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CSULB Freshman Wins Video Pitch Contest at MESA Conference

CSULB engineering freshman Zoe Smith went to last month’s MESA Conference hoping to learn about leadership and connect with future employers. She didn’t realize she’d end up winning the video-pitch challenge, which came with a $1,000 prize.

Smith was among 14 CSULB students who attended the MESA Student Leadership Conference Oct. 27-28 in downtown Los Angeles. The event connects hand-picked engineering and computer science students with industry professionals to develop the next generation of STEM leaders. Continue reading “CSULB Freshman Wins Video Pitch Contest at MESA Conference”

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Electrical Engineering Graduate Describes SCE Job as ‘So Much Fun’

When Chandni Mehta left India for New York three years ago, she didn’t speak a word of English. Not only did she have to quickly learn a foreign language but also find a place to live and a way to get to New York University—all on a budget.

She’d been told that NYU fees would be $4,500 per semester, but once she arrived found they’d be more than twice that. Mehta found housing, but the $30 cab ride to NYU was beyond her means.

“In India for that, you could travel to two or three cities and have a nice lunch,” she said. “But I couldn’t go back because my parents sent me here to live my dreams.” Continue reading “Electrical Engineering Graduate Describes SCE Job as ‘So Much Fun’”

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CSULB Students Attend Grace Hopper Celebration of Female Technologists

Women are a distinct minority in computer science classes at many universities, including CSULB. That wasn’t the case at the recent Grace Hopper Celebration, where more than 6,000 female technologists gathered for keynotes, workshops, networking, and job interviews.

“There were girls everywhere,” said Victoria Hong, a computer science major and president of the ACM chapter, one of four CSULB students who received scholarships to attend GHC. “When people ask me if it was as good as I thought, I say ‘No, it was way better.’”

Computer science major Alejandra Gonzalez had that same sense of amazement at being surrounded by so many successful women in technology, such as Dr. Fei-Fei Li, Professor and Director of Stanford University’s AI Lab and Chief Scientist at Google Cloud AI/ML, and Melinda Gates, a former Microsoft product developer who is now co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “I couldn’t believe there are that many women interested in technology,” she said. Continue reading “CSULB Students Attend Grace Hopper Celebration of Female Technologists”

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CSULB Computer Engineering & Computer Science Department Joins Diversity Initiative

BRAIDCSULB Computer Engineering and Computer Science Chair Burkhard Englert will participate this summer in an initiative to increase the percentage of women and students of color majoring in computer science.

The Building, Recruiting and Inclusion for Diversity (BRAID) initiative was launched three years ago. It is led by the Anita Borg Institute and Harvey Mudd College, in partnership with more than a dozen universities across the nation and the National Center for Women & Information Technology. BRAID is funded by Facebook, Google, Intel, Microsoft, the Computing Research Association, and the National Science Foundation. Continue reading “CSULB Computer Engineering & Computer Science Department Joins Diversity Initiative”

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WOMEN IN STEM SHARE CAREER ADVICE

Women in StemThe Women in STEM Career Panel Tuesday drew dozens of female CSULB students to hear successful professionals share their experiences and advice. The panel, organized by STEM x: Sisters in Motion and the CSULB President’s Commission on the Status of Women, is the first in a hoped-for series.

“Women are underrepresented (in STEM) most of the time and it creates some difficulties and challenges,” said Melissa Norrbom, CSULB Student Life and Development Coordinator, adding that the series’ goal is “creating a network of women on campus to make women feel comfortable and figure out how to support them.” Continue reading “WOMEN IN STEM SHARE CAREER ADVICE”

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CSULB College of Engineering Makes Strides in Student Diversity

ASEE_Logo_Stacked_RGBThe CSULB College of Engineering has made gains in awarding degrees to underrepresented minorities in the latest rankings from the American Society for Engineering Education.

CSULB ranked 10th among U.S. and Canadian universities for the number of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanic students in 2015, up from 11th in the previous year. CSULB also ranked 19th for the number of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to Asian-American students in 2015, an increase over 2014’s 20th–place ranking. Continue reading “CSULB College of Engineering Makes Strides in Student Diversity”

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Attend Wonder Women Tech for Free

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Wonder Women Tech is offering CSULB engineering students free admission to its conference July 16-17 at the Long Beach Convention Center. A limited number of tickets are available, so use Promo Code CSULB to register at www.wonderwomentech.com before supplies run out.

This year’s conference features three stages, an expo, and many interactive discussions on technology, innovation, STEAM, and diversity and inclusion.

With the theme #WEAREPIONEERS, Wonder Women Tech will explore women and diversity in tech, and the pioneers leading the way for innovation. Thousands of attendees from around the world and over 200 award-winning speakers will engage in conference programming including a Free Career Fair & Exhibition, workshops, and a Learning Center, where hundreds of underrepresented children and adults will learn how to code, build games and much more.

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SWE Introduces Girls to Engineering

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Alumni Jennifer Didlo, president of AES Southland, talks to girls about engineering.

Nearly 150 girls from neighborhood elementary and middle schools heard about engineering as a career and participated in workshops during Engineering Girls @ the Beach Friday.

The event, sponsored by the CSULB chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, in addition to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Southern California Edison, is intended to introduce girls early on to the advantages of studying engineering.

“We need women in engineering,” said College of Engineering Associate Dean Tracy Maples. “Women can bring a different perspective. A lot of things women are doing in engineering is fantastic.” Continue reading “SWE Introduces Girls to Engineering”

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College Holds Workshop on Meeting Goals of Diverse Groups

The CSULB College of Engineering on Monday held its first workshop on how to meet the needs of diverse types of students considering engineering. Organized by computer science professor Alvaro Monge through a grant from the National Center for Women and Information Technology, the workshop featured CSULB social psychology postdoctoral researchers Matt Jackson and Mia Steinberg.

Steinberg drew on her own experience working as a software developer in the Silicon Valley for a decade. “For the vast majority of the years, I was the only woman in the group,” she said, adding that there were no discriminatory practices, just a lack of women in the pipeline.

Ironically, Steinberg’s high school counselor suggested she become a composer or computer scientist. “I said ‘No, I hate computers.’ But I went into it anyway and it’s become my life’s work.” Continue reading “College Holds Workshop on Meeting Goals of Diverse Groups”

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Encouraging More Girls to Study Engineering

Encouraging Girls to Study Engineering
Computer science professor Alvaro Monge introduces Future Girls @ the Beach to programming on Shadow Day.

When Future Girls @ the Beach launched two years ago, only a handful of girls would raise their hands when asked if they wanted to pursue engineering. But now that the CSULB high school outreach program is in its second year, the number of future engineers is growing.

“A lot more girls raise their hands now,” says Saba Yohannes-Reda, CSULB College of Engineering Director of K-12 Outreach and Recruitment. “It seems that we are winning.”

Girls participating in the program visit CSULB once a month for a scheduled activity. On Monday, several dozen took advantage of the President’s Day holiday to shadow their mentors, tour CSULB engineering labs and facilities, and hear a presentation on cognitive radio from electrical engineering Assistant Professor Shabnam Sodagari, who recently joined the program. Continue reading “Encouraging More Girls to Study Engineering”