WIE Newsletter
IEEE Women in Engineering Newsletter • Number 1/2 • March 2005
In this Issue:
Feature Articles
International Women’s Day
March is National Women’s History Month in the United States
WIE Events
Female Silicon Valley E.E. Pioneer speaks at WIE Forum
WIE Women in the News
Mariesa L. Crow Named Dean of SoMEER
New WIE Senior Members
Nominate a Senior Member
Reports From the Regions – Region 8
UAE WIE Affinity Group at IEEE 2nd GCC conference in Bahrain
IEEE WIE at Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai
2005 WIE Committee
WIE Newsletter Editorial Committee
Past Newsletters
International Women's Day
March 8 is the International Women's Day, which unites women of all nations. And this year, the
date also marks the 60th anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, which
not only established the United Nations but became the first international agreement to recognize
gender equality as a fundamental human right.
History
International Women’s Day began at the turn of the 20th century, as a result of the labor
movement in Europe and North America.
It was first recognized in 1911 by just a few countries and today, nine decades later, it is
celebrated by the United Nations and throughout the world to commemorate women’s rights and
celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women. In demonstration of its
importance, in some countries, it has been designated a national holiday.
For a history of International Women’s Day visit the United Nations website.
For a listing of 2005 International Women’s Day events in your area, visit the International
Women’s Day website.
Visit the UN website to read more about the Role of the United Nations in International Women’s
Day visit
March is National Women's History Month in the US
Did you know? In 1980, the United States President James E. Carter issued the first Presidential
Proclamation calling on the American people to remember the contributions of women. By 1987,
fourteen state governors had declared March as Women's History Month, and later that same
year, Congress and the President followed by declaring March as National Women's History
Month. To read more about National Women’s History Month, and to see a list of honorees visit
the National Women’s History Project website.
In honor of National Women’s History Month, visit the IEEE Virtual Museum’s exhibit Powering
the Electrical Revolution: Women and Technology. The exhibit contains interesting stories of
women in the fields of math and science, and who have made contributions to the telegraph,
telephone, industrial manufacturing, and computing industries.
2005 WIE Forum
Female Silicon Valley E.E. Pioneer speaks at WIE Forum
Mrs. Jane G. Evans gave an inspiring and lively talk on teamwork and building leadership through
enthusiasm, entitled “Press Your Elevator’s Up Button” to more than fifty attendees at the first
WIE Forum of 2005. The WIE Forum was held on 18 February during the IEEE Organizational
Unit Meeting Series at the Hyatt Regency Embarcardero, in San Francisco, USA. Often
interjecting humor and anecdotes of her own experiences as an engineer at Hewlett Packard, the
presentation was followed by questions from the audience.
Besides being an active leader in the IEEE, Mrs. Evans was the first woman to graduate in
electrical engineering from San Jose State University and the first female engineering graduate
hired by Hewlett-Packard.
WIE Women in the News
Mariesa Crow, past Technical Activities Board liaison to the Women in Engineering Committee,
was named dean of the University of Missouri-Rolla School of Materials, Energy and Earth
Resources (SoMEER) on 1 January 2005.
Crow was named after having served as the transition dean for SoMeer beginning in October
2003. SoMEER was created through a reorganization of the UMR School of Mines and
Metallurgy.
Crow holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of
Michigan. She is a Senior Member of IEEE, is active on various committees, and has won
numerous awards.
To read more about Mariesa Crow and SoMeer visit the University of Missouri-Rolla sites.
http://www.ece.umr.edu/~crow/
http://someer.umr.edu/
New WIE Senior Members
The WIE congratulates the following new WIE Senior Members.
Margaretha AK Eriksson, Region 8, Sweden
Jasmeet Judge, Region 3, Gainesville, USA
Marion M. White, Region 4, Chicago, USA
Candidates for IEEE Senior Member must be an engineer, scientist, educator,
technical executive or originator in IEEE-designated fields and have been in
professional practice for at least ten years. Additionally, they must show
significant performance over a period of at least five of those ten years.
Nominate a Senior Member
Are you a female IEEE member that qualifies to become an IEEE Senior Member? Or do you
happen know someone who does? You may nominate yourself, or others, and the WIE
Committee will help you find support for your nomination. Apply now!
See the IEEE Senior Member Program Website for more information.
From the Regions – Region 8 (Europe, Middle East, Africa)
Under this headline are short reports from WIE activities throughout the world. In this first issue
we take a look at activities in IEEE Region 8.
UAE WIE Affinity Group at IEEE 2nd GCC conference in Bahrain
Submitted by Maryam Al-Thani, IEEE WIE chair, UAE section
On November 23-25 2004, the WIE United Arab Emirates (UAE) Affinity Group had the
opportunity to contribute to the 2nd IEEE GCC Conference, held in Bahrain.
Many women engineers attended the conference from different countries, especially the Gulf
countries, and were impressed with the WIE activities in the Emirates. The WIE UAE answered
questions about WIE including the benefits of, and how to form, a WIE Affinity Group, as well as
information on WIE support. Other IEEE Gulf countries are looking forward to forming WIE groups
which demonstrates their support of professional women.
For further information on the 2nd IEEE GCC Conference, visit their website at:
See http://www.ieeegcc.org/
IEEE WIE at Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai
Submitted by Aisha Al-Nuaimi – IEEE WIE member
On 12 December 2004, Maryam Al-Thani, IEEE WIE Chair – UAE Section, introduced IEEE to
students at Higher Colleges of Technology – Dubai Women’s Collage. The presentation,
arranged through Mr. Brain Averill, Software Engineering Faculty, provided information about the
IEEE, the benefits of IEEE and WIE membership and how to become a IEEE WIE member.
Approximately forty women students attended and a number of general questions were raised.
Further co-operation will be established between IEEE WIE and HCT-DWC in the future.
2005 WIE Committee
Mary Ellen Randall, 2005 Chair, (USA)
Magdalena Salazar-Palma, Past Chair, (Spain)
Margaretha Eriksson (Sweden)
Pilar Molina Gaudo (Spain)
Sarah Ann Rajala (USA)
Jyothi Ramaswamy (India)
Anna Zyzniewski (Canada)
Meera Kisto, Student Member, (Canada)
Regional Coordinators
Jean R.S. Blair (Region1)
Carol Carey (Region 2)
Joey Duvall (Region 3)
Sandra “Candy” Robinson (Region 5)
Anna Zyzniewski (Region 7)
Clementina Saduwa (Region 8)
Nury Gabriela Ramierz Cely (Region 9)
IEEE Society Coordinators
Parveen Wahid, AP Society
Sylvia Mergui, NPS Society
Asha Hall, UFFC Society
Editorial Committee
Newsletter Editor: Margaretha AK Eriksson [email protected]
Editorial Committee: Mary Ellen Randall, Sarah Rajala, Cindy Poko and Anne Newton Swanton.
Please send your contributionsfor the newsletter to [email protected]
Deadline for submissions is the 10th of the month.
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