Engineer Your Life (The Blog)
 
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This editorial, which the NY Times ran this week, is a bummer, to put it lightly. The statistics, facts and anecdotal proof rattled off here are hard to ignore. As in, more than half of this country’s science majors quit the discipline before they finish their studies because it is dull? What? Ugh, that is not good.


Take a read

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/opinion/26tue2.html?_r=3&ref=opinion

We can do better than this. You can do better than this. Allow us to sound like a broken record girls. The future is in your hands. Demand better, more exciting, more open minded approaches at studying science and engineering. Seek out schools, employers, teachers and mentors that share our beliefs (and the reality) that engineering is cool, lucrative, fun, engaging and stimulating. That it is not one stereotypical thing but a wide ranging field with many possibilities and paths. That engineers are cool and that most of the cool “stuff” in our world is in fact the result of engineering’s power.

You know what? Thinking about this article more, and putting a positive spin on it we realize this: that these facts are indeed a big bummer, but that they also present one big, huge thing: POSSIBILITY.  Scholarships, cool jobs that are just waiting for smart girls like you to fill them. It’s all wide open.

To change this, to fill in the holes our country is facing, and to be secure the future of engineering WILL happen if we stick to it.

We can do better than this. We know it, because we have you as the future of engineering.  Take on the challenge. Dream big Love what you do. Engineer Your Life.

www.engineeryourlife.org
 
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It's been a big week for our friends here at WGBH. On Monday, the president, yes THE president of the United States, hosted a science fair at the White House to promote and celebrate science and engineering in our nation's schools.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/10/18/president-obama-host-white-house-science-fair

Cool, right? Well we were invited to the party. Our friends at Design Squad, WGBH's reality based show that pits two teams of budding engineering minded young people together in a series of design challenges, recently hosted a contest that asked kids to submit an idea on how to turn "Trash to Treasure." The winner? Check it out:

Student Develops "Smarter Toilet" That Conserves Water. A freshman at Rome Free Academy High School, MaryAnn Bulawa hails from Ava, New York and won the PBS Design Squad Trash to Treasure competition for her invention. She used bubble wrap, plexiglass, and PVC piping to develop the Smart Toilet, which displaces water inside the tank to reduce the toilet's water and energy consumption. The PBS television series Design Squad challenged kids aged 5-19 to reuse recycled materials by engineering the green invention for their Trash to Treasure competition. The competition aligns with Design Squad's mission to engage kids in engineering and illustrate how it can make a difference.


Great idea, right? The president thought so:  the idea got these budding engineers the big invite to the big white house in Washington DC. It was a great day for WGBH, the USA and science and engineering buffs all over.

Take a read at some of the other winners and their equally great ideas. Round of applause all around.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/10/meet-the-students-at-the-white-house-science-fair/64726/


Dream big. Love what you do. Engineer Your Life.
www.engineeryourlife.org
 
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In our mission to share with you as many cool, interesting things about the field of engineering, it occurred to us that we may not have told you enough about our web site. Trust us, it’s pretty great. There is a ton of info on there to help you navigate the ins and outs of engineering education and engineering as a career. 

 

So what is so great about it? We’re glad you asked…you can:


Explore the different types of engineering, from aerospace to environmental.

Meet inspiring women
who work in engineering. You know, just being creative. Just saving the world. Just another day at work ;)


Make it happen! Find out valuable information on how to take steps towards a bright future.


Oh, there’s stuff on there for counselors and parents too. Information about how they can help you get to where you want to be. Share it with them. We’re betting they’ll be glad you did.


Hope you enjoy it! Let us know what you think. We are always up for hearing suggestions on how to make it all better, cooler and more useful to you.

Dream big. Love what you do. Engineer Your Life.

 

 
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As the summer winds down and school days approach, we’re sharpening our pencils and thinking about getting back to class. Being on campus. Which made us think. We talk a lot about engineering as a career, how interesting it is, how enjoyable, how important. Yet we have not said enough about the process of becoming an engineer, how that in and of itself is a journey different from what one might think.

Like the field of engineering, the course of study that goes along with engineering is misunderstood and riddled with misconceptions of long, lonely nights in the computer lab or dry projects drowning in numbers and formulas. Yes, engineering is a course of study rooted in mathematics and theory, yet it is also a creative major filled with opportunities to create and explore.

Take Harvard. Harvard’s engineering program promises students they can be “part Einstein and part Edison.” We like that. And we all know the good people in Cambridge  Massachusetts know what they are talking about.  There’s group projects, interactivity, creative problem solving, the chance to study abroad and a future after college filled with lucrative, meaningful job opportunities.

Take a look at what the course of study really is like when you study engineering at school. It’s probably a little different than you think. It’s more than your hands on a computer or your fingers on a protractor. It’s a hands dirty, fingers on the pulse type field. Check out what these real life female engineering students have to say about it.

http://www.engineeryourlife.org/cms/makingithappen/6274.aspx



It’s fun. It’s cool. And it’s something we’re betting you just might like. Think about it. Look into it.

Dream big. Love what you do. Engineer Your Life.
www.engineeryourlife.org


BTW, have you taken the Pledge? Do you want to help promote engineering as a career and a major and get other girls on board? Then “like” our Facebook page and take the pledge!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Engineers-Pledge/139865679358530?ref=ts