Dallas SWE will observe National Engineers Week with a reflection on engineering history and hands-on fun. The program will start with reflections on how the profession is trying to increase public awareness of engineers and what they do. This will be followed by two hands-on activities that are fun ways to introduce young people to engineering related concepts.

Speaker Profile

Heather Chan received her B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering from UT Arlington in May 2004. She joined UTA SWE as a freshman and has been active with SWE since then. Heather is presently employed as a software engineer at the Anritsu Company.

She enjoys participating in activities that encourage young girls to continue discovering the fun in math and science. One of her many goals is to become a motivational speaker.

LeEarl’s Corner

Call for SWE Award Nominations

Nominations for SWE’s 2005 awards are due by the end of February and we absolutely need to submit nominations for Dallas area women engineers. I know that we have members who are more than ready for recognition by SWE as well as our section; but I need you all to blow-your-horns a little and consider nominating others who you feel are deserving as well. This is necessary because so few of us actually know each other and what we do. So, now is the time to let us know more about you and your career and extra-curricular activities. I am especially appealing to the members who have less than ten years experience and to the educators in our midst. So, visit the awards section of http://www.swe.org and let me know if you are willing to fill-out the nomination form for consideration for SWE recognition.

In this regard, several of us have convinced Sandra (Candy) Robinson of Fort Worth to fill out personal details for being considered as a SWE Fellow. Letters of support should be mailed to past-Region C Director april.lauper@swe.org as soon as possible. Good luck Candy.

Texas Tech selects Dr. Pamela Eibeck as Dean of Engineering

I was recently surprised to learn that Texas Tech has a new dean of engineering who happens to be a woman and past recipient of SWE’s Distinguished Engineering Educator Award. As far as I know, she’s a first woman dean of engineering in our great state. Excerpts from an article in the recent the Tech EE newsletter are quoted below.

“Dr. Pamela Erbeck arrives at Texas Tech with broad administrative experience at Northern Arizona University that includes having served as Chair of Mechanical Engineering, Interim Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology and Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Studies.”

“Prior to her appointment at NAU, Dr. Eibeck was a tenured faculty member in M.E. at the University of California at Berkley (1985-1995). … Dr. Eibeck graduated from Stanford University with a BS (1979), MS (1981), and a doctorate degree (1986) in M.E. Over the course of her career, Dr. Eibeck’s research interests have been in the fields of heat transfer and advancing innovation in engineering education.”

Engineer It! Exhibit Coming this Summer (See “More Detail!” at end of newsletter for Adobe Acrobat Reader formatted article)

The Sci-Tech Discovery Center has announced that it is bringing another interactive science exhibit to our area this summer. This time the focus will be on introducing engineering related science concepts to children. The literature indicates that Engineer It! is for ages 3 through adult; however, I believe that it will provide the most fun learning opportunities for early grade level students and their parents. The activities are primarily related to the CE field with water, structures, and wind providing the primary focus areas for activities. In addition, kiosks will provide information concerning careers in engineering.

Sci-Tech is presently soliciting donations, so it would be most appropriate to pass details of this opportunity onto your employers and others that you may know. In addition to needs for volunteers, there will be at least one full-time paid position and two part-time positions. For more information, consult the exhibit attachment with this newsletter or contact http://www.mindstretchingfun.org. As last year, SWE Dallas will encourage members to volunteer time and will consider some special SWE-sponsored activities--more about these prospects later.

ASCE Call’s Engineers to action – write your state rep

Texas lawmakers are being asked to consider a Texas Transportation Commission bill that supports changing the way the state department of transportation selects and awards engineering design contracts. According to a summary prepared by ASCE, “… the legislation would change the engineer/architects’ role in a project - from acting as the owners' (Texas’) agent in developing cost-effective solutions to designing what is cheapest to design.“

According to ASCE, Texas and 44 other states presently use what is described as a Qualifications-based selection (OES) process in determining who is retained as the engineer/architect service provider for a particular project. The primary goal of OES is to select what is considered the most qualified firm for the project and to award a contract to the firm during the planning phase of projects in order “… to improve project planning (while) minimizing total project costs and enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.”

In other words, the proposed legislation provides for competitive bidding of engineering/architecture services with priority focused on the low bid. In contrast, the present process focuses on qualifications of the service company with negotiated consideration on costs for provided services.

Personal letters/emails concerning your position on this legislation should be sent ASAP to your state reps (http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm) and to Gov. Perry; P.O. Box 12328; Austin, TX 78711-2428.

For more background information, it is suggested that you contact http://www.tspe.org or ASCE at Office@texasasce.org.

Editor’s Notes: With so much other news and information available this month, I’ll limit my comments to--My web link of the month: http://www.cs.indiana.edu/docproject/zen/zen-1.0.html Have you ever heard of the book, Zen and the Art of the Internet? It is not a new book, although there may be a revised edition out there by now. This link takes you to the table of contents for the first edition of that book (1992). It is a beginner’s guide. Its information is presented in a simple, straight forward manner. “Check It Out!”

Girl Scout Engineering Badge program is coming---Saturday, 19 March 2005! Please consider volunteering. See “Upcoming Events” for details.

Event Coordinator: Jaime Hunter (dallaswe@comcast.net)

Volunteer Coordinator: Cheryl Homan (CherylSFC@aol.com),

Volunteer Coordinator Assistant: Heather Chan (heather.chan@gmail.com)

UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR

Meetings are the 3^rd Tuesday of each month September 2004 through June 2005, except December. Currently, additional events are scheduled for the months of February 2005, and March 2005.

Also in FEBRUARY 2005

Feb 20 – 27: National Engineers Week Observance

MARCH 2005

March Section Meeting

SPEAKER: Sandra Robinson, data architect/Database Administrator, Lockheed

TOPIC: Strategic Planning for Professionals

DATE: Tuesday, March 15

TIME: 6:15 PM, start networking

LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room

CONTACT:

Girl Scout Engineering Badge program

VOLUNTEERS still needed!

DATE: Saturday, March 19

CONTACT: Event Coordinator: Jaime Hunter (dallaswe@comcast.net)

Volunteer Coordinator: Cheryl Homan (CherylSFC@aol.com),

Volunteer Coordinator Assistant: Heather Chan (heather.chan@gmail.com)

LOCATION: Tejas Girl Scout Council Office

6001 Summerside Dr, Dallas, TX 75252

APRIL 2005

April Section Meeting

SPEAKER:

TOPIC: Leading by Example

DATE: April 19

TIME: 6:15 PM, start networking

LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room

CONTACT: Jaime Hunter; jaime.hunter@swe.org

Region C Conference

DATE: April 1-3

LOCATION: Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge

SWE Dallas area Student Sections – Upgrade Recognition

TBD

Certificate of Merit Program –

TBD

Future Dates

SWE Cares

Recognizing that going through career transition is normal, SWE helps its members by offering a dues discount to members who experience a period of unemployment. We want to help you find not just any job, but the right job that meets your career expectations.

www.swe.org/careers: You know what to do and you know how to do it! Visit the SWE career center where job opportunities meet SWE member resumes. Join the SWE resume database where hundreds of recruiters identify new candidates all the time.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS

• To inform young women, their parents, counselors, and the public in general of the qualifications and achievements of women engineers and of the opportunities open to them.

• To assist women engineers in readying themselves for a return to active work after temporary retirements.

• To serve as a center of information on women in engineering.

• To encourage women engineers to attain high levels of educational and professional achievement.

CHECK US OUT! www.dallaswe.org

If you need to update your contact information, please feel free to use the submission form on the web. There is also a survey page. Please take the opportunity to let us know your opinions. We would greatly appreciate your input.

Tuesday, 15 February Meeting Details