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IEEE
VOLUME 9 NUMBER 2
www.ieee.org
in
MAGAZINE
Features
CAN STOCK PHOTO/HASENONKEL
High-Tech Help for the

Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma p. 32
Tool kit provides traumatized people
with compassionate care
By Katianne Williams
Lighting the Way

for Women in Photonics p. 37
Targeted outreach and humanitarian
efforts fuel the new initiative
32
By Leslie Prives
Refugees around the world

are in need of compassionate care.
december 2015
Columns/
Departments
Cover image: Background

iStockPhoto.com/Vasmila.
23
Letter from the Editor, p. 2

2015 WIE Committee Members, p. 4
Amperes: Current Affairs
from Around the World, p. 6
Women to Watch, p. 18
WIE-QR
50
Career Advisor, p. 40
Pipelining: Attractive
Programs for Women, p. 44
WIE from Around the World, p. 50
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2015.2474638
DECEMBER 2015
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IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE
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Letter from the Editor
Dressing an
Open Wound
How often have you seen disturbing

events in the news that makes you wonder how we can live in such an advanced
educated society where there are individuals who continue to inflict so much
pain and destruction out of senseless
acts of cruelty and greed? Every day I
seem to be saying more and more to
myself, I thought I would never see this
happen during my lifetime.
The media shows the cruelty of war
and conflict at the front lines, and all
the while, government leaders try to
respond and react diplomatically, which
takes seemingly endless amounts of
time. Very few news stories focus on
the most affected victims of any conflict, namely women and children. The
logical approach to rescue and protect
them is to stem the tide of violence at
its source. After all, once the violence
stops, you stop the pain for these victims, correct? Wrong!
The tragedy of war and its effects on
women and children does not just leave
a scarits an open wound that stays
with the victims forever. Women and
children that are rescued and placed in
a refugee camp are really not rescued.
In refugee camps currently run by the
United Nations, over 60% of the female

Date of publication: 11 November 2015
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members are inspired by their story and

participate in this wonderful humanitarian project.
The story of heartache does not end
for refugees, even if they are fortunate
to leave the refugee camps and start new
lives. They live with the wounds of having been tortured, watching someone
they love being tortured or killed, having their children taken from them, and,
in some instances, refugees being forced
to hurt others, which psychologically
destroys them.
refugees are repeatedly attacked and
Doctors in refugee camps can only
molested. This horrifying fact is only
offer medications and help heal the physexasperated by the realization that most
ical wounds, but what about the psyattacks occur at night, because there is
chological wounds? What help is
no lighting in the camps.
there for them? For many of
IEEE excels at creating
these women, sharing their
technology, and this lowtraumic story or revealing
cost lighting technology
that they were attacked
exists, but there is a discould mean they are ostraconnect between getting
cized from their families.
renewable-energy solar
And even if a woman does
lamps to these camps and
have the courage to share
the impact this technolKaren Panetta
her story with her health
ogy will have on alleviating
provider, what can a medical professional
the violence against women. As a result,
do to help her heal mentally?
women continue to be attacked and live
This gap in the health care for victims
in constant fear every night when the
of torture and trauma now has a chamlights go out.
pion. Dr. Richard Mollica of the Harvard
IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE),
Medical School and his team have develas champions of these women, should
oped the medical professions first tool
use our skills to not only focus on develkits and training for doctors around the
oping these technologies, but we need
world to help provide victims of trauma
to flex our leadership skills to ensure
the ability to heal both their minds and
that the technology reaches its intended
souls. I was fortunate to meet Dr. Molpopulations. Our own IEEE WIE memlica during the IEEE-USA AppEFeat.org
ber, Dr. Dalma Novak, president of the
competition. This was a competition that
IEEE Photonics Society, has led the
developed humanitarian mobile applicharge for the Year of Light initiative
cations for nonprofit organizations. Dr.
to address this problem. In this issue of
Mollica reached out to IEEE WIE for
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine,
help in creating technology for doctors
we talk to Dr. Novak and her colleagues
to gather statistics on the afflictions of
about the project and their commitwomen in refugee camps as well as to
ment to helping provide low-cost lighttrain other medical providers on how
ing to the most deprived populations in
to best serve these patients. The data he
the world. We hope that our IEEE WIE
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IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine
will collect will have a profound effect in communicating to governments and the United Nations the significant prevalence of
these issues. He is bringing public awareness to the plight of these
individuals while developing the most effective treatment plans to
help patients heal and deal with the wounds of war. IEEE Women
in Engineering Magazine is honored to share Dr. Mollicas inspirational efforts.
Many students attribute their venture into engineering to
the impact their work can have on society. It is always a pleasure
to watch our young student members flourish into successful
professionals, and I am pleased that many of these members stay
active in IEEE WIE even after they graduate. In this issue, we
will introduce you to some promising young IEEE WIE members
who are using their talents to innovate new technologies and
who are also committed to passing on the torch to their younger
peers by being mentors and role models. Many of these young
women are breaking boundaries by looking at the role of technology in bringing awareness to afflictions such as autism. Their
stealth ability to cross interdisciplinary boundaries will define
our future engineering leaders. We are happy to share these
inspiring young womens stories with you and hope that more of
our students will share their experiences with our members.
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine is proud to announce
that it has won yet another award for its publication excellence
and feature writing in 2015. I would like to thank our entire
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine team, my associate editor, managing editor, writers, and our editorial board for all their
hard work in helping to create such an engaging and inclusive
magazine to support our members. IEEE WIE has helped forge
new paths for women around the world and our magazine has
been a resource to facilitate and share our members outstanding efforts. Together, we can make every year a Year of Light,
because we are not only providing physical light through our
technology innovations, we are igniting lights in hearts and spirits to change the world.
Karen A. Panetta
Editor-in-Chief
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine
Karen Panetta Editor-in-Chief

Tufts University
161 College Avenue
Medford, MA 02155 USA
+1 617 627 5976
karen@ieee.org
_________
Keyana Tennant Associate Editor
+1 732 981 3423
keyana.tennant@ieee.org
______________
Editorial Board
Holly Cyrus
Denise Griffin
Pamela Jones
Kate McDevitt
Carolyn McGregor
IEEE Periodicals/Magazines Department

Craig Causer Managing Editor
c.causer@ieee.org
__________
Geraldine Krolin-Taylor Senior Managing Editor
Janet Dudar Senior Art Director
Gail A. Schnitzer, Mark Morrissey Associate Art Directors
Theresa L. Smith Production Coordinator
Fran Zappulla Staff Director, Publishing Operations
Dawn M. Melley Editorial Director
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Felicia Spagnoli Advertising Production Manager
Mark David Senior Manager Advertising
and Business Development
+1 732 465 6473 Fax: +1 732 981 1855
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www.ieee.org/ieeemedia
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine (ISSN 1942-065X print, 1942-0668
online) (IWEMAS) is published biyearly by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Inc. Headquarters: 3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor, New
York, NY 10016-5997 USA. Responsibility for the contents rests upon the
authors and not upon the IEEE, WIE or its members. IEEE Service Center
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IEEE prohibits discrimination, harassment, and bullying. For more
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2015 WIE Committee Members
VOTING MEMBERS
Chair 2015
Takako Hashimoto
Past Chair
Nita Patel
Deborah M. Cooper (TAB)
Clarissa Loureiro
Joyce Mwangama
Jennifer Ng-Ain-Kin
Bozenna Pasik-Duncan
Nury Ramirez
IEEE WIE STUDENT

MEMBER
Kiran Abbas
WIE LIAISONS
Shirin Tabatabai
(IEEE-USA)
Jennifer T. Bernhard (PSPB)
Karen Bartleson (Standards)
Pamela Jones (MGA
Membership Recruitment
and Recovery Committee)
Deborah M. Cooper (TAB)
IEEE SOCIETY
COORDINATORS
Aerospace Electronics
Systems Society
Kathleen Kramer
Antennas and Propagation
Society (AP)
Parveen Wahid
Broadcast Technology
Society
Christine Di Lapi
Circuits and Systems
Society
Yoko Uwate
Communications
Society
Octavia Dobre
Marie-Jose Montpetit
Components, Packaging,
and Manufacturing
Technology Society
Beth Keser
Intelligent Transportation
Systems Society
Emily Sopensky
Computational Intelligence
Society
Sanaz Mostaghim
Microwave Theory and

Techniques Society
Rashaunda Henderson and
Sherry Hess
Computer Society
Nita Patel
Nanotechnology Council
Carmen Lilley
Consumer Electronics
Society
Takako Nonata
Nuclear and Plasma

Sciences Society
Janet Barth
Control Systems Society

Linda Bushnell
Oceanic Engineering
Society
Brandy Armstrong
Council on Electronic
Design Automation
Ayse Coskun
Photonics Society
Arti Agrawal
Council on Superconductivity
Cathy Foley
Power & Energy Society

Shay Bahramirad
Dielectrics and Electrical

Insulation Society
Azam Nekahi
Power Electronics Society

Maryam Saeedifard
Electron Devices Society

Thuy Dao
Engineering in Medical
and Biology Society
Lisa Lazareck
Geoscience and Remote
Sensing Society
Gail S. Jackson
Industrial Electronics Society
Leila Parsa
Industry Applications Society
Carolyn L. Cooper
Product Safety Engineering

Society
Silvia Diaz Monnier
Reliability Society
Marsha Abramo
Robotics and Automation
Society
Laura Margheri
Systems Council
Stephanie White
Systems, Man, and
Cybernetics Society
Maria Pia Fanti
Technology and Engineering
Management Society
Chris Sipes
Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics,
and Frequency Control
Society
Lori Bridal
Vehicular Technology Society
Carmela Cozzo
REGIONAL COORDINATORS
Region 1
Denise Griffin
Region 2
Vicky Drury
Region 3
Cathy Freeman
Region 4
F. Ayhan Sakarya
Region 5
Mehrube Ruby
Mehrubeoglu
Region 6
Shirin Tabatabai
Region 7
Janet Light Thompson
Sensors Council
Veena Misra
Region 8
Simay Akar
Signal Processing
Society
Sally Wood
Region 9
Clarissa Loureiro
Information Theory Society

Negar Kiyavash
Society on Social
Implications of Technology
Neha (Nabeeha) Sharma
Instrumentation and
Measurement Society
Ferdinanda Ponci
Solid-State Circuits
Society
Wanda Gass
Region 10
Supavadee Aramvith
WIE NEWSLETTER
Paulette January,
Editor

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Amperes
Current Affairs from Around the World
Pageant Winner
Advocates for Autism
Awareness
As the curtain opened on the Miss Vermont International pageant in November 2014, Karly Fereday stood in a red
dress waiting to begin the dance routine that she and the other pageant contestants had been perfecting for weeks.
After more than three years away from
competing, the 22-year-old had made
her comeback a month earlier by placing
in the top six in the Miss Vermont 2015
pageant. Now, with her family somewhere beyond the bright glare of the
spotlights, Fereday was excited for the
show to begin. A win would give her
a year to travel throughout Vermont
raising awareness for autism. With her
ten-year-old brother Kristopher on the
autism spectrum, Feredays platform
was close to her heart.
Contestants Choice
Some people didnt give Fereday much of
a chance because of her height. At barely
5 ft, she very well may be, as she says,
the shortest beauty pageant contestant
there ever was. But things have changed
over the last decade, and the idea that
a pageant winner must have a model
height of about 6 ft is just not true.

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Pageants are springboards to scholarships and modeling and acting contracts.

And with its strong emphasis on a contestants platform, the Miss International pageant is a way to promote a cause
about which a person cares deeply.
Inspired by Family
Back in high school, Fereday was first

runner up in the Miss Vermont Junior
Miss pageant. During her senior year, she
decided to take a break. The following
autumn, she enrolled at Meredith College, an all-womens school in Raleigh,
Another surprising thing about pagNorth Carolina, with the idea of studyeant life is that the participants are
ing art, but she didnt stay. One of the
as much teammates as they are
reasons she moved back home
competitors. Those like Ferewas to help her mother with
day who embrace the true
Kristopher.
pageant spirit might even
Fereday is very close with
say that they are more
her mother. Her mother
friends than anything.
has two Ph.D. degrees and
They spend so much time
worked while Karly was
together sharing hotel
growing up. Now that she is
rooms, practicing dance numhelping
out at home Fereday has
Karly Fereday
bers, just filling the inevitable
a new appreciation for all her
downtime. But then, of course, on the
mother did to be present for her children
big day itself, surely everyone is conwhile still pursuing her passion.
sumed with self-preservation? Not so.
Karly is the oldest of six childen. KrisEspecially then, theres a spirit of sistertopher is the second youngest. When he
hood. If no ones around to do your hair
turned ten, she bought him a scooter
or makeup, you grab one of the girls
to put on your eyelashes or zip up your
dress, says Fereday.
This is why she loves pageants. Fereday loves the chance to meet other girls
and make lifelong friendships. Beauty to
Fereday is presenting yourself in a way
that people look up to you. Given that, it
is no surprise that when she participated in the Miss Vermont Teen pageant at
age 14, she was presented with the Spirit
Award, which happens to be the only contestants-choice award in the pageant.
Pageants, Fereday believes, are a great
way for girls to develop self-confidence
Feredays brother Kristopher was
and to get a name out there for yourself.
diagnosed with autism.
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for his birthday. She laughs to think

how excited he was when he opened his
gift, and she describes him as a handful
sometimes, but a really sweet kid. Kristopher, Fereday says, definitely has some
challenges, and she is able to help him
with things like getting dressed, zipping
up his coat, and tying his shoes.
Kristopher, like his sister, loves to
draw. When she returned from North
Carolina, she shared her art with him.
Then one day he came home from
school and showed me a picture he had
drawn, a beautiful beach with seagulls,
Fereday says with pride. Kristopher and
Karly also like to go to the park, where
they go on nature trail walks and bike
rides. Kristopher loves movies.
Educate, Accept, Inspire

Fereday has been working with Kristopher and other autism individuals
for five years. She has built her autism
awareness platform around three words:
educate, accept, and inspire.
the numbers: One in 68 childrenone

in 42 boysare diagnosed as being on
the autism spectrum.
If parents are educated, they are more
apt to seek the early diagnosis that can
then lead to early intervention. Over the
past decade, study after study has shown
how critical this early intervention is, and
in response to this, multiple intervention
approaches have been implemented. The
Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) and
the Learning Experiences and Alternative
Program (LEAP) are two such programs.
ESDM takes place in a childs home and
uses structured play as a learning mechanism. LEAP integrates autistic children
with typical preschool children in a classroom setting. These programs and others
have shown marked improvements in
social interactions and language abilities.
Education is important even for those
whose lives are not touched by autism.
An educated population is more likely to
be one that is accepting. It is important
to know what autism is and what it isnt.
Fereday finds a fuzzy friend at Autism

Awareness Day at the Vermont State
House.
She wants people to know what

autism is and that autism affects how a
person communicates with other people.
She wants people to understand that it
is a spectrum condition, that all people
with autism share certain difficulties,
and yet their condition affects them in
different ways. She wants people to know
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Eaton is an Equal Opportunity &
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Education helps to break down stigmas

and stereotypes. Greater public understanding leads to stronger support from
the community in social settings, the
classroom, and places of employment.
Inspiration comes in many forms, but
from the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) perspective, if we
strive to understand the daily challenges
associated with autism, we will be inspired
to continue to make strides in health care,
support services, and technologies.
According to speech therapist Diana
Ellis, technology has already provided a
way to help those with autism to communicate. One third of people diagnosed
with autism are nonverbal and use other
communication devices. For years, the
most popular Augmentative and Alternative Communication (A AC) solution for use in the autistic community
was made by DynaVox. It consisted of a
heavy piece of hardware that resembled
a touch-screen tablet and proprietary

communication software called InterAACT. Today, solutions are also available
from other companies for download on
personal tablets.
All of these A AC solutions house
hierarchical libraries of symbols for all
situations, providing a way for autistic
individuals to develop language skills
and to make real-world choices. Users
can tap a symbol to say yuck or to ask
questions such as Do you like this?
AAC solutions have given children
with autism a voice, and the question
now is: What other technologies might
be on the horizon? In an era where technology might be wearable, robotic, or
networked, there are many possibilities.
The recent paper by MIT Media Laboratorys Rosalind W. Picard, Future
Affective Technology for Autism and
Emotion Communication, explored
how technology might be developed
to bridge the chasm between internal feeling and external display, while
maintaining important control over
what is communicated and to whom.
And the Winner Is
Fereday participating in the Miss

Vermont International 2015 pageant.
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At the end of the evening, Fereday heard

her name called. She was crowned Miss
Vermont International 2015, and a purple
sash was placed over her shoulder. Since
winning the crown, she has participated
in an autism awareness event at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, Autism Awareness Day at the Vermont State House,
and at the Vermont Autism Walk.
When Fereday speaks at events, she
is always asked why autism awareness
is symbolized by a puzzle piece. In her
eyes, the puzzle piece logo adopted by the
National Autistic Society in 1963 reminds
us that not one person who is diagnosed
is the same. The bright primary colors
stand for that diversity but also for hope.
In the future, Fereday plans to return
to school to study art therapy. She has
seen firsthand with Kristopher how a
child who may have difficulty communicating verbally can express himself
through his art. Art therapy is so much
more than arts and crafts. It provides an
essential way for a therapist to listen
and hear a child. Karly, who once put
her art degree on hold to help take care

of her brother, will be able to use her
love of art to help others.
Katianne Williams
Helping Older Workers

Live and Work Efficiently
Schwerha developing new
processes and systems
Engineers Week (2228 February 2015)

dedicated a special day to encourage
and educate girls to pursue engineering
through creative and collaborative activities. Girl Day, on 26 February, was designed
to celebrate women in engineering who
are making a difference in the world. One
example of a woman in the STEM fields
who is paving the way for other young
female engineers is Ohio University Professor of Engineering Diana Schwerha. An
industrial engineer committed to promoting safer practices for an aging workforce
as well as empowering female engineers,
Schwerha has also dedicated herself to
helping elderly individuals live safely and
independently through her expertise in
ergonomics, further illustrating her commitment to helping individuals live and
work in a better and more effective manner.
Schwerha grew up in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, and moved to Ohio nine
years ago when she started working for
Ohio University. Yes, Im still an avid
Steelers (professional American football
team) fan even though I live in Ohio,
says Schwerha. She started teaching in
the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, in
2006. Schwerha is currently an associate
professor in the ISE department.
I direct the online masters of engineering management program,
Schwerha explains. This program is a
completely asynchronous online M.S. program. We have students from across the
country who are enrolled in the program.

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Schwerha works with a colleague to study the distribution of polymer companies

inOhio.
According to her, most students have

engineering undergraduate degrees in a
variety of disciplines, but the common
factor is that they are seeking to mature
in their careers from the more technical side of engineering into engineering
management. These students are absolutely a delight because they are hard
working and dedicated (most are working with families). As director, Schwerha
says she is responsible for the overall program, including day-to-day management,
strategies for the future, curriculum, and
quality of education. She also directs a
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) training project
grant in occupational safety.
Although Schwerha is very committed to her career, she didnt always want
to be an engineer. I didnt start out
wanting to be an engineer, and I think
thats not unusual! She attended Mary
Washington College (now called the University of Mary Washington) and earned
her bachelors degree in chemistry.
Schwerha says she was headed
toward medicine but couldnt really see
herself in a clinical position. A friend
of hers had graduated from West Virginia Universitys (WVUs) occupational
hygiene and occupational safety (OHOS)
program, and she recommended it.
I earned my masters at WVU, then
worked for NIOSH for three years in
Schwerha demonstrates to students how the anatomy and physiology of the arm,
hand, and wrist are affected by ergonomic-related injuries.
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research, then went back for my Ph.D.

in ISE, she explains. I had professors
who supported me through the process
Thank goodness! Im so appreciative
of their support, and I try to do the same
for my students, says Schwerha.
Schwerha loves industrial and systems engineering because it allows her
to use her quantitative skills to help
people solve real-world work problems.
At Ohio University, she says, we believe
that we create for good. We develop
processes and systems that allow individuals at work to be healthier, safer,
and more efficient. I love that part of
ISE and ergonomics. Serving others
through her teaching and research is
what she tries to do every day. According
to Schwerha, working on projects that
help others while keeping companies
competitive is a win-win for everyone
involved. Ohio University has given me
the opportunity to develop as a professor and researcher. Giving back to the
students and those from the community
is my top priority. I plan to keep working hard to serve my current students,
future students and my community for
many more years.
Aside from teaching at Ohio University, Schwerha also runs her own consulting company, Expertise Matters. Her
work focuses on training, specifically
training related to ergonomics and older
workers. She says she started the company a few years ago as a way to get out
in the professional consulting field. I
named it Expertise Matters because my
work focuses on older workers, and their
expertise is valuable to a company, she
says. Schwerha has worked on projects
related to ergonomics and older workers in many different areas, including
research related to older individuals use
of technology, the use of ergonomics to
help individuals remain at home (termed
aging in place), and ways that companies can design their workplaces so that
they reduce the risk of injury and increase the contribution of older workers.
Right now, there is huge interest in
designing work that is compatible with
the abilities and cohort characteristics
of both millennials and baby boomers.
These studies, according to Schwerha,
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Luisella Giulicchi
in Aerospace Today
Seeing things in a
scientific manner
Schwerha helps students to learn about
surface electromyography (S-EMG).
apply to physical, cognitive, and psychosocial characteristics of work tasks.

Not only is Schwerha committed
to helping older workers live and work
more efficiently, she also helps young
women who are interested in engineering. She currently serves as the
faculty advisor for the Ohio University
Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). Since Ive been at Ohio,
Ive participated in many programs for
young women who are interested in
engineering, she says. These include
summer engineering exploration programs, including women in science
and engineering, which is an event
conducted on campus every spring for
girls in middle and high school from
the local area. As part of SWE, we do
Girl Scout and Daisy Scout programs
and have also hosted panels (of women
engineers) that have been broadcast
out to the local schools, Schwerha
explains. I am blessed to have wonderful female students who run the
SWE chapter; their energy and support
for the younger girls is so exciting and
fun to see.
Her advice for those female students pursuing an engineering career
is that engineering is fun and doable.
Schwerha says, Most things that are
worth doing are hard, so I would recommend that girls stick with their
interests. And, she also encourages
female students to find other friends
who are engineers to provide support
systems and help with homework. I
love seeing our ISE undergrads working together as a family in our computer labs.
Nancy Salim
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If anyone knows about Women in Aerospace Today, it is Luisella Giulicchi, a

spacecraft engineering manager and
18-year veteran at the European Space
Agency (ESA) in The Netherlands with
more than two decades working in space
programs and technologies. At the recent
IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effect Conference, Giulicchi told the story
of how women remain a minority in
management and engineering in todays
aerospace domain and drew from her personal experiences and made suggestions
about what engineers can do.
ents that I become a teacher for small children, since it was a nice job for a woman.
My parents registered me for that type of
school, but I couldnt picture myself doing
that. In the summer I changed my focus
to science because I like science and math.
My parents were very supportive.
Giulicchi believes all individuals should
be encouraged to study what they like best
and be supported, especially at a young
age. She says this is only one of the reasons why there are so few women in aerospace and in STEM professions in general.
Why Aerospace?
Giulicchis interest for aerospace and science

in general began more as of a way of seeing
things in a scientific manner. Ever since I
was a child, I was curious and very skilled
in scientific subjects, she explains. Math
hours at school were fun for me. After high
school, which had a strong scientific curriculum, I was drawn into studying engineering.
It wasnt until my internship at the ESA that
Low Numbers
I fully appreciated the aerospace profession
Aerospace is a wonderful profession for
and its enormous achievements.
engineers and scientists, Giulicchi says.
Everyone in the general public knows
Working at the forefront of technology
about space, Giulicchi adds. It was interfor the benefit of humankind inspires
esting for me, but it wasnt obvious that
individuals and captures the imagination
I would get there. It wasnt one of
of the wider public. Such appealmy goals, which were to study
ing work should attract the
math and engineering, since I
most talented people regardwas very interested in these
less of their gender, and
subjects. At the end of my
diversity in the work envimasters studies, I found the
ronment should not be an
internship with the ESA in
issue, explains Giulicchi.
aerospace by chance, but it was
Only around 10% of
very eye opening. It was a real
employees in aerospace are
women. This is low by todays Luisella Giulicchi application of my many years of
theoretical studies. Only when I started
standards and remains so even when
working in it did I decide aerospace was
compared to data on the number of
what I wanted to pursue.
women in the general workforce, in sciAfter two years with the ESA, Giulicence and engineering, and other specialchi spent three years as a research fellow
ized fields. Giulicchis goal was to send
at the CERN Partial Physics Laboratory
a message to the aerospace community
in Geneva, Switzerland. Although she
about her personal view, which is that
found the job and working environment
culture, environment, and demographic
exciting, she felt drawn back to the aerodifferences impact workers more than the
space field and returned to the ESA more
difference between men and women.
than 18 years ago to follow her passion.
When I started high school, I was
an A student and skilled in math, she
recalls. The teachers there at the time,
A Variety of Project Opportunities
who were all women, suggested to my parIn the earlier phases of her career at ESA,
she contributed to research and develDigital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2015.2474875
opment activities related to the attitude
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Giulicchi in front of a scaled mock-up

of the LISA Pathfinder.
and orbit control and guidance navigation and control technologies and equipment and to the use of GPS for aerospace
applications. Since then, she has held
several technical management positions
of increasing responsibility in spacecraft
project development, from feasibility
studies to implementation phases.
Now she holds a more formal
engineering managerial position in a
programmatically challenging project
that she says is interesting for her and
one that she is growing into. Some of
her missions include ESA Science Missions and the ESA Earth Observation
Programme including the ESA/NASA
SOHO mission, a solar and heliospheric
Observatory, the ESA/JAXA Bepi Colombo Mission, a mission to Mercury, the
ESA/Rosaviakosmos Mercury Lander, the
first European Lunar mission SMART-1,
and the ESA/NASA LISA Pathfinder mission. Her current work is on the EU/ESA
Copernicus Sentinel-1, an SAR remotesensing mission for global monitoring,
environment and security.
At ESA there are a few purely technical jobs available for experts, like in
microelectronics, thermal engineering
applied to space, or structural engineers,
Giulicchi says. But a high percentage of
the engineering positions here are a mix
between technical and management.
Throughout her career, she actively
participated in professional organizations
like the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the International Federation of Automatic Controls
(IFAC), the American Astronautical Society (AAS), the International Astronauti-
cal Federation (IAF), and the Council of

European Aerospace Societies (CEAS).
She chairs committees and conferences;
is an invited speaker, lecturer and author
of several publications; and is an AIAA
associate fellow. She is also a member of
the Board of Directors of AIAA and WIA
Europe (Women in Aerospace).
Being an active member of a professional association such as AIAA or
IEEE has been very important for my
professional and personal growth and I
strongly recommend joining one, especially to women in the early phases of
their careers, she advises.
Outreach Is for All

Giulicchi encourages young females to
enter the aerospace engineering profession and hopes to inspire younger generations. She says there are many appealing
stories that one can talk about when approaching children to get them interested in aerospace including astronauts
and space stations. The point is to reach
them, which is a task in itself, Giulicchi
admits. If more people reached out to
The Sentinel 1 in a clean room and ready for the thermal-vacuum test campaign, June 2013.
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Were reshaping what shopping

can be for people everywhere.
@WalmartLabs is committed to supporting the advancement of

women in technology, and is proud to be a sponsor of the 2015
IEEE Women in Leadership Conference.
We invite you to discover how you can change the way
people shop, 1,000,000,000 at a time. Visit walmartlabs.com
or follow us @WalmartLabs on Twitter and Facebook to join
the conversation.
walmartlabs.com
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Online
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Mobile
Stores &
Clubs
EOE
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Advice for Students

If anyone is considering
aerospace engineering now,
its tough. Giulicchi recommends that high school students thoroughly evaluate
their own skills and abilities
and understand that an aerospace degree requires a very
demanding and totally timeabsorbing path of study. She
says to select a university
that is well-recognized for its
aerospace curriculum.
Do the best in your
studies and cultivate your
interests in whatever form is
possible, Giulicchi advises.
Reading, working, and joining professional and student
organizations that relate to
aerospace and finding menSentinel 1 at the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana, for the final test before
tors in the field are keys to
the launch on 3 April 2014.
learn more. As you near the
end of your high school and college studies, create a network that can help you find
the right job and advise you professionally.
Im Part of the Copernicus Family
Im Part of the Copernicus Family
For college students considering
making aerospace their life-long work,
Giulicchi says to always challenge yourself
to achieve the maximum results. Build
a solid theoretical and practical backgroundboth are important. Find an
internship in the aerospace industry or
at a research institute most relevant to
the area you want to pursue, and join a
professional society like IEEE or the AIAA
and engage people actively. Professional
organizations are an incredible source of
inspiration and insights into the professional world, as well as a font of scientific
and technical knowledge, she says.
Todays Tough Environment Is Improving
Giulicchis Copernicus program.
five students who are younger than the

high school level, it would be fantastic.
Lots of people would be inspired.
I believe everyone working in aerospace has the duty to do outreach, she
continues. Individuals should have
a goal to talk about their own profes-
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sion with others. And there should be

more structured programs to help them
reach others. Programs and sponsors
coordinated by the ESA, NASA, or
other government agencies can foster
the right materials for teachers to use in
classes.
Young engineers face different challenges

today compared to when Giulicchi started.
The flow of information and knowledge
in offices is more dynamic now, giving
people technical advantages, she says.
But, the main challenge for the younger
generation is to find aerospace jobs and
good programs that are well funded considering the economic situations around
the world. They do exist, such as the
Copernicus program, a unique worldwide
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ally and progress in a career. At the ESA,

remote-sensing Earth observation prothere are only a few women engineers. When
gram that has 3.1 billion (approximately
Giulicchi began working, there
US$3.4 billion) in funding. And there
were even fewer. Women
are many areas that will pick up
in aerospace are still isoand gain the interest of deciThe main
lated in their work,
sion- and policy-makers.
challenge for the
she admits. In some
Its wonderful to be
technical areas,
able to work on a misyounger generation
there is one woman
sion landing on a comet,
is to find aerospace
for every 50 or 100
says Giulicchi. Its a
jobs and good
men. Its improvdream. Realizing this
programs that are
ing but not as much
dream attracts profeswell funded.
as one would like to
sional aerospace engineers.
see. A critical mass of
Getting a job is one part in
women helps to make the
the cycle of the dream.
environment more inclusive.
Its fundamental to have support
Advocate for Yourself
from someone, continues Giulicchi. It
and Find Others to Help
doesnt have to be formally from a boss. In
For working professionals, Giulicchi advises
my career, many people have been inforthat in additon to delivering high performally influential, mentoring me, giving
mance work, its important to find the right
me advice, believing in me, and keeping
network and support to connect profession-
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involved in other parts of the organization. When I first began my internship

here, my advisor was very supportive. He
helped me learn the job, and he was so
important to me that we are still in contact now even though hes retired.
The most useful advice that Giulicchi
heard when she was starting is still relevant today: Find appropriate support and
network. Also, it doesnt matter what you
do, but who knows about it, she adds.
When youre focused so hard on doing the
work and reaching goals, if no one knows
about it, your career will suffer. Telling
others what you are doing while achieving
results is difficult but fundamental. It may
not feel like it is part of your duties as an
engineer but it is. The organization needs
to know in order to function better.
Debbie Sniderman
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Women to Watch
overhaul of the industry means that collaboration and interpersonal skills have
become much more valued, and this is a
great thing for women. Reder works to
get the word out, and this award is meant
to empower the awardee to do the same.
Bian has already put her mark on the
industry. The North American Electric
Reliability Corporation (NERC) was commissioned a decade ago to help ensure a
reliable service that benefits North AmerBian honored as the first-ever recipient
ican consumers. NERC, a semigovernment agency funded by private industry
utility companies, assumed this regulatory function based on law passed in
as she says, went deep into the field,
When Jessica Bian grew up in China
2005. Bian was NERCs director of
earning a bachelors, a masters,
in the 1970s, her family apartment
performance analysis on this
and a Ph.D. degree in electriwould often not have electricity because
initiative.
cal engineering.
of power shortages. Citizens like Bian
My job is like a docIn 2014, Bian won the
could be in the dark for hours.
tor, she says. In a health
f irst- ever IEEE Power
At the time, her parents were electricheckup, a doctor measures
& Energy Society (PES)
cal engineers working for the utilities
body temperature, pulse
Wanda Reder Pioneer in
in China, and Bian used to accompany
rate, heart rate, stress level,
Power Award. This award,
them to their offices to see what the
BMI. Thats what I do, find out
named after the first female
grid and transmission lines looked like.
Jessica Bian
the vital signs for the grid to see
president of the PES in its
There, her parents taught her how peoif its close to collapse or black out.
125-year history, is given to a female
ple have benefited from the often-overin the power industry who has shown
looked basic service: how populations
great accomplishment and influence in
depend on a stable power grid for quality
The North American Wellness Check
the areas of technical development and
of life, safety, and health.
Bian describes the whole grid as a giant,
infrastructure enhancement as well as
Today, most people take the power
hot machine composed of millions of
either entrepreneurial, management, or
grid for granted, and this, Bian says, is
parts. Everything is interconnecteda
educational practices within the field.
a good thing. Hurricane Sandy, where
Bian was honored as the first recipient.
people made their way to the generators
She admires Wanda Reder, now chief
in corner shops to charge their phones,
strategy officer at S&C Electric Comwas a stark reminder of how dependent
pany, for her accomplishments in the
we are on power. Anyone who has had to
field and for her work in opening the
live without it for even a short time durdoor for more women.
ing a winter storm knows how disruptive
Of the engineering fields, power and
the loss can be in even the most munenergy may be more male-dominated
dane areas of daily life.
than most. Yet, in power, as in many
For citizens to not even be aware
other engineering disciplines, the 21st
of the massive web of power connectcentury has brought about changes in
ing the country is good, but for Bian,
the way we work. The power industry
thinking about it is her lifes work. Bian,
is in transition as we develop new techIEEE PES President Dr. Miroslav
nologies and strive for both efficiency
Begovic presents Bian with the IEEE
and greater use of renewable energy. This
PES Wanda Reder Award.
IEEE PES Presents

Inaugural Wander Reder
Pioneer Power Award
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identify the data sets needed to perform

breakage at one point may affect the
the analysis. Together, they developed
health of the entire system.
18 industry-wide metrics for the North
The Northeast blackout of 2003, which
American grid. They collaborated and
ended up impacting eight states across the
shared their findings
Northeast and Midwest of
with Europe, Asia, and
the United States as well
Latin America.
as sections of Ontario,
Bian explains two
Canada, originated in
key aspects in mediOhio when a high-voltcal terms: frequency is
age power line softened
like the heartbeat, the
under the heat of the
voltage schedule is like
passing current. It sagged
blood pressure. The
and grazed against the
metric trends and inciovergrown trees below. Bian represents NERC at the
dent severity combine to
The failure of an alarm IEEE PES Student Job Fair.
generate an SRI stress
to trigger caused what
index, like the Dow Jones index, that
should have been a small, localized inciallows analysts to look across the whole
dent to become what was at the time the
of North America to aggregate whether
second most severe blackout in history,
an index is moving up or down.
impacting an estimated 55 million people.
With the metrics in place, the team
These are the types of events that
had to come up with data. Thanks to
Bian and others in the power industry
information technology, troves of data
work tirelessly to prevent. At NERC, she
are available, and NERC is able to use
teamed with experts from industry to
big data to find patterns and intelligence as well as to perform further

research and analytic work. Each year,
NERC issues a report detailing their
findings, and a NERC committee investigates any issues.
The NERC committee forms focus
groups, and people from industry come
in to work with the separate teams. They
pore over the data to see how bad the
situation is, then work to determine the
root cause as well as a solution or mitigation plan. It can take 1824 months to
come up with consensus on an approach.
No one else has this type of system.
Bians team participates in IEEE conferences where it presents its findings,
exchange information, and share best
practices. The teams reports and metrics are widely recognized.
The Future of Power

Much is changing in the world of
power. Gas prices over the last three
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years have been significantly lower.

States are mandating renewable portfolios. California, for example, is requiring a 35% renewable portfolio for utility
companies by 2020.
We are looking at more than just
cosmetic changes. All this is going
to change the landscape of the whole
industry, Bian says. Still, to move forward, it is critical to understand the current system.
This is why Bians work is so important. As we go through a lot of change,
can I ensure that there is a smooth
transition to the next stage? she asks.
How do we get to the next stage and
keep the lights on?
As part of her commitment to the
industry and its future, Bian believes
in making the time to get involved.
She has authored or coauthored over
50 papers and articles and speaks frequently at regional, national, and international conferences. She is a Senior
Member of the IEEE PES, where she
is currently running for secretary. Her

goal is to be a catalyst of action and
a messenger of the future, empowering PES members to adapt to changes
and creating opportunities for young
engineers to advance their professional
careers. She firmly believes that successfully meeting the future challenges will
require every member to join together in
developing creative, socially responsible
solutions that simultaneously honor the
unique interests of each person.
Bian has a favorite inspirational quote
from Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu: The
key to growth is the introduction of
higher dimension of consciousness into
our awareness. This saying describes
how she has grown over the course of
her career. She believes in always trying
to better herself, to always climb upward,
and her advice for young engineers is
to do the same. Always learn, always
improve yourself, she advises. When
opportunity comes, take it.
Katianne Williams
A Trailblazer
for Workplace Equality
in Japan
Kunii is moving cultural perspectives
Hideko Kunii grew up in the countryside

of Aichi-prefecture in Japan surrounded
by the singing of birds and cicadas. A
quiet girl who loved books, her favorite
childhood memories are both visual and
fragrantthe garden of her house, the
yellow rape blossoms in the rice fields,
and the cherry blossoms at the banks.
Kuniis father was a geophysicist,
and although he had an influence in
her decision to become a scientist, her
true motivation was a desire to be economically independent.
Kunii achieved her goa l. She
earneda masters degree in physics from
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Ochanomizu University in Japan in 1973 and a second masters degree

in computer and information sciences from San Jose State University
in California in 1976. Finally, she matriculated at the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas in the 1970s, where she pursued
a Ph.D. degree in database management systems.
She went on to an illustrious technology career, becoming an expert
in software development. Esteemed in the industry, Kunii has been able
to do much more than secure her own financial independence; she has
been a trailblazer for equality in the labor force and has helped to enact
change in Japans traditionally patriarchal society.
A Long Career at Ricoh

In 1982, Kunii returned to Japan where she joined Ricoh, the multinational imaging and electronics company known for its cameras
and office equipment, particularly copiers. At the time, she was the
only female manager.
This was three years before Japan passed
the Equal Employment Opportunity Law
prohibiting gender discrimination in the
workplace. While the Labor Standards Law
requiring wage equality had been around
for decades, this new law aimed to protect
women in the areas of recruitment, hiring,
promotion, training, and job assignments, as
Hideko Kunnii
it had become evident that equal pay for equal
work is moot if women do not have access to the same opportunities for
advancement as men.
The 1980s was a decade where women worldwide began to gain traction on issues of gender equality in the workplace. It was then that the
term glass ceiling arrived, and it was in the 1980s that U.S. audiences
saw Diane Keaton in Baby Boom and Teri Garr in Mr. Mom bring the
working mother debate to the big screen.
In Japan, though, the traditional family structure was especially
strong, and upon returning to Japan, Kunii struggled with the
cultural differences among her colleagues. As the only female manager, Kunii found herself being introduced as a male, something
that was to be taken as a
sign of respect, a validation
of professional acceptance
in spite of her gender.
At Ricoh, she est ablished and grew software
technologies by raising
engineers in wide areas
such a s operating system s a nd applic at ion s.
She started with a small
research and development
group and grew it into
business divisions. One of
the most influential projects that she led was the
development of an embedKunii earned her Ph.D. degree in
ded software platform for
database management systems from
multifunction copiers. This
the University of Texas at Austin.
Smart, safe, sustainable manufacturing.

Good for you. Good for the planet.
In a world of diminishing resources and
increasing competition developing safe,
sustainable manufacturing processes is critical.
At Rockwell Automation, weve focused the resources of our
$6.62 billion company and 22,500 employees on doing
just that. We deliver industrial automation, power control and
information solutions to customers in more than 80 countries
around the world to help make operations cleaner, more energy
efficient, safer and more competitive, too. Thats good for
you. And good for the planet.
For more information on safe,

sustainable manufacturing visit:
www.rockwellautomation.com
Copyright 2015 Rockwell Automation, Inc.

AD2013-14US
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A Proud Sponsor of IEEE

Women in Engineering
International Leadership
Conference
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Kunii spent more than 30 years at

Ricoh and is credited with growing its
software technology divisions.
Kunii makes a visit to Honda Air Craft.
Japan. Full-time career or not, a woman

Institute of Technology, Kuniis mission
is still expected to fulfill the same domesis to increase the number of women
tic duties.
professors by affirmative recruits. The
Many working mothers are
culture at Shibaura has been
overloaded with their jobs
very male dominated, and
both at workplaces and
Kuniis team works to
their families, says
enlighten members
As the
Kunii. They are
of the Institute on
mother of a child,
not given a break,
gender equality
Kunii has experienced
which can make
to enact further
her share of challenges as
raising a family
change. She is
a working mother, yet she
and maintainalso working
ing a c areer
to ensure that
Change in Japan
was fortunate to have a
very difficult.
t
he universit y
Over the years, Kunii has seen many
supportive husband who
As the mother
supports women
improvements that have made life
believed in gender
of a child, Kunii
facult y t hrough
easier for the younger generations. In
equality.
has experienced her
life events such as
fact, at Ricoh today, there are over 100
share of challenges
childbirth by providing
female managers. But one large hurdle
as a working mother, yet
research assistants who
remainsthe distinct separation of famshe was fortunate to have a supcan help provide stability. With
ily roles by gender is still quite intact in
portive husband who
help, new mothers are able to stay on
b elie ve d i n gend er
track with both the quality and quantity
equality. In their famof their research.
ily, both husband and
In 2014, Kunii became the first-ever
wife have always shared
female board member at Honda. The
household responsibiliautomotive industry has a long history
ties. Yet, Kunii considof male-dominated boardrooms, and
ers herself very much
this appointment is seen as a major step
outside the norm.
forward for not just Honda but all of
Japan. Her background made her the
best person for the job, regardless of
Working for All Women
gender, and while she is accustomed
Hideko is very involved
to being the only woman in the room,
in improving condishe still wishes for more women coltions for women. As
leagues. Nevertheless, she says, I heard
general ma na ger of
that board meetings after I had joined
Gender
Equality
ProKunii received the Women Pioneer Award from IEEE
became much livelier than before.
Tokyo in 2006.
motion at Shibaura
platform has been used worldwide for
more than ten years in the major products produced by Ricoh.
Kunii stayed at Ricoh for more
than 30 years before retiring in 2013.
She held many positions, and the
technical and leadership skills for
which she is much admired today were
honed at Ricoh, where she is the only
woman to have served as corporate
vice president.
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Kunii has ser ved as member of

councils of several Japanese ministries,
two of which are particularly important
to her. One is strengthening software,
and the other is gender equality. Because Japan is very much behind in
these issues, they are very challenging,
she explains.
The Grant Thornton International
Business Report 2014 survey of women
in senior management positions confirmed that Japan has changed little
over the past decade. While the global
average of women in senior management holds steady at 24%, Japan retains
its foothold at the bottom of the survey
with a paltry 9%.
Kunii brings a glimmer of hope to a
country where there are few female role
models in high-profile positions. Her
contributions help Japanese corporations recognize that diversity is a companys strength.
Beyond Controls:
Bozenna Pasik-Duncan
on Outreach and Advocacy
A lifetime of giving back
Katianne Williams
She is the author of more than 150

technical articles and three books, and
was an associate editor and associate
editor at large of IEEE Transactions
on Automatic Control, and a Fellow
of both the IEEE and the International Federation of Automatic Control
(IFAC). She is a winner of the IEEE
Third Millennium Medal.
Dr. Bozenna Pasik-Duncan credits her

success to a lifetime of giving back. A professor of mathematics at the University
Helping Others at an Early Age
of Kansas for more than 30 years, PasikI was known in Poland, where I was
Duncan researches stochastic sysborn and raised, as someone who
tems and adaptive controls,
made changes, Pasik-Duncan
system identification and
explains. I was very engaged
estimation, and control eduin volunteer work as far back
cation. Shes interested in
as I can remember. She was
K12 mathematics educainspired by both her father
tion, control engineering
who was an electrical engieducation, mathematics eduneer, and her mother, who
cation for women in science and
cared
for four children at home
Bozenna Pasikengineering, and volunteering.
and always gave back to the comDuncan
munity during World War II.
In
high
school, in addition to being
president of the student body for the entire
CELEBRATING
Technical Diversity
Applied Materials values diversity as a competitive advantage

and one of our greatest assets. It is weaved into the very fabric
and values of our company and fuels creativity and innovation.
This provides us with a rich perspective on our markets and
makes Applied Materials a vibrant place to work.
To learn more about career opportunities at Applied Materials,
visit www.appliedmaterials.com/company/careers
Applied Materials is committed to diversity in its workforce including Equal Employment
Opportunity for Minorities, Females, Protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities.
MARLA BRITT,
Process Engineer
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Pasik-Duncan teaching applied

mathematics statistics at KU, spring
2014.
(From left) Tyrone Duncan, Linda Bushnell (current IEEE CSS liaison to IEEE WIE),
and Bozenna Pasik-Duncan at the IEEE CDC/ECC, December 2011.
four years I was there, I tutored anyone

who needed help, Pasik-Duncan recalls.
I even helped the math teachers children
succeed in their school work.
Going to an all-girls high school gave
me excellent experience working with girls
and showed me how important it is to help

each other, she adds. I started teaching
and doing outreach at age 16 while vacationing with my family. Students and girls
from local villages would come around to
make things, gather things from farms,
and cook together, and I would be creative

with them showing applications of math
without pen and paper. I have always been
passionate about helping others.
At the University of Warsaw, she
studied math and earned her bachelors
20
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EP.JHU.EDU.
For online education state authorization information, visit ep.jhu.edu/oesa

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and masters degrees in mathematics. As an undergrad, she

was involved in leadership and volunteered to help others.
She was the vice president of the Warsaw branch of the Polish Mathematical Society for ten years. She earned Ph.D.
and D.Sc. degrees in mathematics from the Warsaw School
of Economics and worked there for 14 years in the Math
Department before coming to the United States.
Continuing Her Passion

in a New Country
The first time she came to
the United States was to complete her habilitation doctorate degree (D.Sc.). At the end
of her studies her visa didnt
allow her to remain inside the
United States despite having
married an American man, so
Pasik-Duncan at the Ideas and
she returned to Poland. Nine
Technology of Control Systems
months later she returned to
workshop for high school
the United States as a perteachers and students at the
IEEE CDC, December 2003.
manent resident and began
teaching controls in the engineering domain at the University of Kansas (KU).
While on sabbatical in France and Poland, Pasik-Duncans
elementary-school-aged daughter was two grades behind the
other students in math. Instead of complaining, Pasik-Duncan
approached the school and teachers of gifted programs and
offered to teach her daughter math in a nontraditional way,
problem solving like in real life. She says, The teachers there
were terrific and said, If you can do that with your daughter
why cant you with 17 other students?
When she returned to Kansas, she started volunteering
at the school, teaching algebra four times a week, using
French, Polish, and American books. She prepared lectures
and shared tools with the teachers, and all of her students
won every math competition in Kansas in problem solving,
proving American students can be as good as all others. I
taught them for joy and for satisfaction. Look how easily we
can help solve complex problems, she says.
got flaws?
Find out more and get involved:
cybersecurity.ieee.org/csd
Something Was Not Right

In 1987, I attended the first IEEE Controls Conference
in Los Angeles, and out of 700 presented papers, only two
were presented by women. A colleague who was a program
chair at the conference asked me to do something. Make a
change, she recalls.
She identified women who were in the control area of
research at every meeting around the world and invited them
to lunch. I paid, she says, and my husband supported it.
There were only about four people back then. Pasik-Duncan
found something was not right and went on to found the
Women in Control group and became its first chair.
By the mid 1990s, she formed a contest for women in control, and now its a big success. This year, the second woman
IEEE Center for Secure Design is part of the IEEE

Cybersecurity Initiative, focused on accelerating
innovation in security and privacy technology.
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than teach, they promote their research

in a way that everyone can understand.
By doing so, they build broader impact
of their work. I promote integrating
research with outreach.
Keep Learning
Pasik-Duncan says its important to keep
pre-college students interested in learning in general. Not only in STEM but also
in the arts with its gorgeous connections
Members of the KU Student Chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics,
and similar boundaries.
October 2013.
If we make efforts to speak about the
and love for math and STEM, she says.
commonalities between areas where STEM
is president of the Society. There are 16
For Pasik-Duncan, outreach is a natuare not traditionally applied, I believe we
female fellows, women on the board of
ral part of teaching, and she involves all of
can attract and prepare the next generation
governors, and four women on the execuher students in outreach activities. You
for complexity of this world, she says. We
tive society of almost 9,000 members.
have to engage in outreach to prepare
can show young people they can contribute
It took time, but Pasik-Duncan says by
the people, she explains. Ask colleagues
a lot. Its important to show the big picture,
being persistent and having vision and
to join you on this adventure.
not only in narrow areas, but how
clearly defined goals, you will reach your
Collaborate together to crethey can use what they learn.
goals no matter how difficult. Its her
ate chances for people
Engineering is not what
principle in life. Im a living example
For Pasikto engage with worldyour grandparents used
that it works, she says.
Duncan, outreach
class leaders who
to do. Its important
is a natural part
would ot her wise
for each of us to preOutreach for More Than 20 Years
never have them.
pare people for more
For the last 20 years, Pasik-Duncan conof teaching, and she
Pull people together
kinds of opportunities
tinued her spirit for outreach activities,
involves all of her
on the side at big
and challenges that
organizing regular workshops for fifth
students in outreach
research conferences.
exist now.
graders, mathematics competitions for
activities.
Create activities for
Mentoring is also
third12th graders, and rallying others
local students. Ask coloutreach, a nd Pa sikto participate in workshops where they
lege students to coordinate
Duncan believes its instrucan share their passions for math and
workshops for local schools.
mental in helping people. Many
related fields and engage others. She
Each conference is an opportunity
things can be shown to people to engage
carried this model to the IEEE engito reach thousands of students, she
them not only with K12 students but at
neering community and has held stucontinues. My team of more than 150
the undergraduate and graduate levels
dent workshops for the last 15 years at
speakers creates beautiful presentations
and beyond.
every major controls conference around
about their research and presents them
I live in a college town where the city
the world. Even students that dont
to a wide range of audiences. Rather
hall meetings are televised, and we speak
have computers come to see our passion
Participants of the Beauty of Controls workshop for high school students and teachers at the ACC, June 2014.
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to a broad audience. If we didnt, people

wouldnt know what the faculty was doing
or think the university was doing good
things, Pasik-Duncan explains. We speak
passionately about how much we care
about the children and how we want them
to join us in solving problems, creating a
positive image of the faculty. Its simple.
Mother and daughter at Dominique

Duncans graduation from Yale with a
Ph.D. degree, May 2013.
Instead of closing yourself in an office and

working on a computer, go out and educate
the public about what youre doing and
why it matters.
Womens Advocate
Pasik-Duncan has spent her life advocating for women at the University of
Kansas and with the IEEE and the IFAC.
The Math Awareness Month workshop for local fifth graders, April 2015.
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Over the past 15 years in executive

positions, she has made her mark as a
transformational leader, revolutionizing
low-performing labs to high business
impact and exceedingly innovative labs
for global companies.
Steep Learning Curve
Winners of the Mathematics Awareness Month competition hosted by KU.
She thinks the new Women in Engineering Center at the University of Missouri
in Columbia is a terrific example of an
important opportunity to show support.
The new center hopes to connect and
engage female students at the college
with advising and mentoring programs
and will create a leadership program.
I am impressed that the university
decided to go with a center, instead of a
small organization or association, Pasik-Duncan says. This is dynamic and
important. Im fascinated by it because
some women dont want to talk about
women. They believe there are no issues
for women, only issues for all, and we
should be equal. I understand this position, but sometimes it hurts. They wont
attend meetings of women if its only
for women. This new center is doing
exciting things that impact men and
women equally. Its important because
now women there will have a signature
approved, she says.
I think its important for women
outside the center to show support and
publicize it, she adds. Doing so leads
to a broader reach of support from male
colleagues as well. In my career, I have
had huge support from male colleagues,
without which it would have been impossible to reach what I have done.
Pasik-Duncans advice is to always
engage everyone in making changes, not
only when its women helping women.
When colleagues see diversity is good
for a society or for a conference, other
huge changes can be made, she adds.
Making people aware that it is good
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to have women speakers or fellows, we

break the glass ceilings and open more
doors. The first time it is always difficult,
but it becomes natural. When you speak
publically and men are listening to you,
speak in a way that says you need their
help, because they are on the committees making decisions.
Debbie Sniderman
Closing Circuits
on a Global Cloud
Computing Platform
Evangelist is an agent of change
Pamela Kumar, known as a cloud computing evangelist, is an active catalyst of

change for technology and innovation for
emerging markets. Armed with a global
mindset and a mission to make a difference in peoples lives with technology,
she has always been passionate about
technology and spent 30-plus years in a
technical career covering high-impact
products and cutting-edge technology.
It started when she was very young and
continues to this day. My grandmother
was hard of hearing, and she had a big
radio with vacuum tubes, Kumar recalls.
So, I made her a small transistor radio
with an earphone so she didnt have to use
a big box and I could study.

Kumar earned her masters degree in

electrical engineering from Rutgers
University and graduated in electronics
and electrical communication engineering from Punjab Engineering College
in India. She started her career at AT&T
Bell Labs in the Microsystems Lab as
the youngest member of the architecture group, working on the first generation of RISC microprocessors. She
then returned to India to join the hardware development team at the Center
for Development of Telematics, playing
a key role in developing a 40,000-line
central office telephone exchange and
leading the development of the first highperformance computing machine. Later,
Kumar led the development of DSL,
data-over-cable hardware solutions and
networking accelerators for routers and
switches during a brief stint with a couple of start-ups.
Kumar also worked at TI India, establishing and driving a multibillion-dollar hallmark project for the company, a
single-chip reference solution for lowcost cell phones. She established a new
way for global teams to collaborate in
three business units and across five different time zones in the Packet Cable
project. Under her leadership, TI became
an industry leader for voice-over-DSL,
resulting in a new business stream of
over US$100 million.
In 2007, she directed the Semiconductor and Technology Lab at IBM,
which went on to work in cutting-edge
32/22nm semiconductor nodes and analog mixed-signal technologies, besides
VLSI and processor development. She
was also a senior director at Hewlett
Packard in the server division of the
enterprise group, whose lab is developing next-generation server systems.
Kumar is currently volunteering as
the vice president and founding chair
of the Cloud Computing Innovation
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Council of India and is one of the most sought-after

experts in her field in India. In the past two years,
she has been invited to give keynotes and participate
in panels at more than 20 conferences in India. She
was nominated for the Grace Hopper Anita Borg Award and has
filed ten patents (with three
awarded). Over the last 30
years, she has established
her technical prowess in
the community with more
than 40 presentations and
publications in the areas of
Pamela Kumar
VLSI, processor and memory
technologies, broadband, wireless, smarter planet, and
cloud computing technologies.
A Deep-Rooted Fascination with Technology

In her youth, Kumar chose to enter engineering
because of a constant influence and fascination with
technology and engineering. My father was a biochemist, and we used to go to his lab and see a lot of new and
sophisticated instruments being used, she says. Magazines about scientific instruments came to my home
and browsing through them, I developed a fascination
with technology. My father encouraged me to enter a
global competition in the 10th grade, and I wrote an
essay about the importance of chemical purity in the
semiconductor industry. I was the youngest person to
receive an award in the contest. It was a proud moment
to see my essay published in Scientific Instruments
magazine, she says.
She spent her vacations during her high school
years learning FORTRAN and running programs on
the newly installed IBM 360 in the math department
at Punjab University, Chandigarh. Kumar also wrote
more complex programs and primitive databases on a
DEC10 Computer at a regional computer center and
learned how to use the 8086 development kit at CSIOs
Microprocessor Development Lab.
What motivates me about engineering is thinking
about the 6 billion people on this planet who want to have
a better life, Kumar explains. Technology is the only
enabler and leveler capable of truly flattening the world.
As an engineer, I am excited about the opportunities to
provide technological solutions to the unique problems
of the developing nations, like India, in their aspiration
to break out as developed economies. There are so many
unique challenges in India that require ingenious technological innovations.
Make a difference
at TI.
Come change the world with us.
Work with a diverse group of the
best and brightest engineers tackling
exciting, challenge-filled projects to
build a better world for everyone.
Apply now at
ti.com/students
Her IEEE Story

Kumar learned about IEEE as a student while pursuing her bachelors degree in engineering, She participated in a membership drive at that time, renewed her
The platform bar is a trademark of Texas Instruments Incorporated.

2015 Texas Instruments
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Kumar at the Cloud Computing Innovation Council of India Advisory Board meeting
held at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
has been a liaison to IEEE Women in

membership during her masters degree
Engineering and invited to several profesyear, and has continued ever since. As
sional women forums. During her two
a passive Member of IEEE, she paid her
years on the IEEE Standards Association
dues, joined a few Societies, and stayed
Board of Governors, the passion of
connected through computer
the other board members and
publications and IEEE Spectheir far-reaching impact
trum but never was an
What
was quite an eye-opener
active volunteer until
motivates me
for her. Since then
she was invited.
about engineering
Kumar ha s been
The local Chapter
is thinking about the
infecting her peers
in India asked her to
6 billion people on
with the bug of volgive a keynote speech
unteerism, and she
at the WIE Conferthis planet who want
enjoys giving back
ence, where she spoke
to have a better
beyond her immediate
and met several WIE
life.
job. Volunteering is not
volunteers who invited
only enriching, it is also the
her to their executive combest way to drive out-of-the-box
mittee meetings. There, they
innovation and solve complex multidisasked her to work on the outreach prociplinary problems, she adds.
gram for the visit of the IEEE Standards
Association Corporate Advisory Group.
Later, she was invited to be on the board.
Full-Time Role in Cloud
I had never been part of the standards
Computing Council
process. I had used standards, but never
Kumar says that being involved in volunknew about developing them, she admits.
teering in the IEEE and in the Standards
When Kumar joined the board, the presiAssociation has transformed her. She
dent of the board at the time offered to
knows how important volunteer-driven
help and become her mentor. He provided
forums are to technology development
insights about how the standards proand started one in cloud computing in
cesses worked and how to be an effective
India while she was working at IBM. She
board member and generate value.
now works there full time along with
As president of the Bangalore Chapter
more than 300 volunteers, 16 technical
of the IEEE Computer Society, Kumar
working groups, six task forces and seven
visited various student Sections and Chapsupport committees.
ters. For two years she steered the Society
The council is a team with technolothat organized technical talks and workgists from across the industry in differshops for professionals and students.
ent companies of all sizesstart-ups,
In addtional to actively coaching and
government labs, and academics. They
mentoring professional women, Kumar
have come together to drive innovation
30
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and accelerate the adoption and deployment of cloud computing in India.

Today, IT touches only 12% of what
is needed in India, Kumar explains.
Within that, less than 50% have adopted virtualization. There is a huge opportunity that requires innovation far
different from what is happening in the
United States and the European Union,
where IT touches 90% of the people. An
entirely different mind-set is needed.
The idea of the forum arose in the
first IEEE Cloud Computing for Emerging Markets Conference. The then-president of the National Innovation Council encouraged the set up of the Cloud
Computing Innovation Council of India,
which was incubated under the IEEE
Standards AssociationIndustry Connections Program. It is a successful, independent Society, with its own web page
and bank account and its own caucus,
Kumar says. We are talking to the IEEE
Computer Society of India to launch this
as a sister Society within it as well.
The Secret Sauce of Success

Kumar is a mentor to many young professionals, and she offers several points
of advice: Have a vision for yourself at
every step of your career; be on top of
technology; use social media and the
Internet effectively to network inside
and outside of your organization.
Choose your peers carefully. You
will always come across naysayers and
aye-sayers, she explains. You will find
those who are not easily accessible and
those who are. The ones who have a
positive attitude about the organization
are the ones to learn from. Eventually,
they are the successful ones.
Align with your boss and managers,
Kumar advises, and build a good relationship with them. Find out and become
part of what theyre trying to make successful. This is something I know now
that I wish I knew in my 20s, she admits.
Its a mistake I made in my career. I
worked three or four jobs and never took
the time to get to know my managers. If
you dont align well with their objectives,
it will get you in trouble. There are many
functional managers that you deliver to,
not only the one who pays you. Take the
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support to pursue what I was passionate

time to understand the organizational
aboutthat way other things dont matdynamics and its relationship with your
ter much, Kumar says. By feeling
boss. Understanding their perspeclucky about whats in front
tive is crucial to the success
of me, I have been able to
of any project.
Being
find ways to surmount
Her personal manthe barriers.
tra for success is to
involved in
Kumar is married
focus on the possivolunteering in
with two children
bilities of your role.
the IEEE and in the
and has been the priDont get bogged
Standards
Association
mary support for her
down by the chalhas transformed
in-laws and parents
lenges. By getting
in their old age. While
excited about the posKumar.
her career has been her
sibilities youll find solupassion, she says, Never
tions for the challenges.
lose sight of the fact that you
As a woman in engineerbelong to a home and a familythat is
ing and technology there are barriers,
your biggest support system. Dont underbut in my case, I feel so privileged to be
mine your other roles and let your career
born when I was and to have had the
overwhelm your personal roles. You will

get the support you need and be able to
find solutions for career ambitions. You
may have to make a compromise, but
there is enough time to take care of it.
Her father, a biochemist, and mother,
a schoolteacher, were very supportive and
always helped her and her siblings, who
also are accomplished in scientific fields.
We all grew up with science, technology, education, and research around us,
Kumar says. Thats how we pursued and
have been fortunate to have the support
and opportunities that enabled us. It has
been a fun journey and still continues to
be that way.
Debbie Sniderman
2015
Why Work at Los Alamos?
World-class computing. Quality problems. Quality peers. Quality life.
www.lanl.gov
Visit the LANL booth at the recruiting fair!

hpcrecruits@lanl.gov
_______________________
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BY
KATIANNE
WILLIAMS
High-Tech Help
for the Harvard Program
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TOOL KIT PROVIDES

TRAUMATIZED PEOPLE WITH
COMPASSIONATE CARE
in Refugee
Trauma
The 11-point tool kit designed by HPRT and disseminated to many areas has established guidelines
and screening methodologies for ensuring that
highly traumatized people are able to receive effective and compassionate care, yet there has always
been one thing missing: technology. It was never
done in a way where we can know what people are
doing and whether they followed the tool kit at all,
says Mollica, who has earned numerous awards for
his work, including the human rights award from
the American Psychiatric Association in 1993 and the
Max Hymen Award from the American Orthopsychiatry Association in 1996.
The Importance of the Trauma Story
T
CAN STOCK PHOTO/HASENONKEL
The Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT)

was one of the first refugee programs and clinics in the world. When they opened their doors in
1981, they had to establish within the scientific and
medical communities that people who have survived
mass violence and torture could even be successfully
treated and recover. Thirty-five years later, and still
under the leadership of Founder Dr. Richard Mollica, HPRT has helped over 10,000 survivors of mass
violence and torture not only in the United States
but also in refugee camps and post-conflict societies
in countries including Cambodia, Croatia, Liberia,
and Bosnia.
HPRT has trained over 200 primary care physicians, mental health clinicians, and clergy who are
aiding in the Bosnian reconstruction. They have provided care to earthquake survivors and have consulted
with policymakers in Kobe, Japan. In the aftermath of
the 9/11 terror attacks, HPRT created a training curriculum that was disseminated to local primary care
providers (PCPs) in over 70 communities in both New
York and Massachusetts. And today, HPRT clinicians
work within Massachusetts communities providing
care for refugees who are torture survivors.
IEEE

HPRT calls primary care physicians, alongside clergy,

family, traditional healers, and friends, members of
the local communitys indigenous healers. They have
found that in the aftermath of a traumatic event, victims are willing to talk to their doctor even if they are
not ready to seek out a mental health professional. Yet,
doctors, in general, are resistant to this role. Basically,
they have a tremendous fear, lack of knowledge, and
reluctance to ask people what happened to them on a
traumatic level, Mollica explains.
There are many reasons why. Doctors may not have
time in a day that is completely booked with appointments, and they may not want to open up a conversation that they cannot complete in a single visit. Also,
what is this gray space they are being asked to step
into? Doctors might feel unqualified and untrained,
and inviting a patient to open up about their past
traumas may lead to an emotional breakdown that
a doctor does not feel equipped to handle. And then,
doctors might not have any idea what to do with the
information.
But hearing a patients stories is critical to treatment.
All of these events have enormous medical implications, Mollica adds. If youve been raped in a war zone
or during a disaster in refugee campswhich is commonthere are up to 25 different medical problems you
can have in addition to depression and post-traumatic
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Tufts University student engineers (from left) Courtney Won, Stephen Panaro,
Alice Lee, and Lucy Qin (not shown) have partnered with Dr. Richard Mollica and
the HPRT.
bearing on the physical or mental condistress disorder (PTSD), such as sexually

tion that has brought them to the doctor.
transmitted diseases, vaginal tears, all
So, the first point in the HPRT tool kit is
kinds of problems. If you dont ask and
to guide the practitioner through a set of
dont know the traumatic life experiences
questions that will elicit the
of the refugee or American citipatient to tell his or her
zen, you cant do a good job
story.
medically.
They
After this, the tool
HPRT aims to
have found that
kit aids clinicians in
change primary care
in the aftermath of a
identifying which of
culture and educate
traumatic
event, victims
the patients sympprimary care physiare willing to talk to their
toms are somatic
cians so they are
symptoms of mediprepared for future
doctor even if they are
cal
disorders as opneeds. To help clinot ready to seek out
posed to symptoms
nicians, HPRT has
a mental health
that are part of a culdeveloped a methprofessional.
tural expression of emoodology as well as a set
tional suffering. The trauma
of screening instruments
story can now become part of the
that are used together to propatients medical history and can be convide constancy of care to trauma survivors
sidered by the clinician in diagnosing the
throughout the world, both in standard
patient. In diagnosing, the clinician must
clinics and in refugee camps. This 11-point
consider both physical and mental conditool kit, called Healing the Wounds of
tions. For example, for a torture survivor, a
Mass Violence, was originally developed
diagnosis of depression or PTSD may mask
for the Bureau of Primary Healthcare in rean underlying brain injury.
sponse to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Clinicians use two screening instruMost patients will not volunteer trauma
ments to help diagnose. These checklists
information in a doctors office unless
give trauma survivors the words with
prompted. In fact, many patients may not
which to explain what has happened to
be aware that their trauma history has any
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in
them. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist,

developed at Johns Hopkins University
in the 1950s, is a screening tool widely
used by medical professionals to assess
the mental health of patients. It consists
of a series of questions that are proven
to help in identifying both depression
andanxiety.
HPRT not only uses this checklist, but
it has also developed a comprehensive
questionnaire called the Harvard Trauma
Questionnaire (HTQ) that is versioned for
specific trauma events in specific regions
of the world. There are currently six versions of this questionnaire translated into
more than 20 languages. According to the
HPRT website, versions exist for Southeast Asian refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos; survivors of the Kobe
earthquake in Japan; soldiers of the wars
in the Balkans; and civilian survivors of
the Bosnian conflict.
The guidelines continue past diagnosis by providing standards of care for
the traditional physician roles of making
referrals, prescribing, closing appointments, and following up. In addition,
other tools help caregivers take a more
holistic approach to treatment. Finally,
the 11-point tool kit contains sections on
being sensitive to different cultures and
preventing physician burn out.
Tell Me What You Want

The tool kit is widely disseminated and
has been translated into over 20 languagesbut how do you measure the
efficacy of something that is distributed
to all corners of the globe in hard copy
form? Also, for trauma survivors both in
the United States and in refugee camps,
it is common for them to have to repeat
their trauma stories for new doctors.
Information can be lost, and valuable
time can be spent gathering information
that has already been gathered in the past.
Mollica and his team have been thinking
for a while about ways in which technology
might be able to help trauma survivors.
We were very interested in trying to
figure out how to do two things, Mollica
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explains. One, how to digitize our scientific approach to the medical and psychiatric evaluation of trauma refugees in
refugee clinics like ours in the U.S. and,
two, how to give people an opportunity to
not only respond to our screening instruments but also to narrate their trauma
story in a safe and protected way.
Mollicas office sits right in Harvard
Square and so he didnt need to look far
outside Cambridge. He decided to travel
up Massachusetts Avenue a bit to the
Medford/Somerville campus of Tufts University to talk to Dr. Karen Panetta, Tufts
professor and IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine editor-in-chief.
Dr. Panetta is remarkable person in
that shes a computer engineershes
not a medical person, but she uses her
work and her students to work on projects related to human rights. Thats why
we reached out to her, Mollica says.
So Dr. Panetta brought the project to
the student group she founded years ago,
the Nerd Girls. Nerd Girl Alice Lee is a firstgeneration college student from Boston
and currently an engineer at Intel in Hudson, Massachusetts. I had two people in
high school tell me not to be an engineer,
Lee says. She recounts that a high school
teacher told her that she should be a nurse
but that just gave her a point to prove.
Today she is a senior majoring in computer
Also, for
trauma survivors
both in the United
States and in refugee
camps, it is common for
them to have to repeat
their trauma stories
for new doctors.
engineering. Lee
is a member of
a group of students (including
Courtney Won and
Stephen Panaro,
among others) who
is working on the project. I dont think hed like
to be called a Nerd Girl, she says
of Panaro, but we dont discriminate.
Tufts computer science student Lucy
Qin is developing a web application that
will send responses from the questionnaire
collected via smart phone to a database in
the cloud. The database will conceal the
patients name and personal information,
harvesting Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act (commonly known
by the acronym HIPAA)-compliant information and sending it along so that HPRT
can maintain a history. While she is working
on that aspect of the project, Lee, Won, and
Panaro are developing a means for recording and preserving a victims trauma story.
For this, the team has decided to utilize
radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags.
RFID is a generic term for a system that
transmits a unique identification information wirelessly using radio waves. RFID
is grouped with other auto-identification
systems, such as bar-code systems, but the
great thing about

RFID technology
is that no manual
intervention is
neededno one has
to pick up an object
and make sure its bar
code is facing the right
way on the belt. Today RFID
is usually microchips embedded
in tagsyou might use such a tag to gain
access to a building or to ride the subway.
Antitheft systems at department stores are
single-bit RFID tags that are either off or on.
The amazing thing about RFID technology is that it has been around forever.
Many trace its rather crude beginnings
back to World War II, when radar technology would inform someone that a plane was
approaching but not whether that plane
was friend or foe. The Germans discovered
that by rolling their planes a certain way
upon approaching base, radar operators on
the ground would receive a specific radio
signal, and they could use this as a sort of
code to identify friendly planes.
Decades later, an American inventor
named Charles Walton secured a patent
that used RFID technology for a radiooperated door lock. His patent, Portable
Radio Frequency Emitting Identifier,
awarded in 1983, was the first to use the
RFID
Reader/Writer
iPhone
Arduino
Circuits
RFID Card
The Tufts students created this

prototype of the reader/writer system
that will ultimately allow trauma
patients to store their histories on
personal RFID cards.
Richard Mollica and the HPRT team pose for a picture with IEEE Women in
Engineering Magazine Editor-in-Chief Karen Panetta. Clockwise (from the
top left) are Brianna Wadler, Amie Jaiteh, Richard Mollica, Dimana Popovska,
Nicholas DiStefano, Svang Tor, Karen Panetta, and Milay Lemos.
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When
committed
systematically and
deliberately, sexual
violence has been an armys
brutal method of terrorizing
citizens, breaking up
families, and even altering
a populations future
genetic makeup.
term RFID. He
would go on to
obtain ten patents for RFIDrelated devices.
For a while, the
cost per tag was about
US$1, but that price has
come down, and with that
drop has been a surge in applications. RFID technology may have been
around for a while, but it is finally inexpensive enough to be mainstream. Today, RFID
tags are used for animal tagging, personnel
access, personal identification, transport,
and industrial purpsoses.
The Tufts team chose this technology because it was a winwin. It was
inexpensive, and it did not get ruined if
it became wet, like a micro-USB might.
The data, stored digitally, would be virtually useless to a hack without the reader.
The chip does have storage limitations,
but the RFID cards can easily handle all
of the information on the questionnaire.
Also, the students were interested in the
technology. They werent learning about
it in school, and they all had RFID access
cards themselves and wanted to know
how they worked.
In this case, trauma survivors can
carry their RFID cards with them in
pockets or on lanyards, and these cards
can contain their trauma histories. Using
a smartphone and an RFID reader/writer,
a clinician will be able to quickly read
information from the card, or write new
information to it.
The team can buy the RFID cards and
the reader/writer off the shelf, but the
reader/writer only talks to a microprocessor. They are building a microprocessor
that will plug into the smartphone jack
to integrate the reader/writer with a user
interface on the smartphone. Mollica has
been very impressed with the collaboration.
Its a wonderful partnership in the
sense that we have deeply committed to
36
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in
medical work
for the past 35
years with a lot
of clinical and
research experience, but I think
our great lack is we
dont have computer
engineers to work with,
Mollica admits. I think the
computer engineers like Karen Panetta
and her students bring a unique perspectivethey may not know the content
but like she says, Tell me what you want
and well do it. They can produce the instrumentation to do some pretty remarkable things.
A Crime Against Humanity

Around 65% of the people HPRT treats
are female. Years ago, an international
survey of torture survivors conducted by
Mollicas team led to the finding that sexual violence and gender-based violence is
the main type torture to which women
are subjected. It was very early on that
we came onto this, Mollica says. This
was way before gender-based violence was
considered a crime against humanity.
Historically, the world has considered sexual violence against women an
unavoidable part of war. Rape was one
of the spoils for invading armies, be they
Viking or Nazi, or almost any conquering
force. When committed systematically
and deliberately, sexual violence has been
an armys brutal method of terrorizing
citizens, breaking up families, and even
altering a populations future genetic
makeup.
According to the United Nations,
between 100,000 and 250,000 women
were raped in Rwanda in a three-month
period in 1994. It is estimated that 50,000
girls and women were raped during the
Bosnian conflict. And yet, until recently
there was no protection from such
crimes, no adequate punishment. In the
aftermath of World War II, the trials at

Nuremberg did not deal with rape, and
the trials in Tokyo did not address sexual
enslavement charges. It was colleagues
later in Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Rwanda,
that helped to make sexual violence a
crime against humanity, Mollica says.
Today, United Nations Security Council resolutions protect women and children from acts of violence, and much
progress has been made. Still, Mollica
believes that, despite all the rhetoric, womens health is one of the most
neglected areas in the human rights and
medicine field. There has not been a consolidated effort to holistically understand
the health and well-being of women in
conflict and disaster areas, he says.
According to Mollica, women are
more likely to be abused and five times
more likely to die in a conflict zone or
disaster area when catastrophe strikes.
The burden of family responsibility often
falls to the females, especially when males
are killed or called away to fight. As the
field of human rights and medicine has
progressed, Mollica adds that the international community is always learning new
things, and he is pleased that the focus
right now looks to finally be turning to
womens health.
A story on the HPRT website tells
how when Mollica was a student in the
1970s, Dr. Fritz Redlich told him that
the greatest thing a doctor can do in
his lifetime is to use science to influence public policy. As they have since
1981, Mollica and the HPRT team will
continue their commitment to caring
for both the physical, psychological, and
spiritual suffering of the worlds refugees
and trauma survivors.
Katianne Williams is a freelance
writer specializing in the technology field.
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BY
LESLIE PRIVES
Lighting the Way

for Women in Photonics
TARGETED OUTREACH AND HUMANITARIAN
EFFORTS FUEL THE NEW INITIATIVE
The year 2014 was a big one for
womens engineering programs; not
only did IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) celebrate its 20th anniversary, but the IEEE Photonics Society,
inspired by WIEs decades of progress,
unveiled its own Women in Photonics initiative. Officially launched at
the IEEE Photonics Society flagship
annual conference in October 2014,
the program is dedicated to creating
and promoting activities that support
the participation, engagement, and
advancement of women in the photonics and optics community.
Creating a womens initiative was
high on my list of priorities for my
term, says 20142015 IEEE Photonics Society president Dr. Dalma Novak.
Ive been a member of WIE for a long
time and seen all of the great things
that it is accomplishing for encouraging women in engineering. Ive also
attended womens programs in other
technical fields, such as Women in
Microwaves, and I thought our Society
should have its own focused program.
The IEEE Photonics Society has a
history of supporting women, boasting
its first female president back in 1993,

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and it actually has a higher percentage

of women within its board of governors
and senior volunteer leadership than its
general membership base. At around 7%
female membership, Novak notes that the
numbers arent alarming and she estimates the Society to be comparable to, or
in some cases even better than, other technical groups within the IEEE. Obviously
within the general context of women in
STEM we could be doing a lot better, she
concedes, but everyone recognizes that
getting more women into technical fields
is something that as a society weve been
dealing with for decades.
The Women in Photonics initiative is
one such attempt. By condcuting more
outreach to women and offering activities to support their engagement, Were
trying to bridge the gap between the
number of women in the wider community and women within our membership
base, says Lauren Mecum, Community
Outreach and Development manager for
the IEEE Photonics Society. Our Women
in Photonics activities are open to both
members and nonmembers. Its mostly
about inclusive professional development
and advancement overall. Since photonics is such a cross-disciplinary science,
our events also appeal to members of
other societies within the IEEE.
Coupled with a growing interest in a
dedicated Women in Photonics initiative
was an organizational opportunity. As Dr.
Novak was starting her term as president
two years ago, a concurrent new vice president of Membership, Dr. Paul Juodawlkis,
opted to restructure the IEEE Photonics
Society Membership Council. Shifting
away from a council with volunteer associate vice presidents (AVPs) who each oversaw a specific region in the world to one
where each AVP oversees a target outreach
area opened up a spot for Dr. Arti Agrawal,
the AVP for the Women in Photonics initiative, who champions the program within
the Societys leadership.
Agrawal wanted to get involved with
the program because of a personal passion
for improving the number of women in the
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Arti Agrawal (left) and Dalma Novak at

the 2014 Women in Photonics launch
reception.
field and believes Women in Photonics can

play a pivotal role in combating the issue.
There are a lot of cultural reasons, including stereotyping, that can keep women
away from science and engineering fields
such as optics, Agrawal explains. Because
of that, we are losing some exceptionally
talented people who could invent, say, the
next laser. We need to address these reasons so girls and women come to these
professions and face no barriers to entry or
progression. When we get there well have
a much better talent pool working in the
scientific profession, making life better for
all of humanity.
With key volunteers in place, Women
in Photonics officially launched with a
reception at the IEEE Photonics Conference in October 2014. Since that
A student with her Light Blox Kit,

provided by Laser Classroom,
distributed as part of Introduce a Girl
to Photonics week.
time, the team has been working off the

momentum of a great response to the
announcement, using social media and
e-blasts to keep members and nonmembers informed of news while building volunteering opportunities for those who are
interested in getting involved.
Already some of the 103 global IEEE
Photonics Society Chapters are taking up
the charge, appointing liaisons to work
with the main office and hosting their own
programming. Earlier this year, there was
a Women in Photonics professional development luncheon organized by a Chapter
in Santa Clara, California, and the Baltimore, Maryland, group sponsored a panel
session with three early-career young
professionals speaking about their work
in photonics. These are just a few examples of the types of events highlighted in
the groups bimonthly newsletter, which
also carries articles geared toward women
and spotlights a member of the month.
In October 2015, the IEEE Photonics Societys annual flagship conference
marked one year since the Women in Photonics launch, and the group again held a
prominent place on the events schedule
of activities. The conference featured a
Women in Photonics networking reception, a soft skills training session, and a
speakers panel. We wanted the panel to be
very career oriented, says Jean Kalkavage,
who organized the session. The idea was
to grab the attention of younger women in
the audience and show them potential role
models. To demonstrate the diversity of
opportunities, Kalkavage assembled a mix
of people: some who were just starting out
in their careers and others who were more
established. They included a few academics as well as women from industry and
government. Discussion topics ranged
from how the panelists chose their careers
in engineering to moments in which they
either questioned their choices or were
particularly inspired.
Kalkavage, who is early in her own
career at the Applied Physics Laboratory at
Johns Hopkins University, says she wished
a program like Women in Photonics existed
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Children with solar lamps, provided as part of the SolarAid campaign. (Photo
courtesy of SolarAid.)
when she was first deciding what to study.

At Boston University, I once stood in front
of a poster of around 50 faculty members
within the Department of Electrical Engineering, and maybe four of them were
women, she recalls. There were quite a
lot of females in my classes, but there is
clearly a disconnect with women staying in
the field, so I wonder if societies like this
will make a difference.
The IEEE Photonics Society hopes so,
and is targeting outreach to younger girls
in particular to convey the opportunities
for women in photonics. I think we all
recognize that the key is to get girls interested at a young age and then support and
nurture them, says Novak. To that end,
the membership council also has an AVP
of Education. Hes developing a curriculum that we can take to schools and talk
to science teachers about how to introduce concepts of optics to young people
in a way thats engaging, Novak adds.
Lighting the Way

Women in Photonics and the IEEE Photonics Society also partnered with the
United Nations to support 2015 as the
International Year of Light, an initiative aimed at educating people around
the world about the importance of lightbased activity. Coinciding with the IEEE
Photonics Conference and IEEE Day in
October was Introduce a Girl to Photonics Week, programming that functioned
similarly to bring your child to work day.
There were events and activities
around the world to encourage girls to
participate and develop interests in photonics and light sciences, says Lauren
Mecum. We mobilized a number of the
Societys student outreach ambassadors
to take educational kits to schools to
demonstrate how light works. Lessons
were given on reflection, refraction, and
the basics of how light bends and moves.
The goal was to coordinate events and
help support Chapter activities that allow
young girls to shadow an adult (parent or
mentor) that works in the photonics and
optics fields.
Theres also a humanitarian objective
to the International Year of Light, which
provides people in developing countries
with access to lights because, without it,
many people cannot continue their education or trade work after the sun goes
down, instead relying on dangerous alternatives to lighting such as homemade
kerosene lamps.
Were partnering with SolarAid,
whose mission is to eradicate kerosene
lamps in Africa by the year 2020, shares
Novak. It is an ambitious task but the
lamps are very dangerous because they
generate so much toxic smoke that its
equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes
a day. To help, the IEEE Photonics Society is doing outreach within its own community to sponsor the solar lamps that
SolarAid produces and ships to developing nations.
Looking ahead, the Women in Photonics team has several projects in the works
to further keep young people and current
photonics professionals involved. They are
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in the process of developing educational

programs and materials such as trainings,
massive open online courses, and webinars
and are looking for writers and bloggers
for both a new website and the bimonthly
e-newsletter. Currently, Agrawal is reviewing the IEEE Photonics Society editorial
boards and conference committees to
help each achieve a better gender balance.
Once thats complete, there will be more
volunteer opportunities specifically for
women in leadership positions. Agrawal
points out that the timing couldnt be better for women thinking about volunteering. Getting involved with Women in
Photonics and the IEEE Photonics Society
gives women a great chance to develop
their skills, build a network, learn about
the Society, and influence the direction it
takes, she explains.
Women in Photonics is still a young
initiative that could go in many directions, but Novak has some ideas about
what success looks like. One of the big
successes would be an increase in membership and particularly an increase in
female membership, because women see
that we have a program in place to really
support their careers, she says. Another
goal is to increase the visibility of women
overall. Seeing women participate in
STEM is very important because young
girls can see that there are role models
for them in their own careers.
The Society is certainly building
toward that success, with the number of
responses to calls for volunteers, especially from young women, already growing in the year since the launch. Im
a strong proponent of volunteering,
states Novak. When you get involved,
you become part of a community, which
increases your opportunities, and thats
when you stay retained in the field. Retention of women in photonics is something
that I hope well be able to achieve.
Leslie Prives is a freelance writer
living in New York City.
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Career Advisor
Growing into a
Leadership Role
and honest feedback in a way that people

can really receive it. And I do it all with
an eye toward whats going to help the
business be most effective.
Her official transition into HR came
when she joined the global mobility team
of a large high-tech company. Perhaps
foreshadowing the type of confidence
Pressner encourages women to learn along the way
she would later speak about in keynote
addresses on womens leadership, Pressner applied for and secured that first HR
job despite lacking all of the credentials
requested in the job description. They
wanted four things: previous experience
in global mobility, to be at least bilingual,
yet, they could still turn out terribly!
Kristen Pressner has a passion for
a masters degree, and experience
But, she continues, I realized
encouraging women to step into leaderliving abroad with extensive
looking around that there are
ship roles. Both as part of her day job in
travel, she recalls. I met
so few women in leadership
human resources (HR)she currently
none of those criteria. I
roles. There is no perfect
serves as the vice president and head of
didnt even have a passport.
woman executive/mother
HR for Europe, the Middle East, Africa,
Since then, Pressner
that I could send these
and Latin America for Roche Diagnossays she has tried to get
women to, and if I didnt
ticsas well as through the opportunias much diverse HR experishare what Id learned along
ties shes had to speak to women across
ence as she can so she can keep
the way with other women,
the globe, Pressner offers a call to action,
Kristen Pressner
growing. Im that person who,
there really might be no one
practical tips, and stories from her own
for my entire 20-plus-year career, has said
else to do it. It was this understanding
experience as to how women can take
with every role that I have the coolest job
that launched Pressners quest to drive
on leadership roles in their careers and
in the company, she says. Throughout
action because, she adds, even if I didnt
push aside concerns they may have about
her nine-year stint in high tech, Pressfeel totally confident or capable at times,
their abilities or the impact on work-life
ner worked in jobs ranging from global
the change I want for this world is far
balance. A mother of four, she provides a
mobility to university recruiting to HR
more important to me than protecting
unique perspective as someone who has
partnering. During that time, she
my own fears and insecurities.
returned from maternity leave (repeatalso got married and had
Pressner did not originaledly), sits as a top female executive at a
three children.
ly set out to be a career
large global company, and works in HR,
Those
change agent; after
thus having a view behind the curtain.
receiving her bachWhat Pressner does not offer, however,
A Radical Change
of us women
elor of arts degree
are all the answers.
Wanting to be closer
who are already
in communications,
Though women most often ask her
to fa mily, Pressin top leadership
she began her career
for advice about managing a meaningful
ner took a role as
have an obligation
in sales. I came to
career and motherhood, Pressner conan HR partner at
to help other
realize that what I
fesses that she used to send them away
Roche in 2005 and
enjoyed most at work
with nothing. I felt like I had nothwas then promoted to
women.
was figuring out what
ing useful to share, she says. I havent
director of Talent Manpeople were truly good
figured it out! My kids arent finished
agement after returning
at and helping them get in
from maternity leave with her
those
roles
where
they
can
shine,
she
fourth
child.
When she returned from
describes. I am also able to give clear
a business trip to Berlin, Germany, she
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and her husband discussed the prospect of living and working abroad,
which they had always considered doing
someday. I told my husband that I
thought someday was now. Our kids
were 1, 3, 5, and 7, and it seemed like
the perfect time, she says. As luck
would have it, the next day a role in
Switzerland was posted and Pressner
raised her hand. We gave away twothirds of our belongings, sold our
house at a loss, and moved our lives to
Switzerland, without ever having been
before.
Pressner started with a role in the
Diagnostics divisions Global Learning
and Development team, but a reorganization shortly after she began resulted
in a transition to a broader role, ultimately covering areas such as learning
and development, succession planning,
high-potential development, leadership
programs, high-flyer development pro-
Pressner speaking at the WIE

International Leadership Conference in
Silicon Valley, April 2015.
grams, and more, across all of Roche.

It was a huge learning curve for me,
she recalls.
Appproximately four years ago, Pressner was approached about an opportu-
nity to be Roches head of HR for the

Diagnostics division across Europe, the
Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
I honestly almost turned down the job,
she says. I told myself I wasnt sure how
the travel and commute could work for
my family. But being honest with myself,
I realized my bigger concern was that
I couldnt do it. Facing her fears head
on, Pressner took the opportunity and
is glad that she did. I had to do a lot
of things differently and learned a lot,
but once again I have the coolest job at
Roche! she exclaims.
In her current position, she is responsible for HR in the geographically largest
business region of Roche, with more than
6,000 employees spanning four continents across more than 150 countries.
I coordinate and align HR practices and
focus areas to ensure that were leveraging the impressive diversity of the people
in our region in a way that helps each
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robots. If you are ready to challenge yourself at the leading edge, we would like to meet you.
www.altera.com/careers
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Pressner and her family enjoy a visit to Florence, Italy.
ship, because better gender balance at

person progress in a career that is chalthe top not only leads to stronger orgalenging and exciting to them and also
nizational cultures and better business
enables Roche Diagnostics to remain #1
results, but it also is the only place from
in in vitro diagnostics, she explains.
which you can make real change hapAs an extension of her role, Pressner
pen. Furthermore, those of us women
was invited to provide a keynote address
who are already in top leadership have
at the Global Women in Leadership Ecoan obligation to help other women.
nomic Forum in Dubai in November
There are so few of us that, quite honest2014. Roche has served as a sponsor of
ly, we should step up and help, whether
the event for the past few years due to
we feel were qualified to or not.
its focus on diversity in the workplace,
Pressners speech delivered in
and it increased its participation
November 2014 addressed
last year with a speaking
these aspects among
engagement centered on
Theres
others, and the regender diversity in top
nothing more
sponse wa s overleadership roles.
whelmingly positive.
powerful than young
For the past year
A Call to Action
women deciding that
s h e s c o n t i n u e d
It was while preparenough is enough and
to be contacted by
ing for the keynote
helping empower
women who watched
address that Pressother women.
the presentation onner felt inspired to
line and have been injoin the broader dialog
spired to take action. The
(and champion it) around
meeting in Dubai also conwomen in leadership. As an
nected Pressner with Nita Patel, IEEE
HR person, I care very much about havWomen in Engineering international
ing better representation of women in
chair, who asked her to give the closing
leadership because it just makes sense
keynote at the IEEE Women in Engifor business, she says. But through
neering International Leadership Conferthe process of researching the topic and
ence in April 2015 in Silicon Valley. Given
getting in on the conversation in social
that Roche Diagnostics often hires engimedia, a few things hit me: women need
neers, Pressner happily accepted.
a call to action to consider top leader-
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The keynote, I Change the World. I

Am an Engineer, presented the primary
barriers to leadership faced by women
that Pressner has observed most, and it
remains one of the most popular videos
on IEEE.tv today, due to its resonance.
As compared to men, I see women
consistently behave differently when it
comes to knowing themselves, knowing
they can do it, and knowing the rules of
engagement, she explains. To her first
point, Pressner notes that she observes
women as less likely to truly understand
what theyre passionate about, what they
want to do next, and what their limits
and boundaries are. It comes down to: if
you had a moment with a career-maker,
can you, inside two minutes, articulate
who you are? she asks.
When it comes to knowing you can
do it, Pressner clarifies that she doesnt
see women as having less confidence
than men, but they do have a tendency
to hesitate more. Im certainly guilty
of that, she shares, adding that women
need to hesitate less and to help one another through those moments of hesitation. You just have to be able to learn. If
youve proven you can learn in the past,
then you can learn in the future, so go
for it.
The third area, knowing the rules
of engagement, is the trickiest of all. I
often tell women that if the race was an
academic one, we would be winning,
says Pressner. Women now outperform
men academically at all levels of school
and are more likely to obtain college
degrees and enroll in graduate school.
But the rules of the game changed the
moment you graduated and entered
the workforce. I offer practical tips that
women can put in place to navigate the
new landscape, such as the fact that confidence can beat competence.
Though Pressner gave this keynote to a room filled with engineers,
her position allows her to see that these
principles are universal, explaining
that the types of questions she receives
from women dont vary all that much.
It doesnt matter if I am speaking to
women in my own industry or another,
in the Middle East or Chile or Russia or
Switzerland or the U.S. Fundamentally,
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To achieve that genwomen want to have an

To achieve
der balance at the top,
impact on the world,
Pressner encourages
she shares. Howthat gender
young women to
ever, no matter
balance at the top,
take up the leadhow hard we try,
Pressner encourages
ership charge,
there is a limited
young women to take up
whet her or not
impact t hat a
the leadership charge,
they feel comfortminority group
able
or confident.
can have on a
whether or not they
The World Ecosystem when they
feel comfortable or
nomic Forum Global
a re u nder repreconfident.
Gender Gap report says
sented in the power
it will take over 80 years
structure. Women need
to close the gender gap globto start being equally repreally, says Pressner. For me, that is
sented in top leadership to change
far too long and isnt even in my lifetime.
the system. This is, of course, especially
But theres nothing more powerful than
true in industries like tech, where there
young women deciding that enough is
are even fewer women at the top.
enough and helping to empower other

women and step into leadership roles
themselves. My question to these girls
and women is: if not you, who?
To watch Kristen Pressners 2015 WIE
International Leadership Conference
address, please visit: https://ieeetv.ieee.org/
ieeetv-specials/wie-ilc-2015-i-change-the_________________________
world-i-am-an-engineer-a-keynote-with_________________________
kristen-pressner-vp-of-roche.
_________________
To continue the conversation, follow
Kristen on Twitter at @KPressner or on
Facebook on her Kristen Pressner professional page.
Leslie Prives
______________________________________
___
__________
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Pipelining
Attractive Programs for Women
Combining a Passion
for Coding and Biotech
Williams love of STEM was fostered at a young age
Adrianna Williams learned to code at

the age of seven and wrote her first website when she was ten. For a long time,
she thought computer coding was all
about games and never knew there was
anything more to it.
Going to events like the STEM Workshop at the Milwaukee School of Engineering during the 2015 IEEE USAs
Annual Meeting and being part of the
Girls Excelling in Math and Science
(GEMS) program at her high school in
Mequon, Wisconsin, opened her eyes and
helped her decide what she really wanted
to do. Williams impression of the computer science field is that it is very broad,
and she didnt know what to do within the
field. Now, shes a freshman at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, majoring
in computer science engineering.
Before, I wasnt sure how computers could be applied. The programs I
attended in high school let me know
that there are a lot more people interested in science and math in an industry
that not a lot of girls were into. Other
than the two or three people I personally knew that wanted to go into it, the
GEMS program let me meet people in
different grades, says Williams.
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Early Years at Home Fostered

Her Love of Computing
The first websites I wrote used really

simple code and were not complicated at
all to learn and use, Williams explains.
I made a few pages using HTML and
uploaded them to the Internet. I didnt
really know what I was doing, but it ended
up being a fully functional website. I was
able to add simple games, mostly older ones.
Another website I created allowed all of my
friends and I to write continuous stories
together. This was huge for me, because I
am also interested in writing and like writing stories with my friends. The website
allowed us to make a long book with different people writing different sections.
Williams learned about computer
games while watching her older brother,
who was into games and writing his own
codes to make them more interesting and
fun. She didnt know you could add things
to games, and she thought it was cool that
you could change them. Williams learned
a lot about coding at a young age from her
uncle who created computers and wrote
programs for the military.
Williams has five brothers, and she says her

parents have been her mentors and a big
influence on her work ethic. They met at
college at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and she says her dad, who is from
Jamaica, is about working for what youve
got. He says you have to be committed to
everything you do. So does my mom, who is
now a successful business owner. She grew
up on a farm in rural Mississippi in a place
where she didnt have many options as to
what she could grow up to be, she says.
Pursuing Her Other Love:

The Human Body
Williams graduated from Homestead

High School in Mequon, Wisconsin, in
2015 and is now a freshman at Calvin
College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Williams attended the first test run year

of the GEMS program at her high school
and learned about it from her teacher
who knew she was interested in studying
science, technology, engineering, and
math (STEM) subjects. At the time, she
had an interest in brain-related studies.
Ever since she was young, Williams
has been interested in the human body
and how it works. She used to read her
mothers old nursing textbooks, looked
at the pictures, and thought it was cool,
sparking her interest.
She chose to attend Calvin College
because it allowed her to major in computer science engineering and minor in
biology, combining the two majors. If I
want to work in stem cells or whatever I
want, I can, she says.
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Williams offers this advice to other

girls who may be interested in STEM
subjects: Find what you really want to
do, and once you do, stick with it! Fall
in love with what you really want to do
because it can be rewarding.
She adds, Its good to know that its
not a weird thing to be interested in STEM
subjects. Science in general is a really
great, interesting field to go into. There are
so many things to do. So, stick with it even
if you dont know what you want to do.
Debbie Sniderman
The Love of a
Good Challenge
McCarthy mines for GEMS
Eighteen-year-old Sarah McCarthy

always thought math and science were
difficult subjects, but, after she took
physics, she decided she wanted to

become an engineer to better the world.

She didnt wait until she left high school
to begin and started a Girls Excelling in
Math and Science (GEMS) chapter for all
the right reasons.
McCarthy credits her teachers in the
Mequon, Wisconsin, school district, even
in elementary school, for encouraging
her to go out of her comfort zone. A
self-proclaimed perfectionist, McCarthy
thought she had to get perfect scores
in math, but she never did, especially
in sixth grade, and she was frustrated.
I thought not getting perfect scores
meant I was bad at math, she says.
In high school, the Advanced Placement (AP) Physics B class disappointed
her again. It was overwhelming, and
sometimes I couldnt solve the problems, McCarthy admits. My teacher
told me not to have a fixed mindset and
look at life as an opportunity for growth.
Even though I thought he was insulting and offending me, he cared and was
concerned, and his push took me out
of my comfort zone and helped me. I
learned that I needed to look at things
from another viewpoint. Im willing to
try hard and learn no matter what the

outcome in order to get better. I shifted
my mindset in my junior year and ended
up loving physics and getting successful
grades. Before, I loved doing well. Now I
love challenges.
A GEMS activity provides McCarthy

with a hair-raising experience.
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McCarthy (right) and her friend and

fellow math lover, Nia Feaster, devise a
plan to keep an egg safe when it falls
from a 30-ft window.
STEM Challenges Help People

During her senior year, she loved her AP
calculus class and found it challenging.
Able to apply calculus in her AP Physics
C class, she decided that physics was the
subject she wanted to study in college. I
found the crossovers between problem
solving, equations, interpersonal skills,
and working on projects, and I knew
physics would be the path I would go
down, she says.
Now, she is a freshman studying physics at Grinnell College, a small school in
Iowa. She says that in the future she will
possibly study environmental engineering with a concentration in water purification and get a graduate degree.
McCarthy adds that she is interested
in science, technology, engineering,
and math (STEM) because she believes
that the personal challenge of creating
things that will change peoples lives will
also change the world. Theres something exciting about getting up every
day knowing that what I do is going
to challenge me today, she says. Not
knowing how I will get there, but that it
will challenge me. When you know how
to solve a problem, you can take what
you learn to find a way to help people in
large or small ways, Designing alternative energy systems, curing diseases, or
fixing bad roads could help save lives.
Engineering (MSOE)Girls Exploring

Mathas a high school junior was so
inspirational, she wished she could have
brought every girl in her school on the
trip. She and a few other students were
approached by a math teacher since they
were the youngest kids in their doubleaccelerated math class that they were
taking with seniors. The teacher presented them with an opportunity to do
something that would get them thinking about math, where they could do
well and be happy. Honestly, the free
lunch and T-shirt really intrigued us, so
we went, she says.
At MSOE, the girls talked to women
in many different fields who were doing
things that aligned with their career
goals. They were gracious and kind and
we connected with them well. They were
moms, had lives, had relationships, and
were doing things other than just working at a career, and that was a draw for
me, explains McCarthy. I dont want to
just work. I want to have a family. Go on
adventures. And live a well-rounded life.
And I saw it in these women.
When she returned to high school,
her physics teacher said that she could
bring the GEMS program there and put
their own twist on MSOEs idea. She
began the club with the idea of it being a
social club with an educational emphasis.
Our school lacked a support system
for girls, she explains. I have a group
of friends who are girls that are strong
in math and science and not afraid to
Stay Curious
Starting a GEMS Program

McCarthy says that a STEM workshop
she attended at the Milwaukee School of
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pursue our passions. But even they face

teasing from the guys, saying were
lucky when we get a question right or
telling us to put our hands down so they
could answer questions. If we were facing teasing, the girls who liked math
and science but werent as confident
wouldnt be able to try it out. The GEMS
group was a good way to encourage
girlsto tell them they can do math
and science.
The first meeting at the end of her
junior school year crammed 100 girls
into one classroom. It was incredible
to see this many girls with so many reasons for coming, she recalls. Some
were curious about math and science,
wanted to find out what they loved, and
wanted to make friends that wouldnt
make fun of them for doing what they
loved. Some wanted to get away from
the teasing or support a friend who
wanted to go into math and science. And
some were there for the free food, fun,
and support.
Over the next year, the club held
computer nights that taught girls computer basics, night ice skating, and
experiments with liquid nitrogen and
dry ice. They looked at the stars and
studied together. Along with the Engaging Girls in Science Initiative, they held
a PrepPro workshop that mimicked the
MSOE workshop and brought in professional women in science, technology, engineering, and math careers who
talked with the girls in small groups
about their experiences. The girls found
mentors and women to reach out to
when they had questions.
They held a summer fire night where
they learned how to set things on fire.
The bonfire attracted so many cars that
the police came. We talked to the police,
and they saw a bunch of people having
fun, and it was all ok, McCarthy says.
This gave GEMS street credibility. We
wont break the law but we broke the gender barriers!
Physics teacher Paul Sivanich has

served as a mentor for McCarthy.
To other girls who may not know what

they want to do in their lives, McCarthy
offers advice. Remember what you love
and pursue it with all your heart. Stay
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curious. Work hard and do as much as you can to help

as many people as you can. No one sets limits for us, and
nothing stands in the way of girls doing what we love. If
anything does, well break it down and get there. Just do
what you love and be passionate. Eventually youll find
something.
Debbie Sniderman
Engaging High School Girls

Spending a Saturday afternoon watching brain waves
This past spring, 35 girls spent a Saturday afternoon in a
darkened hotel room monitoring brain waves. Part of a
larger IEEE meeting, the girls, all from Milwaukee, Wisconsins Homestead High School Girls Exploring Math
and Science (GEMS) club, watched how their own brain
waves looked stimulated by various activities. Part of a
science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workshop designed and led by faculty and student volunteers of
the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), the high
school students conducted activities while wearing wireless headsets that sent their brainwaves to laptop PCs running MATLAB software.
Seeking a STEM exercise that U.S. Sections could
observe and gauge for local use, IEEE-USA Annual Meeting Program Coordinator Emily Sopensky engaged with
Milwaukee Section Women in Engineering Chair Olga
Imas, who is also MOSE associate professor of biomedical
engineering of the Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science Department. She selected, invited, and, with
fellow professor Aaron Suminski, hosted the workshop.
Jointly they prepared the workshop, designed the software required for the workshop activities, and instructed
and worked with the girls during the workshop.
A Strong Start
In a northern suburb of Milwaukee, Homestead High
School is one of the best schools in Wisconsin. The
schools staff has a strong interest in math and science,
it accepts students who are already interested in these
subjects and offers advanced opportunities to use their
knowledge. Homesteads GEMS club offers monthly events
to its members outside of school hours. Started by Sara
McCarthy, one of the student participants who attended
the event as a high school senior, the clubs members are
mainly juniors and seniors, with a few sophomores and
one freshman attending along with the clubs advisor, a
physics teacher.
Ericsson Celebrates
WHAT MAKES YOU, YOU
MAKES US
STRONGER.
We are more than 100,000 individuals, but together,

our thoughts, perspectives and experiences
are transforming the Networked Society. Our
commitment to diversity and inclusion drives our
innovationshaping our high performing teams and
driving our superior business results. Here, your
voice will be heard and amplied. Your personal
strengths will be celebrated and cultivated. And
your unique potential will be elevated by the
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We are now seeking Change Makers to deliver the
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I work with various teams from different parts

of the world, looking into innovative solutions in
connecting people. Every day is a renewed feeling
of global inclusion within the organization!
- Sunitha S., Senior Engineer, Radio Access Networks

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MSOE student volunteers, who

helped run the workshop, briefed the
girls on college, science, math, and
brains. Engaged for the entire afternoon, the high school students were
rewarded with certificates of participation for attending. More than 75
IEEE meeting attendees signed up to
observe the event.
Cool Brain Activity

The girls wore EEG headsets that
recorded electrical brain activity known
as an electroencephalogram (EEG) and
reported the results wirelessly. They
could see their own brain waves while
doing activities like Sudoku, meditating,
flexing their muscles, and listening to
music. They used statistics and mathematics to analyze their EEG activity to
determine if the EEG patterns differed
from task to task. The girls also learned
about neuroscience, how the brain works,
and about the field of brain-machine
interface. It turned out that yes, the girls
did see differences.
While learning about the brainmachine interface, the attendees watched
a video segment from a news show about
a young woman with a cerebral degeneration condition completely paralyzing
her from the neck down. Once a healthy,
active adult, who was even a contestant
on a national game show, the woman was
shown in the video with a robot that stimulated the motor cortex of her brain, allowing her to move a robotic arm to pick up
a glass, drink, and shake someones hand.
The video gives a perspective about
how to use technology to study the
brain, develop brain interfaces, and treat
the brain, explains Imas. Advances
like this are important to help someone
regain their motor function.
Suminski designed an EEG tug-of-war
computer game for the girls to play while
wearing the headset. On a screen, a red
ball moves around a field using mental
control alone. When the player is relaxed,
the ball can be moved toward the opponents gate, and if the ball makes it to the
gate, scores a point. When attentive or
less relaxed, the ball stops moving in the
winning direction, and the opponent has
a chance to take over the game. The girls
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The STEM MSOE Workshop focused on the

theme Women in Engineering.
tried to relax as much as possible and held

an EEG tug of war.
Background and Motivation

Engaging high school students in STEM
workshops is in keeping with IEEEs
overall goals, says Sopensky. IEEE-USA
has a lot of products and services. The
annual meeting provides an opportunity
to showcase some of the best of these
offerings. The Homestead High School/
MSOE workshop was observed by at least
75 of the annual meeting participants.
Each one will take back to their Section
another example of what could work for
them. We wanted to present the elements
and expose local high school students to
the IEEE.
The STEM workshop fit the conferences theme for the day, which was
Women in Engineering. It was geared
to rely on local speakers, and this was
the first time the conference was held in
Milwaukee, where there is a significant
amount of academic involvement with
IEEE and plenty of connections. The
goal was to show that you can work with
existing resources in a region, including
universities and high schools, for a dual
purposeto get high school students
who will go into technology interested in
becoming IEEE members and energize
the girls, so they go back to their high
school saying what a cool way to spend a
Saturday afternoon, says Sopensky.
In Their Own Words

Keyana Tennant, WIE program manager
and associate editor of IEEE Women in
Engineering Magazine, interviewed students who attended the event to find out
why they were interested in coming and
what advice they had for others.
Ariel Kim, who plans on majoring

in biomedical engineering in the fall of
2015 and attending medical school or
getting a masters degree afterward, said
she became interested in STEM because
her elementary school focused on a wellrounded education. It provided a broad
range of science and math that fostered
her interest. To others, she says, Dont
be scared. It may be intimidating, but be
proud. Show it off!
Isabella Scaffidia used to hate math
and science, but teachers in her freshman
year exposed her to subjects that broadened her horizons. She joined the GEMS
club and now loves both subjects. Scaffidia
wants to study biomedical engineering at
Stanford University and advises, Dont
shut out math and science if it at first
doesnt click for you. It has such a broad
spectrum of opportunities for everyone.
Katie Gebhardt says that she was always
good at math and became interested in
STEM subjects after she took high school
science classes. Shes not sure about her
future and is still exploring, which is why
she comes to events like this. But, shell
probably go into engineering. Gebhardt
adds, Keep your options open. Science
and math are not just for guys. Never say
youre not good at it, and never give up.
Sarah Jorgensen credits her chemistry teacher for getting her interested in
STEM in her junior year. Until then, she
said that she didnt think about STEM
subjects. Jorgensen wants to go to college
and major in chemistry, and says, If you
are really excited about STEM, it may not
be the norm since more males are in the
field. But, still pursue it, even if you feel
its weird or if you think you would be
treated differently.
Alexis Silver also says to go for it and
pursue STEM subjects. She was always
interested in scienceeven as a child, she
wanted to know why things happened.
Her Advanced Placement physics teacher
connected her with the GEMS program
at Homestead High, and now she plans on
entering biomedical engineering, subjects
related to heart transplants, or environmental/civil engineering.
Debbie Sniderman
DECEMBER 2015
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One of the most inuential

reference resources for
engineers around the world.
For over 100 years, Proceedings of the IEEE has been the leading journal for engineers
looking for in-depth tutorial, survey, and review coverage of the technical developments
that shape our world. Oering practical, fully referenced articles, Proceedings of the IEEE
serves as a bridge to help readers understand important technologies in the areas of
electrical engineering and computer science.
To learn more and start your subscription today, visit
ieee.org/proceedings-subscribe
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WIE from Around the World
Spreading
the Word
Affinity groups provide a source of education and community
IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE)

affinity groups (AGs) provide people with
an opportunity to interact with likeminded professionals in local areas. The
groups house communities where members can keep up on the latest technical
and professional advancements.
A big part of AGs is educational outreach. Recently, AG Honduras developed and launched an educational
robotics program in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Below, a few group members
share their experiences. Please consider
starting or joining an AG today!
A Motivational
Experience
Being part of the
WIE AGs Robotics
Project has been
a nice experience
for me given that
I was able to motiWendy Lilieth
vate girls and boys to
Chinchilla
go into engineering. It
was fun and I found out girls and boys
alike have a huge capacity to learn and
a big potential for creativity that can be
easily developed. It was an unforgettable
experience for them and, of course, for
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me.Wendy Lilieth Chinchilla, chemical engineer, Metrology Department,

National Quality System, Secretary of
Science, Technology, and Innovation of
Honduras.
Opening
Doors
Being part of
the WIE AG
h a s op ened
doors t hat I
never t hought
Wendy Yazmn
Zapata Gmez
existed before. As
part of the Robotics Project, I was able to make a dream
come true. It was very rewarding for
me to transmit to Honduran kids all
the knowledge I have received. It is not
just about building a robotit is about
empowering them (especially girls)
and being able to make them believe
that they are capable of many things
that being an engineer is possible for
all of them if they want. Wendy
Yazmn Zapata Gmez, electrical engineering student, National University
of Honduras.
in a responsible
fashion with my
communit y a nd
Honduran society
in general. In the case
Daniel Alejandro
of the Robotics Project,
Flores Prez
generating interest for
programming, robotics, and mechanical
structures in kids is great not just because
they will remember those moments in a
special way once they grow up but because
they have knowledge. Now they know
that they are capable of many things that
before this experience they didn`t imagine
they were capable of. Daniel Alejandro
Flores Prez, electrical engineer, Metrology Department, National Quality System,
Secretary of Science, Technology, and
Innovation of Honduras.
No Limits
I have learned many important things as
part of the AG. Most of all, I have learned
that for women there is no limit in any
field they decide to choose. Also, I was a
trainer for the Robotics Project that the
WIE AG Honduras supported. Working with kids is really something special
because even when you are teaching
something, you learn how
they solve a problem
and how they work
as a team. You see
their great enthusiasm and the way
they show a huge
desire for learning
something new. I just
Gabriela
loved this experience! Alejandra Cornejo
Gabriela Alejandra
Peralta
Cornejo Peralta, systems
engineering student, National University
ofHonduras.
Teamwork and Responsibility

Being part of a team and coordinating
activities with my colleagues in the AG
are among the actions that let me relate
Katianne Williams
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Violinist Eileen Arnold

Finds a Job She Loves
in Aerospace
The epitome of ingenuity,
perseverance, and patience
Eileen Arnold is not one to shy away

from pursuing a passion, so when she
discovered the field of systems engineering, it didnt matter that the timing
wasnt exactly perfect. When is it ever
perfect, and why should that hold anyone back?
Eileen graduated from high school
in the 1960s when times were different.
There werent quite as many options.
Financial aid for higher education was
more limited, as were certain career

paths for women. Arnold entered the University of South Florida on a violin scholarship, although her passion at the time
was geology. She played in the Florida
Gulf Coast Symphony five nights a week
to help defray costs, which was problematic for taking the chemistry, calculus,
and physics courses required for a geology degree while continuing her music
career on scholarship. She began taking
geography courses as electives, which
included geology topics as an alternative
while still part of the music department.
It would take ingenuity, perseverance,
and patience to get where she wanted to
go. It took Arnold ten years to complete
her electrical engineering degree, start to
finish, after obtaining her bachelors and
masters degrees in geography. She was
newly married during her masters studies and a young mother soon afterward.
Some people may know what they
want to do from the time they enter
A violinist since third grade, Arnold

sees many parallels between music
and systems engineering.
college, and they may have the means,

to get there. But for others, things
may not be as clear cut. Arnold took
advantage of each opportunity that
came her way, and, while the path may
not be straight, she does not see her
years studying geography or playing
the violin as detours. In fact, to her
they are just the opposite. She sees
her life as a system of sorts, each stage
Breaking through
the boundaries of whats possible
in mobile technology.
qualcomm.com
qualcomm.com/blog
facebook.com/qualcomm
@qualcomm
2014 Qualcomm Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.
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playing a significant role in her current career success.
From Violinist to Engineer

Arnold loved the violin, and she was very
good at it. Since picking it up in third
grade, she had practiced long and careful hours and had sacrificed many other
pursuits to stick to a regimented schedule. She was fortunate to have landed at
Southwest Miami High School, a public
high school with a top-rated orchestra
that traveled the state. While there, she
was noticed by the University of South
Florida and given a full scholarship to
major in music.
That was great since Arnold enjoyed
studying the violin. There was also money
to be made, even as a college student. As
part of the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony,
she played with Jack Benny and Skitch
Henderson. Outside of the symphony, she
played in venues both large and small.
She played in a small cocktail lounge in
Clearwater, Florida, for Betty White and
her husband Allen Ludden. She performed
back-up for country singers Eddy Arnold
and Sammi Smith and was able to experience the spotlight playing to over 10,000
people, the lights so bright she couldnt
see a single one of them.
But with a shake-up in the music
department her senior year, she found
herself in search of a new major. She
still wanted to study geologyrocks,
minerals, and the origins of the earth.
Without the chemistry, physics, and calculus background, though, she could
count that out. She settled on geography, a major that encompassed geology,
and continued on to her masters degree.
Still, she felt cheated out of math and
science, and so she filled her elective
hours with math courses. Arnolds masters in geography required papers of her
choice, which included topics on fuel
cells, fusion power, and personal rapid
transit, all indicators of what was to be
a continuation in the engineering field.
Around this time, Arnold had a realization. Being female meant that her
dream geology job was likely to take place
behind a desk, far from the field and the
excitement she desired. Fortunately, she
took an electronics course for fun, and
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Eileen Arnold, shown here with the

RAM Air Turbine at UTC Aerospace
Systems, finds aerospace to be a very
vibrant industry.
she was hooked. At least there was the

hope of being in an electronics lab.
There are certain patterns that the
technical field and the musical field
share, Arnold says. Her hours playing
the violin helped her because they dispelled the notion that you are born good
at something. I knew that you could get
better with long hours of practice, she
says. Thats true with geology. Thats
true with engineering.
Making It While Raising a Family

Arnolds career change was full of out-ofstate moves and child rearing. It began in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she took
a job in regional planning and married
an electrical engineer while pursuing her
electrical engineering degree part time.
The regional planning work, though, was
full time in the true sense of the word
Arnold worked right up until the day
before her oldest child was born.
When her husband took a job in Iowa,
they packed up the family and Arnold
continued her degreefirst at Kirkwood
Community College, where she worked
from the hospital both when her oldest
had pneumonia and after her son was
born ten weeks premature. As a nursing mother, she expressed milk between
classes for her third child, a daughter,
at the University of Iowa after she transferred from Kirkwood. She mothered
them through their myriad illnesses.
Arnold took courses every semester while
raising her three children after being
hired as an intern at Rockwell Collins. She
was a full-time student when her intern

session wasnt in play, and she took parttime graduate courses offered at Rockwell
in the evenings when she interned.
Through all of this, she remembers
only one night where she felt like quitting,
and it was short-lived. I woke up the next
morning and got over it, she recalls. It
was overwhelming at times. But I had a
goal. Im goal oriented. I had a goal and
did whatever it took to get there.
Arnold stayed at Rockwell Collins for
22 years, where she discovered systems
engineering while working the commercial side of avionics for air transport and
business and regional jets. She calls what
she was doing at Rockwell Collins the
perfect job because of all that it encompassedmultiple technical dimensions,
multiple customers, cool technology, and
a motivated team. Overall, she adds, it
was a thrilling experience with a solid
grounding in systems engineering.
Arnold divorced after 16 years of marriage, then remarried eight years later.
Her new husband, Craig, was the victim
of a company bankruptcy, which opened
an opportunity for Eileen to switch jobs
and move, since the kids were on their
own by then. This time, the move was
to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Arnold took
a job at United Defense, now BAE Systems, where she worked on weapons
systems for ten years. She was awarded
the Minnesota Federation of Engineering, Science, and Technology Societies
Charles W. Britzius Distinguished Engineer Award for her outstanding lifetime
achievements in the practice of engineering, contributions to the engineering
profession, and actions enhancing the
image of engineering in our society in
Arnold continues to work and learn

while making time for her four
grandchildren.
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professional organizations such as the

IEEE and the International Council on
Systems Engineering (INCOSE).
BAE Systems was a groundbreaking
place to work for Arnold. It was the first
time she had a female in the reporting
chain above her, a director who would
later became a vice president.
Three years ago, Arnold made
another career change. Missing the
aerospace industry, she moved to Rockford, Illinois, and signed on with UTC
Aerospace Systems. She was thrilled to
be back in the airplane business!
knowing how it works and that you contributed to its safety.

Today, she is a systems architect at UTC
Aerospace Systems and loves her work.
Arnold talks passionately about her favorite project to date, what she describes as a
systems-oriented opportunity to upgrade
the infrastructure across multiple programs in an efficient manner.
The only thing lacking may be other
women in her current group. At UTC
Aerospace, they are working on attracting more women, and one boon is that
Arnolds director is female.
The Lure of the Dream Job in Aerospace
Giving Back and Getting Involved
Arnold sees aerospace as a very vibrant

industry. She relishes that it is a certification environment, because this
means more rigor. All the practice
on the violin and long hours prepared
me for dealing in aerospace, she says.
Its also satisfying to board an aircraft
In the early 1990s, Arnold ran the largest all-volunteer conference in North
America, IEEE Fall Con, as its technical
chair. In 1996, she discovered INCOSE
and has been a volunteer and leader for
the organization ever since. I became a
certified Expert Systems Engineer when
the credential was first introduced and

in 2013 became an INCOSE fellow.
She felt immediately at home there:
It is so thrilling to actually meet people
that are like-minded on what they think
is important, she says. We all have different ideas and thats good, but theres
a like-mindedness that is so cool! Hopefully youve experienced that at some
point, this feeling that theyre all talking my language, Arnold says during
our interview, demonstrating first-hand
some of the nurturing qualities that
most likely make her a terrific mentor.
Arnold has always enjoyed mentoring, both formally and informally. Back
when the switch was made from paper
to electronic resumes, for example, she
enjoyed working with others to help
students with that transition, explaining what employers were looking for
in the new electronic form of resumes
and letting them in on the buzzwords
More than 20,000 employees with a remarkable range of backgrounds and life
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We know that an inclusive culture makes us stronger and more capable of meeting
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Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is an integral part of how we work to provide
safe, reliable and affordable gas and electric service.
Find out more about PG&E and our diversity efforts, visit us at ______
pge.com.
DECEMBER 2015
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PG&E refers to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation.
2015 Pacific Gas and Electric Company. All rights reserved.
Our People, Our Communities, Our Diversity.
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they needed to get their resumes onto

someones desk.
She has some particular advice for
young women: Learn everything you can
technically, be sensitive and aware of the
culture around you, and acquire a mentor
that is well respected at your company.
Not all men understand that women
have some special hurdles, she says. It
may not be true today, she muses, but I
always thought womens rules were mens
rules. I thought they were one and the
same because, after all, I grew up working in a one-woman to a hundred-men
environment on programs. I just watched
the mens behavior and assumed any decisions made for men applied to me. Life
is fair, right? But, she says, that is not
how it always worked out for her. In her
experience, men can get away with being
threatening where women cannot, and the
simple act of disagreeing with a man may
be enough for a woman to be perceived as
threatening. I dont know if youve experienced that, she says. Hopefully not.
Arnold hopes to help bring more
women into systems engineering. One
of her role models has always been wellknown systems engineer and author
Eberhardt Rechtin, who passed away in
2006 at the age of 80. He played a key role
in the development of the Deep Space
Network, a system to capture communication from distant planetary spacecraft.
He wrote many books on the development of such large-scale aerospace systems and helped create the nations first
program in aerospace architecture at the
University of Southern California. Additionally, he did much to promote women
and minorities in the field of engineering.
He communicated that women make
the best architects and designers in a
systems group because they are used to
juggling so many things, Arnold says.
Families, kids, husbands, relatives, work,
housework, food on the table, nutrition,
and on and on and on. She pauses, and
laughs. I loved him just for that one sentence, she says.
Arnold continues to work and learn and
now has four grandchildren to fill in any
spare time that may arise. Spare time?
she says with a laugh. Whats that?
Katianne Williams
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Launching a Robotics
Program
WIE AG in Honduras
leads theway
In 2014, Gabriela Garay founded an

IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE)
affinity group (AG) in Honduras by
recruiting six members, eight collaborators, and four students. The Honduras
group became one of over 350 IEEE WIE
AGs worldwide that provides women
with the opportunity to network with
like-minded professionals.
These AGs offer lectures, workshops,
seminars, and guest speakers, and they
also provide an opportunity to volunteer
and share talents with the local community. In just one year, Garay and the
group have developed and launched an
educational robotics program in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Over the next few
years, she hopes to standardize and
expand the program.
An Idea Is Born
Garay grew up in Tegucigalpa. As a young
student, she was always good at math but
not always skilled at physics. Yet, she has
Workshop participants build a line

follower with their LEGO Mindstorm
EV3 Robots.
had strong role models in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM),
including an aunt who is a civil engineer
and an uncle who is a mechanical engineer.
In Garays senior year of high school, she
learned about electrical circuits, and electricity in general, and was fascinated with
the topic. Later, she attended the National
University of Honduras and graduated with
a degree in electrical engineering.
In 2004, she was working in the
Computer Systems Department of the
University Jose Cecilio del Valle (UJCV),
a private university located in Tegucigalpa, when she heard about the Fulbright Scholars Program. She applied,
and a year later she was informed that
she had won a scholarship to study for
a masters degree in computer science.
She attended the University of Vermont
Students and teachers gather for a photo during the workshop at the Cerro Grande
Zone 2 School in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
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and finished her masters working on

a project related to wireless sensors
and applied wireless sensors networks.
Her project remotely monitored the
temperature and humidity in an apple
orchard that belongs to the University
of Vermont.
It was at the University of Vermont
that Garay first volunteered for a STEM
project. Working with a group of sevento-ten-year olds, she taught robotics
with LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0. She
returned to Honduras wishing to create a similar program, especially for the
public sector. In 2008, she became a
lecturer at the UJCV Computer Systems
Department, where she later took on the
position career coordinator in 2009.
With her strong background in education, 18 years as a volunteer in IEEE,
and her electrical engineering and computer science experience, Garay felt that
everything added up. Designing the
robotics project came easily to her.
Roboting with LEGO Takes Off
mental organization (NGO) called Quality

of Life that works preventing violence
In 2013, Garay submitted her project
against girls and women in Honduras.
initiative to Tegucigalpas U.S. Embassy
All of the workshops were held in an
and received a grant that provided half
equal-gender setting to allow
of her requested initial budget.
girls to get in touch with
She was on her way.
concepts related to engiThrough Garays pilot
The
neering, robotics, and
project, Robotics and
Honduras group
programming and,
Engineering Project,
is one of over 350
most of all, to let
WIE AG volunteers
them play and have
served as trainers
IEEE WIE AGs that
fun with robots that
to teach kids in the
provide women with
are usually thought
fifth and sixth grades
the opportunity to
of as toys exclusively
of the public school
network.
for boys.
Cerro Grande Zone 2,
A total of 45 stulocated in Tegucigalpa,
dents between the ages of
about robotics, programten and 13 were reached by the
ming, innovation, and engineerrobotics and engineering project. Nine
ing using LEGO Mindstorm EV3 robots.
volunteers/collaborators who were part
For her project, Garay created a curricuof WIE AG Honduras were involved as
lum incorporating robotics, teamwork,
trainers, and they shared knowledge and
and creativity for four workshops that
also served as role models for the girls
were held in the public school and two
and boys.
workshops that were held at a nongovern-
ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES ...

AND COUNTLESS RISKS
Welcome
Women in
Engineering!
VISIT OUR TABLE
TO LEARN MORE.
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Garay with a young girl attending

workshops at the Cerro Grande Zone 2
School.
Future Plans
In March 2015, Garay traveled to WIE
Region 9 (Latin-American) Regional
Meeting in Monterey, Mexico, and
presented as a possible project for the
region the option of duplicating the
experience of Honduras. Her idea was
accepted and at least four countries in
Region 9 will be duplicating the Robotics and Engineering Project. We have
experience we can share, and it is not a
difficult project, she says of her aspirations for WIE Region 9.
Additionally, taking into consideration her experience with the Robotics
and Engineering Project, Garay once
again decided to enter the 2015 Alumni
Engagement Innovation Fund Competition, this time winning a first-place prize
for Honduras. Out of more than 800
proposals submitted for the 2015 contest, Garays team was one of 48 winning
teams from 43 countries.
This time around, she will be using
LEGO Mindstorm EV3 Robots and Arduinos starter kits for the robotics project
that is now called Roboting My World
Girl Empowerment Robotics Project. Once
again, volunteers from the WIE AG will
be involved as trainers in a gender-equal
project that aims to promote robotics,
engineering, and programming among
children, especially girls. One of the
groups main goals is also to propose a
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cost-effective solution for the public education system for a robotics and engineering
program. Garay and her team are exploring various options that could be implemented at the public educational system
in Honduras.
She also hopes to have the means to
measure and analyze the success of the
program in this new phase. She can see
the success, though, even if it is not yet
scientifically proven. At the beginning of
the workshop, most kids at both the public school and at the NGO found themselves hard pressed to define what a robot
was or what an engineer did.
In the words of Garay, After four workshops every kidgirls and boys alike
wanted to be an engineer. That is awesome!
Katianne Williams
Stargazer on the Rise to

Becoming an Astrophysicist
Unanswered question on how far light
travels into space inspires greater
interest in astronomy
Jasmine Sumpters aspirations to become a future astrophysicist led her to

ask a question that resulted in her own
science odyssey. Sumpter, a sophomore
at Seacoast Collegiate High School in
Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, embarked
on a very interesting journey to find an
answer to her question, having experienced several remarkable opportunities
and achievements along the way.
I was stargazing with my father with
a new telescope I got for Christmas, and
we have a laser pointer we use to point at
constellations or stars, recalls Sumpter.
While doing so, I asked him this question out of curiosity, How far does the
light from my laser pointer go into space
before it hits something? but he didnt
know the answer.
Sumpter went on to search Google, but
it didnt have the answer either. While she
was at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Splash Camp class in 2014 cover-

ing The Theory of Relativity, Sumpter

asked the instructor the same question
but received the same response. With no
answer in hand, she thought, I can do
something with this; this is interesting.
To address Sumpters question would
entail her studying photons as an elementary particle, a force carrier for the electromagnetic force traveling through time
and distance. A very astute and extremely
intelligent 14-year-old, Sumpter took her
interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to address her
photonic question. She admits to being
interested in STEM for as long as she can
remember. Nature and science are like
giant puzzles we are given the opportunity to solve, and I enjoy stepping up to
the challenge and solving these kinds of
puzzles, says Sumpter.
A Photon Odyssey
Having the opportunity to visit Harvard
Biomedical Research Labs in November 2015, the things Sumpter saw there
inspired her to explore spectrophotometry. This is also where she came across
Beer-Lambert-Bouguers law, which she
then realized she could apply to her photon question.
The Beer-Lambert-Bouguer law is
generally used in biochemistry applications and is very closely associated with
spectroscopy. It is used to calculate the
attenuation of light as it passes through
a substance in a crucible in a spectrophotometer. It states that the attenuation of light is equal to the product of
the molar absorptivity of a substance,
the path length of the light shining
through it, and the concentration of
matter in the substance. Thus began
Sumpters quest to find an answer to her
question, and the development of her
Sumpter enjoys some time in the

French Alps.
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science project, 2015: A Photon Odyssey,

to address it.
Sumpters 2015: A Photon Odyssey is
a science project to determine if applying
Beer-Lambert-Bouguers law to a photon
traveling in space would give a plausible
value for the average path-length of a photon that has not interacted with ordinary
matter. The absorption of light across
short distances can be calculated, using
the Beer-Lambert-Bouguer law. Light has
a property known as particle wave duality, meaning it exhibits qualities of both
particles and waves. This study focused on
the particle side of light, the photon.
Sumpter entered her project into
various science fairs and received several awards along the way. The awards
Sumpter earned included first place in
the Physics and Astronomy Senior Division for Astronomy at the East Panhandle
Regional Science and Engineering Fair
as well as the William and Caroline Her-
schel Award, held in Fort Walton Beach,

Florida, in February 2015; first place in
the Physics and Astronomy Senior Division at the Florida State Science Fair held
in Lakeland, Florida, in March 2015; and
second place in NASAs Award at the Intel
International Science Fair held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in May 2015.
In addition, she was selected for a
trip to tour and visit CERN (European
Organization for Nuclear Research) as
part of participating in the International
Science Fair. Touring CERN included
visiting with scientists and engineers
who are studying the origins of our
universe from particle collisions moving near the speed of light in the Large
Hadron Collider (LHC) and space-based
experiments such as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) Project on the
International Space Station.
Sumpter recounts, When I was at
CERN this summer, I realized that I was
Sumpter visited the data center during

her visit to CERN.
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an amazing project to get to work on, she

adds. Its a project in which astrophysics
and particle physics cross paths.
Although Sumpter is in the very
early stages of considering a career, she
does hope that her path will ultimately
lead her someday to CERN. It would be
a dream come true for her to be able to
attend MIT. Sumpter learned a lot from
the people she met, enjoyed talking to the
judges and people that stopped by to see
her project, met students from all over
the world who presented their work as
well, and made great friends.
of Engineering and Development for

ARA at Eglin Air Force Base). Both were
among the staff who had the opportunity to hear Sumpters presentation
about her project. Jasmine Sumpter is
one of the brightest young future engineers that I have ever met, and I look
forward to seeing her work in the years
to come as she makes advances in space
technology, states January. Sumpters
2015: A Photon Odyssey project has been
submitted as a paper to be published in
the Journal of Emerging Investigators.
Paulette January
Exercise Your Imagination
Astrophysics is Sumpters favorite field

of interest.
experiencing science that wasnt even in

books yet. That was very inspiring and
amazing! She is inspired by the following quote from Richard Feynman, a
theoretical physicist known for his work
in quantum physics, I... a universe of
atoms, an atom in the universe.
Astrophysics is Sumpters favorite field
of interest. There is so much out there
for us to learn, she says. We are, as the
saying goes, just an infinitely tiny piece
of the great puzzle that Nature has created. Measuring collisions from cosmic
rays and the question of dark matter and
dark energy are exciting challenges; knowing more about dark matter will help us
unravel more of the mystery that Nature
has presented us with. Getting to see firsthand, the glimpses we get of the workings
of the universe through an experiment like
AMS, and trying to translate them into our
understanding is a privilege and would be
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Sumpter would like to study astrophysics or particle physics when she attends
college. Richard Feynman once said, I
think natures imagination is so much
greater than mans, shes never going to
let us relax. That is what, in Sumpters
eyes, makes science so much fun and is
why we need to exercise our imagination.
By exercising our imagination, we better prepare ourselves to solve the puzzles
that Nature has presented us with.
Sumpters advice to other students is to
learn as much as you can and dont hesitate to ask questions. The scientists that
Sumpter admires most, and the kind of
scientist she wants to be, is one who doesnt
limit herself to knowledge in only her main
specialty or field but has exposure and eloquence in many other fieldsevery opportunity is taken to peek outside her box.
Her exciting opportunities have
extended past science fairs and on to
presenting her project to engineers and
technologists in her local area. Sumpter,
as a guest speaker, recently presented
her project to the company staff of
Applied Research Associates (ARA), Inc.
at its main office in Niceville, Florida.
ARA is a scientific and engineering company dedicated to producing innovative
solutions to critical national problems in
national security, infrastructure, energy
and environment, and health solutions.
Sumpters mother, Christine, serves as
an engineering branch manager for ARA
at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and
also works with Paulette January (editorin-chief for IEEE Women in Engineering Newsletter and a deputy director
2015 Tech Women

Leadership Summit
Helping women become
successful leaders
Connect. Inspire. Lead. The 2015 Tech

Women Leadership Summit held on 25
June 2015, in Guadalajara, Mexico, at the
Intel Zapopan Site encouraged women
to do just that. Hosted for the first time
by IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE)
and the Women at Intel Network affinity
groups, the summit connected women
leaders from the local technology industry,
inspired them with ideas about leadership,
and provided them with professional development skills to help them lead from their
current positions. The summit, the first of
Flores discussed the topic Professional

Life-Cycle for Women.

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how to find success in the workplace no matter your age or experience level.
its kind for women leaders in technology,

focused on leadership, career development,
and work-life balance. We spoke to three
particiopants, and were happy to share
with you their stories and their advice on
Margaret Burgraff
Muoz offering her talk, Challenges

in Leading in a Male-Dominated
Environment.
Dont be victim of your life. To

be a leader, you need to take
responsibility, says Margaret
Burgraff, vice president in the
software and ser vices group
(SSG) and cogeneral manager of
the Intel Service Division (ISD)
at Intel Corporation. Burgraff
says to be a credible and effective leader you must know who
you are, know what you want,
and have a vision for others to
follow. Learn from your weaknesses so you can work on being
a better leader. Leadership roles
are not just handed to you, she
says. You have to work for it. And
Burgraff encouraged attendees to share their

strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
__________________
______________________________________________
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Wanda Reder motivates the

attendees to make use of networking
opportunities to enhance their careers.
pen. You need to work hard.

the most important trait of
You are creating your own
an influential leader is
life, Burgraff says. You
credibility. You need
Garay
need to know what you
to lead and encourcreated a
want in your career. If
age people to supcurriculum
you dont know what
port one another
incorporating robots,
you want, people cant
publicly and to be
teamwork, and
help you. Waiting for
honest wit h one
some manager to proanother privately,
creativity.
mote you isnt going to
Burgraff adds.
work. You need to work
To become a leader
hard, ask for it, and go get it
requires you to be proactive
by building relationships, she says.
about your career. People who
You can do this by building a netsuffer from the tiara syndrome keepwork inside your own company and
ing their heads down, delivering excellent
externally. Nobody on the team can
work and hoping that the right people will
do it on their own, but when you work
notice and place a tiara on their heads is
together, almost anything is possible,
the type of attitude that gets in the way of
Burgraff adds. Mentoring, teaching, and
women finding success. Not going to hap-
IEEE WIE Guadalajara, Women at Intel members and volunteers and some of the keynote speakers who made the summit
possible. From left: Isaac Zapien, Maribel Gonzalez, Alejandra Hernandez, Margarita Zacarias, Ruben Urtuzuaztegui, Wanda
Reder, Judith Flores, Margaret Burgraff, Adriana Munoz, Rosa Rodriguez, Adriana Palau, Nury Ramirez, Maria Velarde, Edith
Villarreal, Erick Molina, and Fatima Aguilera.
The 200 participants who enjoyed the first IEEE WIE Summit in Guadalajara.
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client computing, all three of which are

growth businesses for Intel.
Im very excited to be in this role at
this time in history where the 2020 forecast is 44 ZB of data and 50 billion connected devices. According to Burgraff, 85%
of devices today are not connected which
represents a 15-billion device opportunity.
I cant imagine a more interesting role for
me at this moment. Im learning a lot and
deeply satisfied, she says.
The summit was an opportunity to
be part of a historic event, she says. Burgraff adds that she enjoyed networking
and meeting people from different
cultures.
Ruben Urtuzuastegui offers leadership concepts and shares the differences

between authority and power.
imparting knowledge are also ways to

stay connected and network. Sponsoring or speaking up for someone else is
another way, so if you see someone who
is right for an opportunity, publicly support them, Burgraff says.
Burgraff was hired by Intel in November 2011 as a senior director, her role
spanning hardware testing, software testing, systems validation, apps validation,
factory quality, manufacturing test tools,
product return failure analysis and corrective action, certification, and

regulatory. In March 2015,
she was appointed the general manager of ISD and
responsible for Intels cloud
and connected services,
which defines and develops
services to meet the needs of
Intels businesses in the InterBonnie
net of Things, data center, and
Low-Kramen
Bonnie Low-Kramen
An international speaker and
corporate trainer on workplace issues, Bonnie LowKramen says to find success,
we need to actively and enthusiastically support one anothers
Because quality research

contributes to your success!
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maintenance to the cement, ready-mix

concrete, and aggregates industry worldwide, says to lead, we need to have empowerment, humility, courage, and accountability. I hope in the future there will be
no female or male leaders, just leaders who
motivate others to succeed, she says.
In her talk, Challenges in Leading
in a Male Dominated Environment, she
defines what women can do to be great
leaders. If your actions inspire others to
dream more, learn more, do more, and
become more, then you are a leader, she
explains. Enabling your collaborators to
develop and excel, learning from criticism,
putting your personal interests aside, and
demonstrating confidence are all traits of
a great leader.
Low-Kramen provided the opening keynote, motivating women to empower other
Muoz and her husband Alejandro
women and collaborate with each other to be better leaders.
have been together for almost 17 years,
and they have two children. She says she
worked as the personal assistant to Oscarchoices. Working together instead of being
successfully balances her professional
winning actress Olympia Dukakis for 25
isolated helps bridge the gap between
career with her family life. Her famyears. Author of the bestselling book, Be
women in the technology industry. There
ily, she says, is her most important
the Ultimate Assistant, Low-Krais strength in numbers, she says. The data
achievement and the main reason
men now trains executive and
shows that women are terrific leaders and
she continues improving herself
personal assistants around
a diverse leadership is a healthier and more
on all levels.
the world and is an activeffective one.
Muoz adds that the sumist for womens rights and
However, women still need to strive
mit was an opportunity to
antiworkplace bullying.
for success, says Low-Kramen. Dont
learn from other professional
These efforts are all about
apologize for it, and dont hide that you
women. All the speakers, she
transforming the global
want it. We need to see one another as
says, gave their best. The expeworkplace for the better for
collaborators and allies rather than adrience
was completely enriching. I
both women and men, our
versaries and competitors. Moving ahead
Adriana Muoz
prepared myself for this event, but
daughters and our sons.
and finding success is about elevating
the summit overcame my expectations.
other women and asking, What can I do
to help you? Be generous with support
Adriana Muoz
Nancy Salim
and dont keep score, she adds.
Adriana Muoz, operational performance
A New Jersey native and a graduate of
senior advisor for CEMEX Global SoluRutgers University with a bachelors degree
tions, a company offering services includin theater and English, Low-Kramen
ing plant assessment, engineering and
Leading the Way
Centoni and Morrow speak

about innovation
Cisco leaders Liz Centoni, vice president,

Engineering, chief of staff; and Monique
Morrow, CTO, New Frontiers, Cisco Engineering, were instrumental in developing the Cisco presence at the 2015 IEEE
Women in Engineering (WIE) International Leadership Conference (ILC). In
addition to their dynamic leadership, both
Takako Hashimoto provided the inaugural words at the event.
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Its not enough to just say you are

innovative; you must create a culture
that fosters innovation, Centoni
explains.
Centoni and Morrow are well respected for

their technical contributions. Recently,
Nita Patel, WIE ILC chair, had an opportunity to interview both women about
innovation, their experiences, and their
plans for 2016.
Nita Patel: What do you think is the
key to innovation?
Liz Centoni: Innovation starts with culture. There is no innovation without people. A culture that encourages and inspires
people to experiment, take risks, make
mistakes, break rules, and be inventive
that is key to innovation. Its not enough
to just say you are innovative; you must
create a culture that fosters innovation.
Monique Morrow: The key to innovation
is fostering an environment that stimulates creative ideation and prototyping
without fear to fail. At Cisco, we have a
critical opportunity to co-innovate with
the ecosystem of players in our industry,
especially our customers and partners.
There has to be a modicum of governance as to focus and shared goals; otherwise, you risk that cycle of infinite loops
with no sense of purpose.
I do emphasize without fear to fail,
because rather than penalizing a team
for not achieving what was a desired goal,
one should award the team for taking that
risk. We need to recognize teams who do
take risks and failjust as much as we
acknowledge the teams whose risk leads
to success. In general, I dont believe we
do enough of this in the industry; perhaps
because we do not have a common defi-
nition of what success and failure really

mean in this broader context.
Patel: How does Cisco foster innovation within the organization?
Centoni: In the Engineering organization,
we have created a series of Alpha teams
internal startups and other small teams
that are nimble and autonomousworking on solutions to disrupt or enter new
markets and solve our customers problems. The culture we are striving for here
is: Think Big, Act Small; leverage the power
of small teams with autonomy to execute.
Most, if not all, teams allocate time/funds
to allow people to experiment and take
risksall with the intent of continuing
to improve our customer experience. This
way, the work becomes broader than just
delivering the next feature or next release.
In addition, Cisco has a Technology Fund
whose purpose is to fund internal innovation through innovative, disruptive,
product-related ideas not currently on the
development radar. These ideas can come
from anyone and, if approved, get funded.
Finally, it is about building trust, creating
an environment that welcomes all ideas,
does not tolerate ridicule and allows failure.
Innovation starts with culture.
Morrow: At Cisco, we encourage risk taking with an emphasis on very fast. Working in small nimble teams is a must if we
ever want to have the desired agility necessary to respond to exponential change. We
have programs such as Cisco HyperInnovation Living Labs, Ciscos Technology Fund,
Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence, Cisco
Developer Network, Cisco Research and
Open Innovation, and Global Cisco Innovation Centers, to name a few examples.
There is no lack of innovation at Cisco.
Patel: What was your takeaway from
the innovation Panel?
Centoni: I thought I knew my fellow paneliststalented women, outstanding leaders.
What I learned is that they are inspirational
innovators with a passion to change the
world and solve our customers problems. I
had many, many women who were in the
audience of that packed room later walk
up to me and say they were inspired and
motivated to lead innovations, be coders
and engineers, and they could do it by being
themselves. We have to prominently feature
more and more women who do this every
DECEMBER 2015
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single day, so we can put to bed the myth

that there are too few women innovators,
entrepreneurs, coders, and engineers. We
need to showcase everyday role models.
Morrow: I was simply amazed at what
my friends on the panel have been doing
and the impact they all have had globally.
One important takeaway is that we need
to advocate more for women in engineering in the industry, as this is so core to
innovation as a whole. Celebrating women
inventors and innovators is really our
opportunity in attending such conferences
as IEEE Women in Engineering.
Patel: What is your memorable experience from 2015 WIE ILC?
Centoni: I loved the incredible vibe at the
conference: passionate, positive, lots of
energy and a sense of taking charge. My
highlight of the conference was the evening
reception sponsored by Cisco. We had fun!
I got a chance to meet and connect with
many women and to trade inspirations. I
came away with more than I hoped for.
Morrow: I was thrilled with the Cisco welcome reception evening as wellit truly was
a fantastic networking event where everyone
simply had fun. Having the opportunity to
meet interns, professors and other technology colleagues was most inspiring for me
personally. This world is small indeed.
Patel: What are you looking forward
to about Ciscos participation in the 2016
WIE ILC?
Centoni: Our theme for 2015 was Make
your Mark. That is still a great way to characterize Ciscos participation in 2016. We
have a seat at the innovation table for anyone
who aspires to do something meaningful
for our world. The year 2015 was the beginning of our efforts to showcase to women
engineers of every generation (Millennials,
Gen-Xers, and Baby Boomers) what its like
to sit at Ciscos innovation table. We are looking forward to continuing to connect with
the women of IEEE simply because we want
to work side-by-side with other women who
want to change the world.
Morrow: Having even more impact! You
cannot beat the opportunity to inspire
and to be inspired by outstanding female
technology leaders!
Nita Patel
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Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . URL
Altera Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.altera.com/careers
Applied Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.appliedmaterials.com/company/careers
BROADCOM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.broadcom.com
Cisco Systems. Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cisco.com/tomorrowstartshere
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Eaton Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.eaton.com/careers
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Google . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . google.com/jobs
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IBM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . facebook.com/IBMCollegeCareers
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IEEE Marketing Dept. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . innovate.ieee.org
________
IEEE MDL/Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ieee.org/go/freemonth
IEEE Robotics & Automation Society . . . . . . . .59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ieee-ras.org
IEEE Xplore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/
Intel Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ______
intel.com/jobs
John Hopkins University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ep.jhu.edu
_____
Los Alamos National Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . .31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.lanl.gov
Mercer Consumer, a service of Mercer
Health & Benefits Administration LLC . . . . . . .55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IEEEInsurance.com
_________
Microsoft Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . research.microsoft.com/diversity
_______________
PG&E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pge.com
____
Qualcomm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.qualcomm.com
Roche Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.roche.com
Rockwell Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rockwellautomation.com
_______
Texas Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ti.com/students
VMware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . culture.vmware.com
__________
WalmartLabs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . walmartlabs.com
________
Yelp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ________
yelp.com/careers
64
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Introducing IEEE Collabratec

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Fuel your imagination.

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THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

While the world benets from whats new,

IEEE Xplore can power your research

IEEE Xplore Digital Library

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THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

CAN STOCK PHOTO/HASENONKEL

High-Tech Help for the

Lighting the Way

Refugees around the world

Cover image: Background

Letter from the Editor, p. 2

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2015.2474638

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

Letter from the Editor

How often have you seen disturbing

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2015.2474639

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

members are inspired by their story and

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine

Karen Panetta Editor-in-Chief

IEEE Periodicals/Magazines Department

PRINTED IN THE USA

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

2015 WIE Committee Members

IEEE WIE STUDENT

Microwave Theory and

Nuclear and Plasma

Control Systems Society

Power & Energy Society

Dielectrics and Electrical

Power Electronics Society

Electron Devices Society

Product Safety Engineering

Information Theory Society

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2015.2474641

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2015.2474642

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

Pageants are springboards to scholarships and modeling and acting contracts.

Back in high school, Fereday was first

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

for his birthday. She laughs to think

Educate, Accept, Inspire

the numbers: One in 68 childrenone

Fereday finds a fuzzy friend at Autism