Upcoming Event - SWE Region H Conference

Event: SWE Region H Conference
Dates: February 8-10, 2013
Location: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cost: Registration varies based on whether you are also paying for a hotel room, and whether you are a student, professional member, or corporate sponsor
Do you have questions about the conf and/or you're interested in attending? Please contact our SWE-D President, Stacy Thayer sthayer.swe@gmail.com or sweregionh13@gmail.com

Other info:

REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE THROUGH DEC. 23 JAN. 7!!!

General conf website: http://sweregionh.wordpress.com/
Conf schedule: http://sweregionh.wordpress.com/agenda/
Registration info: http://sweregionh.wordpress.com/registration/

Harvard Business Review - Creating Slides People Will Remember

Have you ever experienced "death by ppt" before?  Then watch this two-minute video to help you do more effective presentations, so you're not contributing to the problem!

Harvard Business Review - The One Thing Your Team Wants You to Stop Doing

Here are some great tips about how to be a successful leader in the workplace (and outside of work!).

Upcoming Event - COMPES Professional Development Conference

Event: COMPES Professional Development Conference
Date: April 13, 2013
Time: TBD
Location: Nissan Technical Center North America, 39001 Sunrise Drive, Farmington Hills, MI 48333
Parking: Parking lot
Cost: TBD
Point of contact: Sena Hermiz info@compespdc.org

MORE INFO TO COME! :)

NYTimes - Florida May Reduce Tuition for Select Majors

The state of Florida is debating whether tuition rates should be decided based on the current job market.  Students who choose majors in high demand would pay less in tuition, to incentive them into professions where they will more likely gain employment upon graduation.

Forbes - Tis The Season to Encourage Little Girls to Become Engineers

Here are a few ideas to encourage girls to pursue STEM professions.

STEM Scholarship Opportunity for Students in Michigan

Here is a scholarship opportunity for students in Michigan, as shown in this link.  The deadline is 2/28/13.

Upcoming Event - Networking Lunch

Event: Networking Lunch
Date: January 18, 2013
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location: Grand Traverse Pie Company, 1446 W. Maple Road, Troy, MI 48084
Parking: Parking lot
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Point of contact: Eve Vitale evitale@kettering.edu

Other info:
http://gtpie.com/location/troy/

Please RSVP by January 16.

Enjoy socializing with fellow SWE members.  All are welcome, and feel free to bring friends!

Upcoming Event - Networking Lunch

Event: Networking Lunch
Date: December 14, 2012
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location: Red Ox Tavern, 3773 East Walton, Auburn Hills, MI 48326
Parking: Parking lot
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Point of contact: Eve Vitale evitale@kettering.edu

Other info:
http://redoxtavern.com/

Please RSVP by December 12.

Enjoy socializing with fellow SWE members.  All are welcome, and feel free to bring friends!

Event Reporting - Detroit Parade Company

SWE-D took a tour of the Detroit Parade Company as our November event.  The tour was the Saturday before Thanksgiving, so it was timed just right to see behind the scenes right before the parade!

40 SWE members, friends, and family gathered at the warehouse.  Our tour guide was a cheery volunteer, who also stars in the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade.  We were shown around the 110,000 square foot warehouse, which is an old automotive assembly plant that they bought for $1.  The artists were right in the middle of the parade preparation, and we saw volunteers painting floats and getting everything ready.  We toured the costume shop and saw some of the 3,000 costumes that are used in the parade.

The floats were phenomenal!  From the Bookworm to Mother Goose (which has been in every parade since 1924!), we saw them all.  The Three Little Pigs, Detroit Jazz Fest, as well as Santa's sleigh.  Floats can be custom made upon request, and the floats can be used for other local parades.

Did you know that you can be in the parade?  For $200 you can wear one of the 50-90 pound "Big Heads".  For $1000, you can be part of the Distinguished Clown Corps and walk as a clown in the parade.  The clowns that wear a top hat and cape are the ones who have been around the longest.  Participants can go through Balloon Handling School and Float Driving School.

The group poses for a picture at the end of the tour, with our complementary clown noses!

Faith Kurily poses with a few of the "Big Heads".

Upcoming Event - Watch "Betty, Girl Engineer" at the SWE Archives @ Wayne State

Event: Watch "Betty, Girl Engineer" at the SWE Archives @ Wayne State

Date: January 16, 2013

Time: 5:45 - 7:45 PM

Location for the tour: Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University, 5401 Cass Ave, Detroit, MI 48202

Location for optional dinner afterwards: La Pita Fresh (two blocks from library), 5056 Cass Ave, Detroit, MI 48202

Cost: $5 for SWE members, $10 for non-SWE members, $3 for students

Cost for optional dinner: Everyone pays for themselves 

Parking: Detroit Historical Museumm (right across the street, $4) or metered parking on the street

Point of contact: Faith Kurily faith.kurily@swe.org

Other info: 

Please RSVP by January 9th.

We will gather at the SWE Archives @ Wayne State for a viewing of an episode of the 1950's television show "Father Knows Best" called "Betty, Girl Engineer".  After viewing the episode, we will move to a local restaurant for networking and discussion about the episode, and how views of women engineers have (or haven't!) changed.

Upcoming Event - Ann Arbor Book Club

Event: Ann Arbor Book Club
Date: January 20, 2013
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: Nicola's Books in the Westgate Shopping Center, 2513 Jackson Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Parking: Parking lot
Point of contact: Janet Goldwasser JanetGoldwasser@peoplepc.com

Other info:

Discussing Kathleen Kent's "The Heretic's Daughter".

Upcoming Event - Royal Oak Book Club

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: January 13, 2013
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: Red Fox English Pub, 100 South Main Street, Royal Oak, MI 48067
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Parking: Free on Sundays!
Point of contact: Jessica Makae jessica@themakaes.com

Other info:

Discussing Rebecca Skloot's "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks".

Volunteers Needed - NSBE, SHPE, and SWE 1st Annual Joint Holiday Potluck Party

Getting excited for the holidays?  It's a great opportunity to enjoy time with friends and family at the 1st Joint NSBE, SHPE, and SWE Holiday Potluck Party on Friday, November 30th.  We are looking for a few volunteers to help out the night of the party, including: decoration set-up (two additional people), photo booth (additional volunteers to work with someone already coordinating it), cookie decorating (two additional people), and clean-up volunteers (need up to five people).  Please contact either Anita Satkiewicz anita.satkiewicz@swe.org or Jessica Mattis jessica.mattis@comcast.net if you are able to help out.

Upcoming Event - Royal Oak Book Club

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: December 16, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: Jessica Makäe's casa
Cost: Potluck, contact Jessica for info
Parking: Street parking, no meters
Point of contact: Jessica Makäe jessica@themakaes.com

Other info:

Discussing John C. Maxwell's "The Five Levels of Leadership".

Upcoming Event - Univ Liggett School lecture "Gender and Achievement Choices"

Event: University Liggett School lecture "Gender and Achievement Choices"
Date: November 8, 2012
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: University Liggett School, 1045 Cook, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236
Parking: Parking lot
Cost: Free
RSVP (required): www.liggetteccleslecture.eventbrite.com

Other info:

University Liggett School is hosting a lecture series to celebrate our school's legacy of educational excellence and tradition of educating girls.  These lectures are free and are open to the community.  The first lecture will be by Dr. Jacquelynne Eccles.  She will give a lecture on "Gender and Achievement Choices".  Dr. Eccles is the McKeachie/Pintrich Distinguised University Professor of Psychology and Education at the University of Michigan, as well as a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Social Research, also at UM.  She is Director of the Gender and Achievement Research Program at ISR and editor of Developmental Psychology.  Over the past 30 years, Dr. Eccles has conducted research on a wide variety of topics, including gender-role socialization, teacher expectancies, classroom influences on student motivation, and social development in the family and school context.  She will present an interesting conversation for women, parents, teachers, and anyone interested in understanding how and why we make the choices we do.

Event Report - Tour of Dr. Bir's Lab @ Wayne State

For the SWE-Detroit October event, we took a trip down to Wayne State's Biomedical Engineering building for a tour of the Biomechanics lab.  Dr. Cynthia Bir was the keynote speaker at our banquet in 2010 and is a professor in biomedical engineering.  She has research interests in ballistics and sports mechanics, and you can read her complete bio here.

We were able to hear about the history of biomedical engineering at WSU, which goes back over 50 years.  It started as an area of concentration for engineering, with a graduate program developed in 1998.  A full range of degree programs was offered in 2010.  One of the college's most noteworthy moments came in 1960.  The WSU Tolerance Curve, which predicts the risk of head injury, was developed by Professors H.R. Lissner and Larry Patrick.  Today, this work remains the foundation for motor vehicle and sports equipment safety standards throughout the world.

Part of the tour was in the sled area, where we saw crash sleds that are used for both military and automotive testing.  We also saw the ballistics lab, that looks at human response to non-lethal munitions and the effectiveness of body armor.  It included a gun test range, which uses a universal receiver for firing.

Dr. Bir also has a sports injury biomechanics lab.  This lab is responsible for certifying boxing gloves and headgear for USA Boxing!  It is also used to test prototype protective sports equipment, including baseball, softball, and football.

Recently, Dr. Bir has been involved with the television show Sport Science on ESPN, as well as being featured on Good Morning America, after taking part in the Discovery Channel's Curiosity Plane Crash, which used a test crash of a Boeing 727 in the Sonoran desert to learn more about what actually happens to passengers when a plane goes down.  Dr. Bir took charge of the crash test dummies, examining them immediately after the plane hit the ground, to get an idea of what injuries might have been sustained.  That show premiered on the Discovery Channel on Sunday, October 7.

Top picture: SWE-D members check out the sleds.  Bottom picture: SWE-D members Kristy and Christine get a closer look at the 10 yr old thoracic model for sport equipment testing.

Upcoming Affiliate Event - NSBE General Body Meeting

Event: NSBE General Body Meeting "Engineers Tapping into the Entrepreneur Inside"
Date: November 14, 2012
Time: 5:30 - 8:30 PM
Location: Lawrence Tech University, Science Building Room S100, 21000 W. 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48075
Parking: Parking lot
Point of contact: Shani Allison r4aepr@nsbe-ae.org

Other info:
http://www.nsbe-dae.org/index.html

Volunteer Needed - Univ of Detroit Mercy SWE Collegiate Section Counselor

The University of Detroit Mercy urgently needs a professional SWE member to fill the position of a Collegiate Section Counselor.  If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Stacy Lueneburg sthayer.swe@gmail.com.

Here is more info about what a Collegiate Section Counselor actually does.

Upcoming Event - NSBE, SHPE, and SWE 1st Annual Joint Holiday Potluck Party - DEADLINE EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 20!!!

Event: NSBE, SHPE, and SWE 1st Annual Joint Holiday Potluck Party

Date: November 30, 2012

Time: 6:00 - 9:00 PM

Location: Troy Community Center, 3179 Livernois, Troy, MI 48083

Parking: Parking lot

Point of contact: Anita Satkiewicz anita.satkiewicz@swe.org
RSVP: November 20, 2012 at this link

NYTimes - A Part-Time Life, as Hours Shrink and Shift

This article talks about some of the drawbacks of working in part-time positions in an increasingly unstable and globalized society.  As professional employees, we consider part-time employment to be the elusive Holy Grail for work-life balance (regardless of gender), but obviously it's not all it's cracked up to be, and unfortunately there are employers out there who mislead their workers about the number of hours worked/predictable schedules/benefits, not to mention the ability to go full-time.

Washington Post - Why Pay Equality and Work-Life Balance Aren't Just Women's Issues

In SWE, we frequently talk about work-life balance, but what we have to keep in mind is that it affects men as well as women.  As this article discusses, if no one, regardless of gender, is requesting flex-time, part-time, telecommuting, etc, then it won't be accepted by the workplace at large.

Volunteer Needed - Univ of Toledo SWE Collegiate Section Counselor

The University of Toledo urgently needs a professional SWE member to fill the position of a Collegiate Section Counselor.  If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Stacy Lueneburg sthayer.swe@gmail.com.

What is a SWE Counselor?

Every Student Section must have a SWE Counselor. The SWE Counselor of a Student Section is selected by the Student Section. In addition to assignment to a Section or to Member-at-Large, the Counselor shall be considered a non-voting member of the Student Section.  The Counselor is responsible to the Board of Directors, through the Student Activities Committee Chair, for the Student Section's compliance with these Bylaws and with the policies of the Society.  In other words, the primary responsibility is to ensure that the Collegiate Section remains in good standing with SWE Headquarters. 

Communication:

The strength of a Student Section is dependent on the communication within it.  The Faculty Advisor and Counselor are to help the Student Section, not to run it for the students. For this reason it is strongly encouraged that the Student Section establish a clear line of communication with the Faculty Advisor and Counselor and keep the lines of communication open and flowing.  If a problem develops for the Student Section, the Counselor and Faculty Advisor work together with the Student Section officers to help solve the problem.

Functions:

+ To serve as a source of information about SWE and its goals

+ To serve as a liaison between industry, local SWE Sections and the Student Section

+ To arrange plant tours and locate speakers from industry

+ To act as a trouble shooter as questions and problems arise, utilizing the Student Activities Committee and Headquarters as needed

+ To act as a role model and source of moral support

+ To attend Student Section meetings and special events whenever possible

+ To provide advice and suggestions on Student Section activities

+ To review and sign the Annual and Financial Report for the Student Section

+ To attend Regional and National Counselor and Faculty Advisor meetings

Qualifications:

The SWE Counselor must be a member in good standing of the Society. The Counselor should be a voting member, but the Board of Directors may be petitioned to approve a qualified Associate in the event that a voting member is not available.

Traits of a good SWE counselor:

+ A SWE member

+ Willing to do the job

+ Enthusiastic about SWE and the school

+ Good communication skills

+ Previous Student Section member

+ Ties to local Section and industry

NYTimes - They Work Long Hours, but What About Results?

This is a great article that discusses how to be more productive with your time in the workplace.

SWE-D President's Message

Welcome Back SWE,

As the FY13 SWE President I will be sending a short message once a month to update members on what SWE-Detroit is doing :)

This year SWE-Detroit is off to a great start!  As of today we have 218 members!  

SWE-Detroit hosted the HART conference this past weekend and met several of the other Region H leaders
Our New Blog is well underway and the place to go to find out all our latest event information and replacing the monthly newsletters
Subscribe on the blog to get the latest updates emailed to you! http://swedetroit.blogspot.com/

My goals this year as section president are to focus on:

Membership Recruitment and Retention
Growing Relationships with Collegiate Sections/Members
Outreach using SWEeter Futures (Tracking the Impact)

We hope those of you who went to the Wayne State impact biomechanics lab on Oct 23rd had a great time!
 
Interested in getting more involved with SWE-Detroit?

Volunteer to be our Special Event Chair and plan the year end awards banquet
Volunteer to be on the committee for our Professional Development Conference (PDC)
Volunteer to be on the committee for our Girls Engineering Exploration (GEE) event
Send an email to swe_detroit@swe.org  if you are interested in volunteering

Are you attending National Conference?  Let us know if you are attending National Conference at swe_detroit@swe.org 

Kind Regards,
Stacy Lueneburg
SWE-Detroit President FY13

Volunteers Needed - Girls' Engineering Exploration with SWE-D

GEE 2013 is starting up!!!

GEE is a day-long event held at Wayne State University with approximately 100 girls from Detroit Public Schools in attendance.  Our goal is simple: to change girls’ negative opinions of engineering and technology, and to encourage them to consider careers in the very important fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (also known as STEM). 

Are you interested in helping plan this year's Girls' Engineering Exploration?  Planning begins in November and goes through March, when the event takes place.  Many volunteer opportunities are available with varying time commitments. 

We are planning on having our first meeting the week of November 12th.  Please sign up to volunteer through our survey linked here.

If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Engwis ( jlengwis AT gmail.com ) or Vivette El Fawal  (v.elfawal@gmail.com).

SWE-D Past Presidents Endowed Scholarship

The Past Presidents Scholarship program is now in its third year.  We ended the second year with over $11,800 raised, including donations from the SWE 60^th Celebration and from 13 of our 27 Past Presidents.  However, we still need over $13,000 to reach our goal.  

SWE Detroit introduced the Past Presidents Scholarship Program in FY11.  Our goal is to raise $2,500 each year for five years and SWE Detroit will match up to $2,500 for each of these years for the endowed scholarship.  The target is to award the first scholarship at the 65th Anniversary of SWE Detroit, in honor of the late Past Presidents. 

We would love your support in helping us locate 11 Past Presidents, or their families, whom we have lost contact with and to encourage them to participate in this program.  You can also choose to donate yourself in honor of one of our Past Presidents.

The program will be tracked separately from the Member Solicitation Program and have its own levels: Diamond - $1000+, Sapphire - $500 to $999, Emerald - $250 to $499, and Quartz - $50 to $249.  Contributions will be tracked yearly and the level will be determined based on accumulated contributions received by SWE Detroit.

If you have contact information for any of the “missing” Past Presidents listed below, are interested in supporting the SWE Detroit Past President Scholarship Program, or creating your own endowed scholarship to build a legacy to benefit the SWE Detroit Scholarship Program, please contact Lisa Purvis, Shannon Atchison, or Jennifer Morikawa at swe_detroit@swe.org.

                       

Thank you Past Presidents, Members, and friends of SWE Detroit who have donated so far (as of 5/16/12):

Diamond

Laurie Ramsay

Sapphire Level

Sarah Kirkish

Jessica Mattis

Jennifer Morikawa

Brooke Voto

Emerald Level

Janice T. Ford

Judy Jbara

Lisa Purvis

Marie (Demos) Kardasis

Quartz Level

Alison Holmes

Anna Bradford

Birgit Sorgenfrei

Cathi Kohn

Cindy Hodges

Dawn Tilbury

Diana Cernis

Irene Sharpe

Jennifer (Darnell) Briggs

Lydia Lazurenko

Silvia Karlsson

Tina Lonski (In Honor of Jennifer Darnell)

T. Rowe Price (Company Match in honor of Janice Ford)

Kristin Ramey

Special thanks to the following for pledging to contribute for each year of the program:

Silvia Karlsson

Catherine Kohn

Jennifer Morikawa

Laurie Ramsay

Irene Sharpe

“Missing” Past Presidents:

Years of Service	Name
1952 - 1954	M. Ann Lawrence
1954 - 1956	Elise H. McGough (Passed Away 2005)
1956 - 1957	Geneva Van Horn
1958 - 1960, 1961 - 1962, 1964 - 1965	Marjorie Easterbrook
1962 - 1964	Mary G. Sohler
1965 - 1968, 1976 - 1977, 1977 - 1978	Ann O. Fletcher (Passed Away 2010)
1968 - 1969, 1969 - 1970	Stella Berbynuk (Passed Away 1997)
1970 - 1971, 1971 - 1972	Helma Fuhrmann
1972 - 1973	Eva Michalski Quinn
1973 - 1974	Beverly Bush
1974 - 1976	Janet Hall

Harvard Business Review - Too Many People of Color Feel Uncomfortable at Work

Whether you are a minority by race, gender, religion, orientation, or some other descriptor, it is demoralizing to feel like you have to act/dress/communicate a certain way that is foreign to you in order to "fit in", as described in this blog post.  As a female engineer, have you ever felt the need to act like "one of the guys" in order to fit in with your male engineering coworkers?

Harvard Business Review - 10 Reasons to Stay in a Job for 10 Years

The dot.com industry perpetuated the employer-hopping culture of the 90's, and the Gen-X/Gen-Y/Millenial generations now accept it as normal to regularly (too frequently?) switch employers.  This blog post talks about the benefits of staying at a given employer.

NBC News - High-School Girls Invent a Life-Preserver T-Shirt for Toddlers

Here is an inspiring story about a group of high school girls using their problem-solving skills to address an issue in their community.

Volunteers Needed - ESD Future City Competition Mentors

ESD is looking for more mentors for its Future City Competition.  You may sign up as an individual mentor or as a team.  The SWE Detroit POC is Jess Engwis jlengwis@gmail.com if you want to help out.  You can also register on this website.  Closer to the competition, ESD will also be looking for people to volunteer as judges.

So, what is Future City Competition?

The Michigan Regional Future City Competition is sponsored by the Engineering Society of Detroit.  Michigan is one of the nation's largest regional competitions within a national program sponsored by the National Engineers Week Committee.

The Future City Competition is a national, project-based learning experience where students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade imagine, design, and build cities of the future.  The program employs a team approach; students work on projects with guidance from an educator and a mentor(s).  Students design virtual cities using SimCity software; research and write essays addressing this year's theme - Rethink Runoff: Design Clean Soluations to Manage Stormwater Pollution; build table top scale models of their city using recycled materials; and present their cities before judges at the Regional Competition in January. 

The Michigan Regional Competition is scheduled for January 28, 2013, at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.  Regional winners represent their region at the National Finals in Washington, DC, in February.  More details on the Future City Competition can be found here.

Since the Future City Competition can be integrated into the curriculum or be run as an after-school activity, team size varies greatly.  There must be at least three students on the team but the whole class can participate. 

What is the role of the mentor? 

The mentor is there to support the team as they explore engineering - asking questions, facilitating discussions, helping students refind their ideas, finding and accessing other resources, and providing feedback as the team works on their city.  Mentoring is about advising, advocating, teaching, coaching, and providing a guidance system.  By tying in real-life engineering experiences, the mentor can help the students connect the academic to the real world of engineering.  Keep in mind that the students must do the actual work - the mentor is simply an advisor.

Who can be a mentor?

Mentors can be engineers, technical professionals, architects, city or urban planners, or others who work in the engineering and technical community.  All one needs is enough technical background to understand the project and to be able to coach the team.  Mentoring can also be done by a team of two or more, making it possible for the mentor to be available more often to assist the students and reducing the amount of time each mentor devotes to the project.

What is the time commitment for a mentor?

The time of day that teams work on their project varies.  It can be during the school day or after school.  As a mentor, you would work with the teacher to find a time that works for both of you.  You should also be available via phone and/or email to answer questions.  Mentors typically spend an hour or two a week between September and January advising their team, as well as attending the Regional Competition. 

Upcoming Event - Detroit Parade Company Studio Tour

Event: Detroit Parade Company Studio Tour

Date: November 17, 2012

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (optional lunch following the tour)

Location for the tour: Parade Studio, 9500 Mt. Elliott, Studio A, Detroit, MI 48211 Location for the lunch: Buddy's Pizza, 8100 Old 13 Mile Road, Warren, MI 48093

Cost for the tour: $12/adults, $8/children under 18, free for children under 2 (Please bring exact payment in cash the day of the tour)

Cost for the lunch: Everyone pays for themselves 

Parking: Driving directions and map will be sent out when you RSVP

Point of contact: Faith Kurily faith.kurily@swe.org

Other info:

Please RSVP by November 1.

 

Learn about the Parade's interesting history and traditions, explore the 110,000 square foot facility of storyland floats, and see their award-winning artisans create the magic!  Journey through the unique creative kingdom and view the world's largest collection of papier-mache heads and the costume shop!

Upcoming Event - Region H Networking Event @ HART

Event: Region H Networking Event @ Heartland Annual Round Table (HART)
Date: October 12, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM - ???
Location: The 1st floor lounge @ Four Points by Sheraton near Detroit Metro Airport, 8800 Wickham Road, Romulus, MI 48174
Parking: Parking lot
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Point of contact: Stacy Lueneburg sthayer.swe@gmail.com

Other info:

Please RSVP by October 9.

Enjoy socializing with fellow SWE members, from our Detroit section and visitors coming into town from all over the Midwest.  All are welcome, and feel free to bring friends!

Upcoming Event - Ann Arbor Book Club

Event: Ann Arbor Book Club
Date: November 18, 2012
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: Nicola's Books in the Westgate Shopping Center, 2513 Jackson Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Cost: Free
Parking: Parking lot
Point of contact: Janet Goldwasser JanetGoldwasser@peoplepc.com

Other info:

Discussing Tom Avery's "To the End of the Earth: Our Epic Journey to the North Pole and the Legend of Peary and Henson".

Upcoming Event - Royal Oak Book Club

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: November 18, 2012
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: Vinotecca, 417 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, MI 48067
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Parking: Free on Sundays!
Point of contact: Jessica Makae jessica@themakaes.com

Other info:

Discussing Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time".

SWE Membership Renewal Friendly Reminder

Have you renewed your SWE membership yet?  Don't forget to do it by September 30!

Upcoming Affiliate Event - SHPE General Membership Meeting

Event: SHPE General Membership Meeting
Date: October 17, 2012
Time: 5:00 - ????
Location: Detroit Institute of Art, 5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202
Parking: Metered parking
Cost: $8 for adults
Point of contact: detroit.shpe@gmail.com

Other info:
Please RSVP by October 1.
http://www.dia.org/

This is a very exciting event as it is our first event since the re-establishment of SHPE-Detroit.  The event is being sponsored by the DIA, Latino Magazine and Dupont and will feature a panel discussion on:

"The Importance and Influence of Latinos in Today's Society, Government and Corporate America"

Forbes - How the Definition of Leadership is Changing for Women

This article itemizes some the current key skills to being an effective leader in the workplace.

Upcoming Affiliate Event - NSBE General Body Meeting

Event: NSBE General Body Meeting
Date: September 26, 2012
Time: 5:30 - 8:00 PM
Location: Engineering Society of Detroit, 20700 Civic Center Drive, Suite 450, Southfield, MI 48076
Parking: Parking lot
Point of contact: Shani Allison r4aepr@nsbe-ae.org

Other info:
http://www.nsbe-dae.org/index.html

Harvard Business Review - To Succeed, Forget Self-Esteem

A fascinating perspective of the effectiveness of self-esteem vs. self-compassion.

NYTimes - Online Mentors to Guide Women Into the Sciences

A new twist to the idea of mentoring is to do it through a massive online course, as discussed in this article (which even quotes a female mechanical engineering professor from Kettering!).  It's a great way to help college students connect with those in "The Real World".

Upcoming Event - Royal Oak Book Club

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: October 21, 2012
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: Vinotecca, 417 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, MI 48067
Parking: Free on Sundays!
Point of contact: Jessica Makae jessica@themakaes.com

Other info:
www.vinotecca.com

Discussing Caitlin Moran's "How to Be a Woman".

Upcoming Event - Photo Club at the Belle Isle Conservancy

Event: Photo Club Field Trip
Date: October 6, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: Belle Isle Conservancy, Detroit, MI 48214
Parking: Free
Point of contact: Christine Cabrera christine.cabrera@gmail.com

Other info:
http://www.belleisleconservancy.org/

Join the SWE-D Photography Club as we visit the Conservancy to get some great nature photos!

Upcoming Event - Networking Lunch

Event: Networking Lunch
Date: October 19, 2012
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location: Olga's, 34180 Van Dyke, Sterling Heights, MI 48312
Parking: Parking lot
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Point of contact: Eve Vitale evitale@kettering.edu

Other info:
http://www.olgas.com/

Please RSVP by October 12.

Enjoy socializing with fellow SWE members.  All are welcome, and feel free to bring friends!

Upcoming Event - Royal Oak Book Club

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: September 23, 2012
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: Vinotecca, 417 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, MI 48067
Parking: Metered Free on Sundays!
Point of contact: Jessica Makae jessica@themakaes.com

Other info:
www.vinotecca.com

Discussing Hilary Mantel's "Bringing Up the Bodies".

Upcoming Event - Tour of Dr. Bir's Lab @ Wayne State

Event: Tour of Dr. Cynthia Bir’s Impact Biomechanics Lab at Wayne State University

Date: October 23, 2012

Time: 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Location: Wayne State University, Biomedical Engineering Building, 818 W. Hancock, Detroit, MI 48201

Cost: $5

Parking: Map and parking information will be provided to those that RSVP

Point of contact: Faith Kurily faith.kurily@swe.org

Other info:

Please RSVP by October 17.

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS ONLY OPEN TO SWE-DETROIT MEMBERS.

Come tour the impact biomechanics lab at Wayne State University!  Dr. Cindy Bir is a professor of Biomedical Engineering at Wayne State.  She also stars on ESPN’s “Sports Science”, which won one of the two Sports Emmy Awards for which it was nominated this year.  Dr. Bir will discuss her background and also give us a tour of her lab.  Her research interests include: Biomechanical Analysis of MTBI Associated with Football, Evaluation of the Cumulative Concussive Effect of Heading in Youth Soccer, The Biomechanics of Wakeboarding, Evaluation of Acceleration Techniques for Measuring Head Impact Biomechanics, Correlation Between Punch Dynamics and Risk of Injury: Biomedical Analysis of a Boxer's Punch, Assessment of MTBI in Female Boxers. 

Upcoming Event - Ann Arbor Book Club

Event: Ann Arbor Book Club
Date: October 21, 2012
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: Nicola's Books in the Westgate Shopping Center, 2513 Jackson Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Parking: Parking lot
Point of contact: Janet Goldwasser JanetGoldwasser@peoplepc.com

Other info:

Discussing Kyung-Sook Shin's "Please Look After Mom".

Harvard Business Review - Why Remote Workers Are More (Yes, More) Engaged

If you have ever considered part- or full-time telecommuting, here are some interesting thoughts as to why it can potentially be as successful, or more so, than if you are in the office.

NYTimes - In Google's Inner Circle, a Falling Number of Women

Another article talking about Google, except this one is more focused on the declining number of women in technical and/or leadership positions in the company, and how the company is trying to address the issue.

Slate - Google Ups Its Maternity Leave and Hangs on to More Women

Google is now offering five months of paid maternity leave to employees.  Could this progressive employer be leading the charge of promoting such work-life balance initiatives at other employers?

Upcoming Event - SWE National Conference

Event: SWE National Conference
Dates: November 8-10, 2012
Location: George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Do you have questions about the conf and/or you're interested in attending?  Please contact our SWE-D President, Stacy Thayer sthayer.swe@gmail.com

Other info:

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE THROUGH OCT. 12!!!

General conf website: http://we12.swe.org/
Conf schedule: http://we12.swe.org/attendees/conference-schedule
Registration info: http://we12.swe.org/attendees/registration

Upcoming Event - Networking Lunch

Event: Networking Lunch
Date: September 21, 2012
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location: Big Beaver Tavern, 645 E. Big Beaver, Troy, MI 48083
Parking: Parking lot
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Point of contact: Eve Vitale evitale@kettering.edu

Other info:
http://www.bigbeavertavern.com/

Please RSVP by September 14.

Enjoy socializing with fellow SWE members.  All are welcome, and feel free to bring friends!