Challenges and Opportunities: Women in Electrical

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Challenges and OpportunitiesWomen in
Electrical Computer Engineering
Vasundara V. Varadan Division Director
Electrical Communications Systems National
Science Foundation
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NSF Goals

• In pursuit of its historic mission, NSF invests
  in
• People A diverse, internationally competitive,
  and globally engaged workforce of scientists,
  engineers, and well-prepared citizens.
• Ideas Discovery across the frontiers of science
  and engineering, connected to learning,
  innovation, and service to society.
• Tools Broadly accessible, state-of-the-art, and
  shared research and education tools.

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The Science Engineering Equal Opportunities
Act, 42 USC 1885,et seq.

• Sec. 1885. - Congressional statement of findings
  and declaration of
• policy respecting equal opportunities in science
  and engineering
• The Congress finds that it is in the national
  interest to promote
• the full use of human resources in science and
  engineering and to
• insure the full development and use of the
  scientific and engineering
• talents and skills of men and women, equally, of
  all ethnic, racial,
• and economic backgrounds.

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The Science Engineering Equal Opportunities
Act, 42 USC 1885,et seq.
(b) The Congress declares it is the policy of the
United States to encourage men and women,
equally, of all ethnic, racial, and economic
backgrounds to acquire skills in science,
engineering, and mathematics, to have equal
opportunity in education, training, and
employment in scientific and engineering fields,
and thereby to promote scientific and
engineering literacy and the full use of the
human resources of the Nation in science and
engineering. To this end, the Congress declares
that the highest quality science and engineering
over the long-term requires substantial support,
from currently available research and
educational funds, for increased participation
in science and engineering by women and
minorities. The Congress further declares that
the impact on women and minorities which is
produced by advances in science and engineering
must be included as essential factors in
national and international science, engineering,
and economic policies.
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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES107th Cong.,
2d Sess. H.R. 4664
The National Science foundation Authorization Act
of 2002
SEC. 20. REPORT BY COMMITTEE ON EQUAL
OPPORTUNI- TIES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING. As
part of the first report required by section
36(e) of the Science and Engineering Equal
Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885c(e))
transmitted to Congress after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Committee on Equal
Opportunities in Science and Engineering shall
include (1) a summary of its findings over the
previous 10 years (2) a description of past
and present policies and activities of the
Foundation to encourage full participation of
women, minorities, and persons with
disabilities in science, mathematics, and
engineering fields, including activities in
support of minority- serving institutions and
(3) an assessment of the trends in participation
in Foundation activities, and an assessment of
the success of Foundation policies and
activities, along with proposals for new
strategies or the broadening of existing
successful strategies toward facilitating the
goals of that Act.
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BS Degrees in Electrical Engineering
89948 computer related engineering BS degree
holders were admitted on H1B visas in 2000
51 population contributes 14 EEs
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BACHELORS DEGREES BY ENGINEERING DISCIPLINE
21289
13348
8812
7985
5779
3331
1414
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BACHELORS DEGREES AWARDED TO WOMEN BY
DISCIPLINE 2000-2001
EE/CE 14 MECH 14 CIVIL 22 CHEM 35 INDUS 34 AE
RO 21 BIOMED 40 PHYS 21 NUCL 18
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ENGINEERING BACHELORS DEGREES AWARDED TO WOMEN
BY SCHOOL
6832 OF 13000 BS DEGREES AWARDED BY JUST 50
SCHOOLS
1. Georgia Tech 330 2. Univ of Michigan
309 3. Penn State Univ 263 4. Univ. of Puerto
Rico 238 5. UC Berkeley 222 6. Texas AM
218 7. Purdue Univ 215 8. Univ. of Ill
Urbana 211 9. MIT 207 10. NC State Univ
182 11. Cornell Univ 176 12. Michigan State
Univ 164 13. Univ of Texas, Austin 161 14.
Univ. of Maryland 147 15. Univ of Washington
142 16. The Ohio State Univ 141 17. Auburn Univ
137 17. Univ of Florida 137 19. UC Davis
136 19. Virginia Tech 136 21. RPI 125 22.
UCSD 124 23. Michigan Techn 118 24. Iowa
State Univ 117 25. Colo School of Mines 116
26. Univ of Virginia 115 27. Univ of Wisconsin
113 28. UCLA 110 29. Northwestern Univ
106 30. Univ of Colorado 105 30. Univ of
Minnesota 105 32. Univ of Texas at Dallas
103 33. NC A T State Univ. 100 34. Univ of
Missouri, Rolla 99 35. Stanford Univ 94 36.
San Jose State Univ 92 37. Univ of Pennsylvania
90 38. Arizona State Univ 88 39. SUNY at Stony
Brook 87 39. Rutgers Univ 87 41. Columbia Univ
85 42. Univ of Central Florida 84 43.
Louisiana State Univ 81 44. Univ of Pittsburgh
79 45. Univ of Illinois, Chicago 77 46. Case
Western 76 47. Univ of Arizona 75 47.
Carnegie Mellon Univ 75 47. Univ of South
Florida 75 50. USC 71
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Doctoral Degrees in Electrical Engineering
2359 computer related engineering PhDs were
admitted on H1B visas in 2000
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WOMEN FACULTY IN TENURED TENURE TRACK
POSITIONS
7.3
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ADVANCE

• Goal
• Increase the representation and advancement of
  women in academic SE careers, thereby
  contributing to the development of a more diverse
  SE workforce
• Three Types of Awards
• Institutional Transformation
• Leadership
• Fellows

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ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Awards
Designed to change the climate and culture of an
institution with respect to of the recruitment,
retention and advancement of women in science
and engineering
Five Year Awards range from 3.1M to 4.5M
average award size 3.75 M
CURRENT AWARDEES FY01 AND FY02
1. Institution New Mexico St U PI
Frehill 2. Institution U of Cal Irvine PI
Bryant 3. Institution U of Wisconsin Madison
PI Carnes 4. Institution U of PR at Humacao
PI Ramos 5. Institution U of Colorado
Boulder PI Rankin 6. Institution CUNY
Hunter College PI Valian 7. Institution
University of Michigan PI Stewart 8.
Institution U of Washington PI Denton 9.
InstitutionGA Tech Res Corp - GIT PI Chameau
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Doctoral Degrees in Electrical Engineering
2359 computer related engineering PhDs were
admitted on H1B visas in 2000
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Merit Review Criteria

• What are the Broader Impacts of the Proposed
• Activity?
• Advancements of Discovery and Understanding
• While Promoting Teaching,Training and
  Learning
• Participation of Underrepresented Groups
• Enhancement of Infrastructure for Research and
• Education
• Dissemination of Results to Enhance Scientific
  and
• Technological Understanding
• Benefits to Society

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New NSF Policy

• According to proposal guidelines
• All proposals must explicitly address not
  only the
• scientific merit of the proposed research
  but also
• the broad impacts criterion both in the
  project
• summary and the body of the proposal
• Beginning October 1, 2002
• Proposals that do not address the broad
  impacts criterion
• in the project summary will be returned
  without review

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Who will be the US Engineers for the 21st Century?
Changing Demographics in the US - largest
talent pool will comprise of women, Hispanics
and African Americans Undergraduate engineering
education should be restructured not only to
recruit this new group but to retain them and
develop them Engineering needs a presence in
K-12 to address shrinking pipeline
issue Supply of foreign graduate students who
populate US Ph.D programs may shrink 20 years
from now
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NSF K-16 Outreach Programs
NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12
Education Research in Undergraduate
Institutions RUI Reseach Experience for
Undergraduates REU Supplements - up to 12k to
any current NSF PI on written request to
support 2 UG students Sites - Look up current
NSF solicitation Reseach Experience for
Teachers RET Supplements - up to 12k to any
current NSF PI on written request to support 1
teacher for the summer Sites - Look up
current NSF solicitation Robert Noyce
Scholarship (RNSP) To encourage talented
science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics majors and professionals to become
K-12 mathematics and science teachers
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NSF K-16 Outreach Programs
K-12 PROGRAMS
Math and Science Partnership Program
MSP Unites k-12 schools, higher education
institutions and other stakeholders in
mathematics and science education. Centers
for Learning and Teaching (CLT) Informal
Science Education (ISE) Instructional
Materials Development (IMD) Presidential
Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and
Science Teaching (PAEMST) Teacher
Professional Continuum (TPC)
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Warning Signs

• Among HS seniors who indicated that their
  intended major was engineering and who
  subsequently earned gt10 credits from a 4-year
  college
• 54.3 of men eventually obtained engineering
  degrees
• 21.3 of women obtained engineering degrees
• Among the reasons engineering majors who switched
  to other majors cited for switching
• poor teaching (98)
• reasons for choice of engineering inappropriate
  (94)
• inadequate advising (81)
• lost interest in engineering (66)
• better education in other disciplines (57)
• curriculum overload (55)

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Thank You