Upcoming Event - Royal Oak Book Club

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: April 21, 2013
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 William Souder's "On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson, Author of Silent Spring".

Event Reporting - SWE-D's GEE 2013

SWE’s 6^th Annual Girls’ Engineering Exploration (GEE) was a great success.  We had 94 4^th – 6^th grade girls from Detroit Public Schools and surrounding counties attend the event, along with 29 Parents and Teachers, 23 Mentors and 19 Flex Volunteers.  The day-long event was made possible by our gold sponsor Toyota, who has sponsored us for four years straight, and our silver sponsor DTE Energy who has sponsored us for two years.  Our theme this year, to align with Engineering Week, was “Awesome Female Engineers”.

The event took place, after four months of planning, at Wayne State’s Student Center on Saturday, March 2.  The planning committee arrived at 7:00AM to unload materials and prepare the student center for volunteers, mentors and students.  By 8:30, the mentors and volunteers had arrived to finish setting up and to become familiar with the activities taking place that day.  At 9:30, the students, parents and teachers began to arrive to the event.  They were met by an excellent registration process where, after their pre-registered name was found on our roster, they were given a name tag and a GEE T-shirt.  Registration was led by Tessa Baughman, who has made the registration process run smoothly for the past 3 years.  Our increase in attendees this year was made possible by the strong dedication of Jessica Green, our student/teacher liaison, who created an electronic registration form.  Four different colors of t-shirts were given out to designate the 4 rotation groups.  Each color group consisted of 5 to 6 groups consisting of 4 girls each, with a mentor in charge of leading their group of 4 girls throughout the events of the day.  Each mentor, typically a female engineer, was able to answer any questions the girls had throughout the day, and to give a personal example of how females can become successful engineers.

Once all the girls had arrived, Jessica Engwis, who co-led the event with Vivette El Fawal, gave a brief welcome speech.  They introduced Laurie Ramsey, who familiarized the girls with the main disciplines of engineering, including: Mechanical, Electrical, Civil and Environmental.  The girls were then broken up into their groups to rotate through the four Engineering Activities: Elevator, Night and Day, Catch A Thief and Egg Drop.  The Elevator Activity, run by Nicole Frei, illustrated the roles that pulleys play in reducing the force needed to raise an elevator.  The girls were given a peg board, an elevator with a Lego man, and various bobbins, strings and fishing weights which they arranged in different configurations on the board.  Once a configuration was created, the girls tested the elevator by measuring the force required to move it.  The Night and Day Activity, run by Alexis Manley, allowed the girls to create a model of the earth spinning on its axis in order to observe the cause and effect relationship that its rotation has on our days, nights, years and lives.  Catch a Thief, run by Elizabeth Ankerson, gave the girls the opportunity to be detectives using chromatography to analyze evidence from a “crime”.  The crime was solved by comparing the pigments in black ink pens to determine which thief’s pen matched the ransom note.   The Egg Drop Activity, run by Cassondra Whitlow, illustrated aerospace and mechanical engineering.   The girls worked in their groups to design and create a protective pod for their astronaut egg to ride safely, and hopefully survive, a 7 foot fall.  

Night and Day Activity                                                                           

Egg Drop Activity

In parallel with the girls’ activities, the parents and teachers attended a session of their own.  Led by Frenae Smith and Dionne Gisstennar, the parents and teachers enjoyed discussions on choosing engineering as a career and summer programs which their students can enroll in.  A Professional Women Engineering Panel was also provided, along with a hands-on engineering activity to show the parents and teachers a bit of what the girls’ GEE day was like.  Reaching out to parents and teachers is a great part of GEE because we feel that we are able to touch more students if the parents and teachers are more informed about the field of engineering.

The event concluded with a science show from Steve Belliveau called “Getting Excited About Science” where he presented to the girls, in his high-energy style, the science behind pulleys, properties of liquids and solids, and centripetal force.

Steve’s “Getting Excited About Science” Show

The girls and volunteers were in high spirits the entire day and enjoyed the overall event.  In a student survey, the girls expressed their excitement with comments such as: “I learned that I want to be a chemical engineer.”  “I learned that engineers do a lot to help our country and I thank you for that.”  “Yes.  You really inspired me thanks so much.  I would be an engineer.”  Our volunteer survey also received positive feedback with responses such as: “It was great to see so many people so excited about this event and be so passionate about their fields and helping girls seek STEM careers.”  “The event was well organized and the girls seemed to really enjoy it.”  “It exceled in the activities offered to the girls. I think they had a lot of hands on activities where they were able to learn and apply their knowledge.”

Along with the names of planning committee members aforementioned in this article, the event was also made possible by Abir Bazzi - T-shirt Organizer, Anne Dancey – Science Show Coordinator, Kara Martini – Volunteer Coordinator, Rashmi Bhatt – Mentor Coordinator, Earnee Gillings – Backpack and Give-a-ways Coordinator, and Elizabeth Barrios – Food Coordinator.  Thanks to the amazing planning committee, flex volunteers and mentors, GEE was successful once again and looking 

forward to our 7^th year in 2014.

Planning Committee (back to front, left to right): Jessica Green, Liz Ankerson, Tessa Baughman, Nicole Frei, Abir Bazzi, Laurie Ramsey, Alexis Manley, Rashmi Bhatt, Jessica Engwis, Vivette El Fawal

STEM Workforce Seminar

Event: AIA/NDIA/BISEC STEM Workforce Seminar
Date: June 4-5, 2013
Time: 8:15 AM - 4:45 PM
Location: Henry Ford Museum, 20900 Oakwood Blvd, Dearborn, MI 48121
Parking: Parking lot
Cost: $25-100, more info on website link below
Register online: www.ndia.org/meetings/371B

Point of contact: Rebecca Danahy rdanahy@ndia.org

The primary purpose of our quarterly meetings is to engage in local dialogues about how we can increase the quality of STEM education; the quantity of STEM educated graduates that are eligible for employment in the Aerospace and Defense (A&D) industries; and the amount and effectiveness of engagement by A&D employers, working in partnership with others in their communities.

Previous meetings have demonstrated the productiveness of bringing together participants in the national level AIA and NDIA workforce efforts with state and local STEM workforce and education stakeholders, to share best practices, expand the “toolbox” of ideas for engaging the community; and discuss issues and solutions. We hope you will be able to attend the meeting and come away with some great ideas and action plans.

What is the purpose of this meeting?
1. To foster regional and statewide communication and to develop operational concepts for collaboration to enhance and expand the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) future workforce in Michigan.
2. To identify opportunities for multi-industry collaboration and alignment to advance STEM education and cultivate the 21st century workforce. 

What are the objectives?
1. To identify STEM education, skills and competencies goals; and to determine effective ways of partnering with elementary, secondary
and post secondary education to produce the 21st Century workforce.
2. To develop a unified STEM message from industry in Michigan to educators, parents, students.   
3. To identify best practices and implement methods to nurture and emulate or replicate and connect high payoff programs through collaboration in the STEM network. 

Who should attend? 
• Aerospace and defense company representatives with workforce development or  
   community relations responsibilities.
• Members of other industries with a stake in STEM education and workforce preparation.
• STEM educators, school administrators and district supervisors.
• Members of the academic community involved in STEM.
• State and local education, workforce development, and economic development officials.
• Members of the philanthropic community focused on education and workforce.
• STEM program providers.
• Other participants in Michigan STEM Initiatives.

FAQ's about SWE-D's Member Incentive Program

What is the member incentive program?

The member incentive program encourages member participation by rewarding you every time you get involved in SWE-D activities, whether it’s a monthly meeting, a volunteering event, or a social event.

How do I earn points?

You can earn points by attending events, volunteering, becoming part of a committee, or even taking a survey.

Event	Points earned
Attend planning meetings for the PD conference, GEE, or any other committee planning meeting (excluding EC committee meetings)	½ point/meeting
Fundraising events (ex CAbi and Bowling)	1 point/event
Volunteer at events such as the GEE, PDC, Girl Scout workshops, or other events listed on the volunteer opportunities list	1 point/meeting
Attend a monthly meeting	1 point/meeting
Volunteer to be a greeter at a monthly meeting	1 point/meeting
Hold a position on the EC or Advisory Committee	1 point
Attend other SWE-D events such as the student up grade party or monthly general mtgs, book club, networking lunches.	1 point/event
Fill out membership surveys or election ballots	1 point
Attend an EC meeting , Strategic planning mtg, or officer transition meeting	1 point/meeting
Write an article for the blog (not just an event posting)	1 point/newsletter
Bring a Non-SWE member to an event or a SWE Collegiate Member	1 point
Volunteer at Regional or National Conferences	1 point
Attend a regional or national conference	3 points/conference

How many points do I need to earn a gift certificate?

For SWE-D members you need to earn 4 points to get a $5 gift certificate

For SWE-D EC members you need to earn 8 points to get a $5 gift certificate

What can I use the certificate for?

You can use the certificates for discounts off of SWE-D merchandise, such as polo shirts, or the coloring book, a monthly meeting or social event fee, a discount on registration to the Professional Development Conference, or towards the end of the year awards banquet.  (Note: at this time gift certificates cannot be used when paying for events online by Acteva)

Can I use more than one certificate at a time?

Yes, you can use more than one certificate at a time.

Does my certificate ever expire?

Yes, the expiration date is listed on the certificate and expires one year after the date it is issued to you.

For other questions regarding the Member Incentive Program contact Miriam Breslauer at miriam_becker@ameritech.net.