UMaine Engineers Introducing Young Women to Science, Engineering
Contact: Chet Rock, 581-2218; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — With research showing men make up 80 percent of the nation’s — and 86 percent of Maine’s — engineering undergraduates, the University of Maine is launching an initiative Feb. 16-20 aimed at reducing the disparity.
UMaine’s College of Engineering and UMaine Cooperative Extension will host as many as 48 young high school women from Maine 4-H clubs and Girl Scouts in four counties for a four-day adventure in engineering program during the public school vacation Feb. 16-20.
As part of the new “Engineering Awareness Day” program, made possible through a UMaine EPSCOR Forest Bioproducts Research Initiative outreach grant, at least 12 female high school students will visit UMaine engineering labs for a day. They’ll work with chemical engineering faculty, researchers and students as they participate in converting wood stock to fuels and chemicals. They’ll also learn about manipulating microscopic nanoparticles into molecular cancer probes in biological engineering laboratories as a way to detect pancreatic cancer.
Engineering Awareness Day is a continuation of university efforts to attract more young women into science, technology and engineering careers, says Hemant Pendse, chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Chet Rock, associate dean of the College of Engineering.
Research assembled by the college shows disparaging trends involving women in engineering. Statistics show Maine ranks 49th in the nation for graduating engineers, and the state ranks 38th nationally for the number of females enrolled in engineering programs, according to Pendse and Rock. It also shows the situation worsening since 2004 for females graduating with degrees in engineering and engineering technology in Maine.
The statistics are a problem nationwide, according to Rock, who notes that the United States produces fewer engineers than many other countries. Having more women in engineering might also have beneficial effects on engineered consumer products, the invention of anything from automobiles to user-friendly household appliances, he says.
“Because of the low representation of women, the engineering profession tends to craft solutions to some of society’s greatest challenges that do not address the needs of the full cross section of our population,” Rock says.
Consider a PDA designed specifically to fit a male’s shirt pocket, or automobile airbags that can injure smaller passengers when they deploy, or a square cup holder that can accommodate a child’s juice box, suggests an editorial in the online publication “electronic design.” The publication also cites the development of the Ford Windstar family van, designed primarily by female engineers, which has electronically operated sliding doors on both sides of the vehicle as being a more practical design.
The latest UMaine effort to bring more school-aged females into engineering labs early is a strategy supported by research that also shows that early career guidance can significantly help young women with career choices, according to Rock and Pendse.
Pendse is optimistic the early exposure to engineering will pay off.
“This first-time, coordinated, hands-on interaction with the Maine 4-H is sure grow, with much broader participation in coming years,” he says.
As part of the Engineering Awareness Day, the College of Engineering, 4-H and Cooperative Extension educators will set up a virtual engineering club for participating 4-H females as a Yahoo Group. Students from throughout Maine will be able to receive forestry-related engineering exercises and projects they can do from home, with an online adviser providing guidance.
The project “will give these youths a chance to learn about the wide range of engineering opportunities at the University of Maine,” Rock says.