
After the outdoor tour, we went back into the home where Karen Sanders, Program Assistant, went over the energy saving features inside. The home uses LED lighting, an on-demand tankless hot water system, low-flow faucets, and energy efficient appliances to save on electric and water bills. The kitchen counter tops were made from recycled glass and the durable porcelain tile floor had the look of hard wood. Everyone was ready to move in after seeing the technology and great design in this home! If you’re interested in learning about ways to improve your own home, the A&M Agrilife Center hosts free classes throughout the year! See their course offerings here.
After the tour, attendees enjoyed a delicious and healthy meal from Corner Bakery Cafe. Barbara Read, Vice President Elect for FY14, hosted the business meeting portion of our event with several announcements and calls for volunteers for Moon Day and suggestions on what sort of events to plan for FY14 (take the Dallas SWE membership survey here). If you are interested in volunteer opportunities or serving as section Secretary (responsibilities outlined on the event flyer), please email us at dallas.swe@gmail.com. You can see the full Meeting Agenda here.
It was great to see so many new faces: nearly half of the attendees had never been to a Dallas SWE event before! We hope you’ll continue to stay plugged in to our local professional section, become a SWE member, and let our leadership team know how we can better serve you!
Capital One Event Recap
“Dreams are extremely important. You can’t do it unless you can imagine it.” – George Lucas
Dreams form an integral part of our being. It is in these dreams or visions that we plant the seeds of future actions. In these dreams lie our motivations of being better each day, of reaching our maximum potential and of walking in this world as independent women with our head held high. This was the message that Nadia Aziz, VP Enterprise Support and Risk Management, elaborated on during the Capital One networking event held on April 16th at Seasons 52, Plano.
It was a great 2 hour networking event sponsored by Capital One, where the attendees got to interact with the diversity recruiters at Capital One and understand why engineers are a great fit in the organization. Nadia Aziz, who was the speaker at the event, spoke of her experiences as she grew up in India and came here to the US to complete her degree in Mechanical Engineering. She spoke of the challenges that she experienced once she went back home armed with a BS degree to fond a job as a Mechanical Engineer, however, then in India not many women were employed in the mechanical engineering field. Not one to be disheartened by these odds, she mentioned how she started her own business in India. She later came back to Stanford GSB, to get her MBA degree. She mentioned that while she was attending a career 
session by Capital One, she noticed the company values and how they were practiced by the company leadership that she decided to accept the job offer at Capital One and has been here since. She mentioned that as engineers it is the critical thinking abilities as well as the analytical mindset that is very advantageous to them in their industry. She encouraged everyone present to believe in their dreams and have conviction in themselves. Each of us is capable of so much more! This talk was received with great enthusiasm by all the attendees.
Following the talk, there was an informal networking sessions with the Capital One crew and the Dallas SWE members. All in all, a great fun evening spent in exploring opportunities and learning how engineers are changing the world, one step at a time! – Neha Dobhal
Reminder: Watersense Home Event Rescheduled
The Watersense Home tour, originally scheduled for May 21, has been rescheduled for June 20 from 6-8pm. We’ll enjoy a tour of the Watersense Home, then have dinner and conduct our regular business meeting.
The house includes such features as hot water on-demand systems, water-efficient landscaping and irrigation systems, and rainwater harvesting. A WaterSense home can save at least 50,000 gallons a year for a family of four. Renewable energy and environmental impact of counter top, flooring and lighting choices will provide a fun, interactive and engaging event.
If registered for the even back in May and can still join us, no action is required and we will see you on June 20! If you registered in May but cannot make the new date and time, please email us to arrange a refund. If you have not registered and want to join us, please REGISTER HERE.
Dallas SWE Award & Membership Appreciation Banquet Recap
On Saturday, June 1, 23 attendees to the Dallas SWE Award and Membership Appreciation Banquet met to enjoy delicious food at Abuelo’s Mexican restaurant and celebrate the section’s accomplishments of the past fiscal year. Guests visited with each other before partaking in the savory buffet of shrimp, chicken, or beef fajitas, tasty sides, salsa, guacamole, and queso dip.
After dinner, keynote speaker Stephanie Watts Butler gave an entertaining and informative presentation on program and people management. Using clever references to Dr. Seuss books and characters, she illustrated the importance of modern control theory and knowing your audience to accomplishing measurable goals in an engineering environment.
Stephanie’s insights precipitated an engaging discussion among attendees about their own struggles in the workplace, management concerns, how and when to give and receive appreciation for accomplishments, and how managing people in a company differs from encouraging and inspiring people in a volunteer organization like the Society of Women Engineers.
Later in the evening, Jennifer Vilbig, EIT and Dallas SWE President, announced awards for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. These awards included certificates of appreciate to outgoing officers and committee chairs, highlights on the internship opportunities granted to Dallas SWE collegiate scholarship recipients, and Regional and National awards given to Dalals SWE members. Awards announced at the banquet are listed below. Jennifer then welcomed new members and the next fiscal year’s incoming officers, offering words of encouragement for an exciting new year ahead! Thanks to everyone who attended this year’s Award and Membership Appreciation Banquet and to all members of Dallas SWE for making FY13 a great banner year, full of successes, events, outreach, fellowship and professional achievements!
Outgoing Officer and Committee Chair Certificates of Appreciation
Barbara Read – Vice President, for organizing many of the section’s monthly meetings and speakers and for her contributions as a member of the 2013 Region C Conference Programs Committee.
Lindsay Clem – Vice President of Membership, for catalyzing a membership increase of 40%.
Amy Herbel – Treasurer, for 2 years of excellent financial service to the section.
Nandika D’souza – Secretary, for improving our section’s email communication via the use of Constant Contact.
Shelley Stracener – Webmaster, for redesiging the Dallas SWE webpage via the use of WordPress.
Neha Dobhal – Professional Awards Committee Chair, for organizing technical tours and meetings, for leading award submissions to SWE National, and for leading the Professional Development Session Committee during the Region C Conference in February 2013.
Arwa Kassamali – Outreach Awards Committee Chair, for organizing technical tours and meetings and increasing the number of certificates awarded to STEM students.
Barbara Vilbig, for her efforts in the selection of Outreach Scholarship and Certificate recipients.
Regional and National SWE Award Recipients
Outstanding Educator – Lynette Bachand, Travis Middle School, Irving ISD
Emerging Leader Award – Jennifer Vilbig, EIT
Outstanding Outreach Event – Etiquette Creative Fashion Camp, organized by Amy Pickup, Julie Strickland, Letia Blanco, and others.
Outreach Scholarship and Certificate Recipients
Scholarship Renewal Recipients – Victoria Marie Ehlinger and Anna Kristine Larson
Scholarship Award Recipients, June 2012 – Krystil Bella Pruett and Harshita Pilla
Certificate Program – 13 Certificates Awarded
Check our Officer and Chair page for a list of incoming officers for FY 14!
If you are interested in an appointed chair position for FY14, please email us at dallas.swe@gmail.com!
Watersense Home Event: RESCHEDULED!
We are pleased to announce that we have rescheduled the WaterSense Home tour for the evening Thursday, June 20th at 6pm! Unfortunately, the Texas A&M Extension Center was unavailable for the two Tuesdays in the survey.
If you registered for the previously scheduled event and are unable to make the new meeting time, please send an e-mail to dallas.swe@gmail.com and we will refund your money in the next week or so.
Also, if anyone is available, we have space left for the Dallas SWE Awards Banquet this Saturday, June 1st at 6pm at the Abuelo’s in Plano off 75. Members & non-members are welcome.
The keynote speaker, Stephanie Watts Butler, PhD, PE, of Texas Instruments will be enlightening us with Life Innovating Art. Successful innovation projects require the art of communication, clarification, preparation and inspiration. This talk introduces those skills, tips and tricks of the trade for transforming invention into products that bring value to the company and its customers. Concepts range from tackling Dr. Seuss’s GOX to honking the horn louder. Modern control theory applied to classic project management items, such as scope and risk, enable the engineering audience to leverage their inner geeks for soft skills. These skills include techniques for engaging a globally diverse work team. The result is the ability to respond to life never being the same again.