Suzanne G. Brainard

A longitudinal study of undergraduate women in engineering and science

With a six-year grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Women in Engineering (WIE) Initiative at the University of Washington, USA, is conducting a longitudinal study of undergraduate women pursuing degrees in science or engineering. Now in its sixth year, five of six cohorts of approximately 100 students each year have been added to the study. The objectives of this study are to: (a) determine a more accurate measure of retention by tracking individual students through their science and engineering academic career; (b) examine the factors affecting retention of females in science and engineering; (c) increase the retention rates of female students pursuing degrees in science and engineering by providing interventions for the students themselves, primarily during the freshman and sophomore years which are critical attrition points; and (d) report these factors to the dean and departments involved for consideration in policy development.

Deconstructing Engineering Education Programmes: The DEEP Project to reform the mechanical engineering curriculum

The goal of the Deconstructing Engineering Education Programmes project is to revise the mechanical engineering undergraduate curriculum to make the discipline more able to attract and retain a diverse community of students. The project seeks to reduce and reorder the prerequisite structure linking courses to offer greater flexibility for students. This paper describes the methods used to study the prerequisites and the resulting proposed curriculum revision. The process involved dissecting each course into topics at roughly the level of a line in a syllabus, editing the list of topics, associating prerequisites and successors to each topic and then using a genetic algorithm to produce clusters of topics. The new curriculum, which consists of 12 clusters, each of which could be a full year course, is quite different from the traditional curriculum.

National WEPAN Pilot Climate Survey exploring the environment for undergraduate engineering students

The primary purpose of the WEPAN (Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network) Pilot Climate Survey was to develop a method to assess engineering student perceptions of the educational climate at colleges and universities in the USA. More than 8000 male and female undergraduate engineering students from 29 institutions responded to the survey. Participating institutions used their individual reports to gain insight into specific aspects of the environment on their campuses that require attention for all students. Aggregate data yielded interesting findings regarding gender differences in areas related to student self-confidence and self-esteem that require further study.

Globally diversifying the workforce in science and engineering

To remain competitive in this global and technological world, academic institutions and corporations worldwide need to take serious steps to created a diverse, well-trained and multicultural workforce. To this end, the Global Alliance in Science and Engineering for Diversifying the Workforce was created to offer an opportunity to share best practices in education, industry, government and professional associations from different countries and provide technical assistance to groups looking for successful models. It also offers an opportunity for industry to continue influencing academic institutions to produce a diverse group of graduates. Further, it will create opportunities for new ways of thinking and new perspectives about science and engineering professions by the voices of people not traditionally targeted for science and engineering careers.