Fall 2018 IDEA Newsletter

Table of Contents

01 Welcome Week 05 2018-2021 Strategic Plan and First-Gen Engineering Reception 07 Introducing Our IDEA Center Student Interns

08 IDEA Center Faculty Board 2018-2019

09 oSTEM, SHPE, SWE, WiC Annual Conference Highlights 11 Professional Evening with Industry

12 ENG 10 Project Showcase

13 Graduate Student Recruitment

Welcome Week

In Fall 2018, the IDEA Engineering Student Center welcomed 1,772 new undergraduate students to the Jacobs School of Engineering, through various events. We also participated in numerous activities both within the School of Engineering as well as campus-wide, to familiarize students to the programs and resources that we offer at the IDEA Center. They include presenting at all the engineering department orientation sessions, and tabling at the Student Services Festival and various community center open house events.

The IDEA Center also helped welcome 1,150 new graduate engineering students at the Graduate Student Fair, and presented on our various services at the department orientation sessions.

JSOE Open House

Welcome Week culminated with the Jacobs School Open House, where the IDEA Center welcomed new and returning students on Friday, September 28th, 2018. This event brought together units from the Jacobs School of Engineering such as the Gordon Engineering Leadership Center, Institute for the Global Entrepreneur, and Global Ties, as well as campus partners that provide service to engineering students like the Basement, Teaching and Learning Commons, Counselling and Psychological Services, Career Center, Academic Enrichment Program, OASIS, First Year Experience, Study Abroad Office, and Geisel Library. The Open House highlights the numerous resources available to students, both within the School of Engineering and campus-wide.

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In partnership with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Women in Computing (WIC), and Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM), the IDEA Center welcomed new engineering students from underserved groups to the Jacobs School of Engineering in Warren Lecture Hall on Wednesday, September 26th, 2018.

Each of our Diversity Organization selected a representative to speak about their experience as an engineering student, as well as their experience as a member of their organization. The panel included Tee Srey (oSTEM), Laura Gutierrez (SHPE), Kyle Skelil (NSBE), Jacqueline Villalobos (SWE), and Madeline Lee (WIC), who spoke about how and why they got involved with their respective organizations. They also talked about the challenges they faced during their transition to college, and the role their organization played in easing their transition to UC San Diego.

Following the panel, attendees were offered the opportunity to ask questions about the panelists’ experiences as members of each organization, as well as their general experience within their major. Many attendees were concerned with the pace of classes at UC San Diego and asked for tips to maintain a reasonably balanced academic schedule.

Welcome Week

Engineering Community Welcome

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Welcome New ACES Scholars The Academic Community for Engineering Success (ACES) welcomed 23 new ACES Scholars into the program. ACES is an National Science Foundation (NSF) funded program designed to engage and support highly motivated engineering students from economically underserved backgrounds.

The new ACES Scholars began their journey in August with scholarships to attend the Summer Engineering Institute (SEI). As SEI participants, they got a jump start on their academic careers, earning six credits towards their engineering degrees, living on campus, and getting to know each other during Summer Session 2.

During Fall Welcome Week, the new ACES cohort attended an ACES Welcome Lunch with their future faculty mentors. An important component of the ACES program is faculty mentorship, and each ACES Scholar is matched with a faculty mentor. During the Welcome Lunch, the faculty mentors shared how they overcame their own challenges as undergraduate engineering students and shared tips for success with the ACES Scholars. Throughout Fall quarter ACES Scholars attended weekly discussions and strengthened their study skills and time management. They also enjoyed a chance to relax together with a night of ping pong and pool at UC San Diego’s game room.

IDEA Scholars Welcome

The IDEA Center has welcomed a new cohort of IDEA Scholars to the Jacobs School of Engineer with each incoming class since 2011. Fall 2018 was no exception, and 52 IDEA Scholars, who are predominantly first-generation and/or from underrepresented minority groups, will now call UC San Diego home. This program has significantly grown since its inception, with 216 current members, and 92 alumni. Every IDEA Scholar participated in the Summer Engineering Institute, a five-week transition program for incoming first-year students held during the second half of summer session. In addition to attending SEI, IDEA Scholars committed to attending weekly discussions during the fall quarter, where they discussed topics that touch upon student retention, such as family dynamics, study abroad, secret study spots, and finding the right student organization to join. Throughout the year, we continue to build community among our IDEA Scholars through social activities, and their involvement with engineering diversity organizations as well as various programs like JUMP.

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JUMP Welcome

Jacobs Undergraduate Mentoring Program (JUMP) welcomed over 250 students and 80 mentors this year. Our student coordinators wanted to focus on maintaining the quality of our mentoring program this year, therefore, we decided to accept a decreased number of participants, compared to the previous year. The goal for 2018-19 is to provide an individualized experience with each event and each relationship. In the Fall, we rolled out a new initiative where students could play a more active role in the program early on by choosing their mentor (versus having them be assigned like in previous years). Undergraduate students could review a mentor bio online before the first Fall event, and later met their choices in-person and rank their preferences. This initiative got students invested in the program and the relationships they were building. It proved to be quite popular, and yielded the highest number of mentors to ever attend a single event. Our goal for the rest of the year is to continue to invest in our small mentor group experiences and decrease large group functions, to allow more personal and individualized experiences to take place.

TEAM Welcome

This year, we welcomed just shy of 100 transfer engineering students, including peer mentors, into the Transfer Engineering Academic Mentorship (TEAM) program. We look forward to building community with TEAM participants, and fostering the growth of our new transfer students during their transition to college. This year, we are focusing on providing more team-building and social activities that promote an inclusive and welcome environment to all engineering students by providing a space where students can encounter a range of networking opportunities to connect student to faculty or industry.

Sloan Scholars Welcome

It was with great excitement that we welcomed 12 new Sloan Scholars this year, five of them in engineering. These doctoral students will participate in a program supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support a University Center for Exemplary Mentoring at UC San Diego.

Rebecca Kandell, PhD in Bioengineering Jervaughn Hunter, PhD in Bioengineering Adrian Salguero, PhD in Computer Science Sergio Suarez, PhD in Structural Engineering Roya Karimian, PhD in Electrical Engineering This grant was recently renewed by the Sloan Foundation, so we are on track to welcome three more cohorts in the following academic years. Sloan continues to be a strong driving force in supporting URM students in STEM fields. The goal of this program is to support recruitment and retention of URM doctoral students in physical sciences and engineering. All 45 current Sloan Scholars, 23 of them in engineering programs, receive a professional development allowance and participate in various activities as a cohort. They are also matched with a peer mentor as well as a faculty mentor, who is independent from their research advisor.

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Strategic Plan

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2018-2021

IDEA Enginering Student Center

In Fall 2018, the IDEA Engineering Student Center launched its Strategic Plan for 2018-2021. In the next three years, we plan to focus our efforts on a) facilitating engineering student access to research opportunities in all six departments at the Jacobs School through a year-long research experience; b) implementing the Academic Achievement Program, which is aimed at creating a caring academic community that proactively communicates with students and provides time and opportunity for improvement; c) continuing to expand our Engineering Learning Communities (ELC) course offerings by including upper-division engineering courses; and d) joining the UC System’s ongoing FirstGen initiative by exploring ways to refocus existing IDEA Center programming to better support first-generation college students at the Jacobs School of Engineering.

In Fall 2018, we selected MAE 130A Mechanics 1: Statics for our pilot offering of ELCs to upper-division engineering courses. We are scheduled to launch the pilot for the Guided Engineering Apprenticeship in Research (GEAR) program to first-generation and low-income engineering students in their first and second year of undergraduate studies in Fall 2019. And we continue to ensure that students feel that they are supported to succeed in their engineering coursework by launching the Academic Achievement Program in Fall 2019. This program aims to provide students with timely feedback about their academic performance and actively connect them with programs and resources to support their academic success.

On November 8th, the IDEA Center launched its First-Gen Engineering initiative with a community reception to celebrate national first-generation day. This event provided a great opportunity for first-generation faculty and staff at the Jacobs School of Engineering to connect with our first-gen engineering students.

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INTRODUCING OUR IDEA STUDENT INTERNS SAMANTHA HOLLANDER Samantha designs marketing materials for IDEA Engineering Student Center programs and services. Together with Dan and Albert, Samantha also provides event and office support.

ALBERT PERALTA Albert designs marketing materials for IDEA Engineering Student Center programs and services. Together with Samantha and Dan, Albert also provides event and office support.

DAN TRUONG Dan designs and updates marketing materials for the IDEA Engineering Student Center’s programs and services.

Together with Albert and Samantha, Dan also provides event and office support.

MARIE PARIS Marie runs the social media accounts and designs marketing materials for IDEA Engineering Student Center in order to promote IDEA programs and services.

Together with Dan, Samantha, and Albert, Marie also provides event and office support.

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IDEA CENTER FACULTY BOARD

2018-2019

Pedro J. Cabrales Arevalo Bioengineering

Justin Opatkiewicz Nano Engineering

Bruce Wheeler Bioengineering

Christine Alvarado Computer Science & Engineering

Veronica Eliasson Structural Engineering

Tajana Rosing Computer Science & Engineering

Lelli Van Den Einde Structural Engineering

Curt Schurgers Electrical & Computer Engineering

Ratnesh Lal Mechanical Engineering

Saharnaz Baghdadchi Electrical & Computer Engineering

Janet Becker Mechanical Engineering

Ebonee Williams Gordon Center

Oscar Vazquez Nano Engineering

Karen Christman Dean’s Office

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oSTEM, SHPE, SWE, WiC An oSTEM

This year, oSTEM@UCSD was able to send 10 students to the 8th Annual oSTEM Conference in Houston, Texas from November 15-18, 2018. Students who attended found the conference to be significantly beneficial both personally and professionally. The oSTEM Conference also helped strengthen the UC San Diego oSTEM chapter immensely, offering invaluable resources, information, and benefits. Personally, students who attended the conference found it to be incredibly powerful Throughout the entirety of the conference, oSTEM, Inc. offered numerous identity-based workshops where individuals who identify with particular identities could form affinity groups, have discussions on navigating STEM spaces as a queer person, and offering resources and support. Some of the workshops offered that our members personally found especially helpful included Dear White People: Intersection of Race/Ethnicity and LGBTQIA+ Identity, Undoing Toxic Machismo in the Gay Latinx Community, Queer Womxn in STEM and Middle Sexualities Community Breakouts, and Intersectional Identities: Coming Out When You Already Stand Out.

SHPE

Of the 20 participants that attended this year’s conference, at least 8 participants mentioned that it was their first time attending the SHPE Convention, and 83% were able to receive an interview for either an internship or full-time job upon graduation. Some of these companies included Chevron, Cummins, General Electric, UTC Aerospace, and many others. One of SHPE UC San Diego’s members was able to land interviews for all of her dream companies, including Northrup Grumman, and Lockheed Martin. In addition, our 2017-2018 Outreach Co-Chair Allan Martinez received an offer on the spot during one of his interviews with Lockheed Martin!

“I felt very empowered seeing Hispanics in high positions giving their own workshops and speeches, knowing that they were able to make it and are still fighting for the rest of us to feel comfortable in a similar space.”

– SHPE 4th Year (First Time Conference Participant) To wrap up the convention, SHPE UC San Diego’s very own Maritza Sanchez (2nd Year PhD Student) was recognized as Graduate Student Role Model of the Year at the STAR Awards Gala. This award is presented to an active SHPE student member who has provided selfless and outstanding contributions to their SHPE student chapter and the Hispanic community, while at the same time, maintaining academic excellence. She is pictured here with her award, second from left.

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nnual Conference Highlights SWE

Thirteen members of the UC San Diego Sociey of Women Engineers chapter attended the 2018 SWE Annual Conference in Minneapolis.

When asked what their favorite part of the experience was, one of the students who attended the conference shared the following:

“My favorite part was seeing all the women engineers come together and support each other. The talks at the conference were very informative and inspirational and gave me insight into what my future as an engineer might look like. I also think that I was able to get closer with members of SWE UCSD through traveling and sharing new experiences.�

WiC

Overall all WIC members enjoyed the student-organized trip to the Grace Hopper Celebration and benefitted from the conference. Many were incredibly thankful to have been able to attend the conference, with some reporting that they now feel more confident in their abilities. All attendees additionally left the Grace Hopper Celebration with a sense of inspiration and courage.

They will remember that while women are a minority in tech, we all have the potential to increase diversity and create positive change in the industry.

Being surrounded by thousands of women in the tech industry shows us that we can succeed in such a male dominated industry.

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Professional Evening with Industry The 10th annual Professional Evening with Industry was held October 30th, 2018. This annual event served as an opportunity for UC San Diego chapter members of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Women in Computing (WIC), and Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM) to speak with various industry representatives and recruiters over dinner. Students were encouraged to ask industry representatives questions about their current role and responsibilities, career trajectory, and employer. Following the dinner, all students were encouraged to attend the second half of the event, which was a career fair for all students involved in the five diversity organizations.

Twenty-one companies participated in 2018 Professional Evening with Industry. Special thanks to corporate sponsors IBM and Cisco. This year, participation to the career fair was limited to members of the Diversity Organizations, which increased student engagement with company representatives. Additional changes were made to the agenda to facilitate more face time between students and representatives during dinner, providing an overall more engaging experience for all PEI participants.

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ENG 10 Project Showcase

Fifty-nine students took the “Fundamentals of Engineering Applications� course during the Fall 2018 quarter. Through the course, Freshmen and Transfer students get a handson introduction to engineering mathematics and design processes. Students learn to use Arduino and 3D printers as they prototype a product in the Envision Makerspace Studio to solve a real-world problem. Prototypes ranged from an egg incubator, to a backpack that alerts students to oncoming danger, to an apparatus that made steps towards turning sounds into images for art or accessibility.

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Graduate Student Recruitment

This year, our graduate recruiting efforts extended to: AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society), SACNAS (Society for Advancing Chicanxs, and Native Americans in Science), SWE (Society for Women Engineers), and SHPE (Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers) conferences. We were fortunate enough to speak to over 500 prospective graduate students from diverse backgrounds, give away amazing swag, fee waivers, and general information for the Jacobs School of Engineering and UC San Diego. We were welcomed warmly by each community, and played a small part in helping advance diversity, access and opportunities in our country.

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