Women engineers win national, regional awards

Tue, October 20, 2009 |

Valparaiso University's female engineering students and faculty have won a national award for their activities through the Society of Women Engineers chapter on campus.

Valpo's section of the Society of Women Engineers won the Outstanding Collegiate Section Award, silver level, among chapters at more than 300 educational institutions of all sizes across the nation. Approximately 35 chapters received silver or gold awards, placing Valpo's SWE chapter in the top 15 percent nationally. The Valpo women received the award Oct. 17 at the Society of Women Engineers national conference in Long Beach, Calif.

In additional to the national award, Valpo's section of the Society of Women Engineers recently won first place awards for the Best Collegiate Section and Best Collegial Web site among institutions of comparable size in the Chicago Regional Section. The University's chapter competed against other SWE chapters from engineering schools in Indiana and Illinois. The awards were presented to the chapter this summer.

Section president Kirsten Swanson, a senior mechanical engineering major from Palos Park, Ill., said the chapter has now won eight regional and national awards in the past three years.

"Receiving these awards is a significant accomplishment for our section," Swanson said. "We are reinforcing on the regional and national levels that Valparaiso University has a positive impact on women in engineering."

Swanson says during the past academic year, SWE members hosted a Girl Scout troop for an afternoon of engineering-based activities, which included a tour of the Valpo's Scientific Visualization Lab and wind tunnel, and building a tower out of note cards and paperclips.

"Our section is highly involved on campus," said Swanson. "These awards are important because they not only recognize the success of our members, but it also shows the advancement of our section."

SWE members also participated in the Valpo softball team's "I Need a Hug Challenge," collecting more than 100 stuffed animals for children, resulting in the College of Engineering winning the challenge.

More information about Valpo's College of Engineering can be found online at http://www.valpo.edu/engineering.