weSTEM (Women Empowered in STEM) will provide a forum through which current and future STEM leaders can motivate and inspire each other to excel at the frontier of scientific advancement and develop solutions for the next generation of technical challenges. The day-long conference will consist of two keynote lectures as well as several workshops and networking sessions. Women engineers and scientists with advanced degrees will share experiences from their academic and professional careers paths and provide insight into their personal successes in STEM.

Planning Committee

Project Manager: Sofie Leon

The Project Manager oversees the planning and execution of weSTEM. Sofie Leon is a 5^th year graduate student in Civil Engineering, and is currently working on her PhD. She completed her Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Computer Science at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2008 and her Masters Degree in Civil Engineering here at the University of Illinois in 2010. Contact: leon7@illinois.edu

Project Advisor: Neera Jain

The Project Advisor guides the committee in planning the weSTEM conference. Neera Jain is in the final year of her PhD in Mechanical Engineering and will graduate in May 2013. Upon graduating, she will join Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories as a visiting member of the research staff. She completed her Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006 and her Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois in 2009. Contact: njain2@illinois.edu

Speaker Coordinator: Samantha Knoll

The Speaker Coordinator organizes the speakers and topics for weSTEM. Sam is a second year graduate student in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, and is currently working on her PhD. She completed her Bachelors Degree in Engineering Mechanics with a minor in Technology Management, here at the University of Illinois in 2011. Contact: sknoll2@illinois.edu

Corporate Funding Coordinator: Danielle Joaquin

The Corporate Funding Coordinator obtains external sponsorship for weSTEM. Danielle is a first year graduate student in Mechanical Engineering and is currently working on her Masters Degree. She completed her Bachelors Degree in Bioengineering here at the University of Illinois in 2012. Contact: joaquin1@illinois.edu

Funding Coordinator: Angeli Gamez

The Funding Coordinator obtains sponsorship for weSTEM. Angeli is a second year graduate student in Civil Engineering, and is currently working on her PhD. She completed her Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2011 and her Masters Degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois in 2012. Contact: agamez2@illinois.edu

Finance Coordinator: Jin Kim

The Finance Coordinator manages the weSTEM budget. Jin is a second year graduate student in Mechanical Engineering and is currently working on her Masters Degree. She completed her Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Visual Design at Rice University in 2011. Contact: hkim257@illinois.edu

Logistics Coordinator: Ashley Gupta

The Logistics Coordinator orchestrates the administration and execution of weSTEM logistics. Ashley is a first year graduate student in Bioengineering and is currently working on her Masters' Degree. She was a Research Engineer in the Materials Science and Engineering department at Illinois for two years, after completing her Bachelor's degree in 2010. Contact: agupta29@illinois.edu

Publicity Coordinator: Ritu Raman

The Publicity Coordinator recruits graduate women in relevant disciplines to attend weSTEM. Ritu is a first year graduate student in Mechanical Engineering. She is currently working on her Masters Degree and plans to complete her PhD. She completed her Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University in 2012. Contact: rraman9@illinois.edu

GradSWE is a network and support community of graduate women in the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).

The mission of GradSWE is to promote diversity in graduate education in engineering and science to enable innovative and creative solutions to the future technical challenges of society.

Engineers and scientists contribute to the betterment of society by identifying and solving technical problems. The development and distribution of clean water, medical imaging, and the Internet are just a few highlights of engineering and scientific breakthroughs that have improved lives. With the advancement of technology, the future challenges facing society are becoming increasingly complex, and their solutions will require an innovative workforce that is diverse in its education, gender, culture, age, etc. For example, to accomplish the National Academy of Engineering's Grand Challenge to engineer personalized medicine, people of many different backgrounds must work together to ensure no groups' needs are overlooked. GradSWE advocates for women in graduate education so that they can confidently excel at the frontier of scientific advancement. A diverse and balanced workforce of individuals with M.S. and Ph.D. degrees is necessary to tackle society's biggest challenges with innovation and creativity, and GradSWE strives to make this workforce a reality.

UIUC SWE is a technical, professional, social, and outreach organization, and ispart of a larger organization with over 14,000 members nationally. Please visit the UIUC SWE website and GradSWE page to learn more.

Source for information on this page: weSTEM Illinois

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• (2013), "[Illinois] weSTEM 2013 Series: Be Inspired, Stay Motivated, Grow Passionate," https://nanohub.org/resources/18447.

  BibTex | EndNote

1. engineering
2. Illinois
3. NanoBio Node at Illinois
4. swe
5. westem