Suzanne Brainard
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
ABSTRACT
This presentation will cover three primary topics. The first will focus on the current participation of female engineers in the workforce and compare the progress of female chemical engineers. The next part will briefly identify the primary barriers female engineers face in the academic and corporate workforce. Finally, the last topic will present the goals and accomplishments of WEPAN - Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network - and propose ways for the AICHE and WEPAN to collaborate on initiatives.
BIO
Suzanne G. Brainard is the Director of the Center for Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) at the University of Washington. She is an Affiliate Associate Professor in both Technical Communication in the College of Engineering and in the Department of Women Studies. She is one of three co-founders of the Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network (WEPAN), the immediate Past-President and Executive Director of the Western Regional WEPAN Center. She is currently serving on the congressionally-mandated Committee on Equal Opportunity in Science & Engineering (CEOSE), the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Committee on Diversifying the Engineering Workforce, the AAAS National Mentoring Committee, and the Institute for Women in Technology Board.
Her primary areas of research include: mentoring, evaluation, and gender and climate issues in engineering and science. More specifically, the research has focused on longitudinal studies examining issues of retention in engineering and science, on longitudinal climate studies in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington and national climate surveys in engineering. In addition, she conducts evaluations of interventions focused on increasing the participation and retention of women and minorities in science and engineering. Dr. Brainard is currently collaborating with WEPAN, AAAS and AWIS on an international initiative The Global Alliance in Science and Engineering to Diversify the Workforce.
Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Department of Education, the Department of Energy and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Center for Women in Science & Engineering was the recipient of the White House 1998 Presidential Award of Excellence in Science, Engineering and Mathematics Mentoring and the 1998 WEPAN Women in Engineering and Science Program Award.
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