IEEE Committee: Women in Engineering Allan Johnston NPSS Liaison October 31, 2009

Overall Structure of the WIE within the IEEE The WIE reports directly to the IEEE Executive Committee One of 22 such committees Others include Awards, Fellow, Nominations and Strategic Planning The Executive Committee provides a limited budget for the WIE Committee Supports direct costs of 7 of the 10 voting members Also provides budget for certain activities Limited WIE functions at conferences and local chapters Typically $300 to $600 per function ADCOM has approved a separate path for funding WIE activities, providing up to $500 per conference. This streamlined process is far more effective than working through the WIE for funding. It also allows Conference Chairs to plan well in advance of the conference date.

Scopes of Interest Facilitate the development of programs and activities that promote the entry into and retention of women in engineering programs Promote IEEE membership and retention of IEEE women members Enhance the career advancement of women in the profession

Voting Members of the WIEC 10 voting members (all appointed for 3-year terms, except the student) Seven members appointed by the IEEE Board of Directors, including one student (one-year term) Three one-year appointments from organizational units (EAB, RAB and TAB) Jane Lehr (representing TAB) is a voting member of the WIE Organizational units must provide funding for travel and other costs of their appointed members The WEIC appoints one member to the IEEE Awards Board Voting member locations 6 from US 2 from Europe (France, Spain) One from Australia

WEIC Committee Structure WIE Committee 10 voting members Society Liaisons 10 Regional Coordinators Liaisons from: IEEE USA,EXCOM, Publication Services, Standards, and Awards There are also 136 Affinity Groups, located around the world

Society Liaisons Many society liaisons do not participate 9 attended the April meeting in Orlando 10 were on the June Telecon The most active include Engineering in Medical and Biology (Carolyn McGregor) NPSS (Allan Johnston) Reliability (Lisa Edge) Power and Energy (Karen Miu) Computer Society (Stephanie White) Some have expressed interest in following our model to provide funding for WIE functions at conferences Twenty-two of the 39 societies appointed liaisons for 2009

Estimated Annual Costs of the WIE WIE Coordination at Headquarters~ 1.2 people Travel for the 10 voting members$45k (est) Discretionary funds (small proposals)$10k Newsletter$50k (est) WIE Magazine (2 issues each year)$100k The recent review by HQ started to treat the WIE as a cost center (paradigm change) This is inconsistent with the way in which the WIE was established

Important Items from the April Meeting Funding for the WIE is under review from HQ They would like other funding to support the WIE magazine That topic was discussed at the meeting, but it is difficult to increase funds from advertising in the current economic climate I suggested that it might be possible to get direct funding from some of the societies to support it HQ is questioning whether WIE makes sense The Society of Women Engineers is much larger However, it is limited to the U.S. and Canada Awards – The Judith Resnick Award has not been actively pursued The IEEE is considering canceling that award The WIE is encouraging nominees

WIE Funding from Societies In-kind funding of travel for liaisons In-kind funding of WIE events at conferences Direct support from IEEE Societies Two societies have pledged $5k to support the WIE in 2010 –Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control –Industrial Applications Society The main purpose is to allow the WIE magazine to continue I have submitted a motion for the NPSS to do the same These sound good, but don’t directly address the cost issue from the standpoint of IEEE HQ

Potential Ways to Support the WIE from the NPS Promote WIE membership at conferences We have several prominent conferences that provide access to working professionals A single travel display is available from WIE that can be shipped to conferences I prepared a WIE poster for the 2008 NSREC and MIC conferences It can be customized for individual NPSS conferences I need contact information for NPSS conferences that would like this display Identify individuals for promotion to Senior and Fellow grades Conference chairs could identify potential candidates from registration information AdCom and Conference Committees could recommend candidates Identify prominent women in NPS as potential speakers for WIE functions

Feature Articles in the WIE Magazine Iconic Women Battles, breakthroughs, and bridging the gender divide Clementina’s Legacy Imagineering Disney’s kingdom From pets to NASA pilot Meet JPEG’s mom The brain behind video games Vetruvian Machines The charm of Audio-Animatronics Dubai’s engineering oasis From R2-D2 to iRobot entrepeneur Making beautiful electronic music Chemical connection with robots

WIE Function History and Plans within the NPSS 2007 Pulsed Power Conference (Jane Lehr) Evening reception, featuring a Sandia VP 2008 MIC/NSS (Barbara Obryk) Several prominent women spoke in a semi-formal environment Many questions from the audience Followed by light refreshments 2009 Particle Accelerator Conference (Sandra Biedron) Reception with speaker 2009 NSREC (Janet Barth/Allan Johnston Initial plan was a luncheon Postponed to 2010 because of concerns about attendance 2009 MIC/NSS (Barbara Obryk) A WIE reception is planned, following the success of the function in 2008

Summary WIE functions have taken place at several NPSS conferences A poster is available for NPSS conferences describing the WIE Evening receptions appear to be effective formats I can work with various conferences to help in planning and getting information available on the WIE These activities fill an important gap between the WIE Committee, which is largely focused on student activities, and working professionals