Download - WECE newsletter 2011-2012
WOMEN IN ECE
ALUMNAE NEWSLETTER
Time flies. Another year of exciting and fun events of WECE
has passed. This is an excellent way of keeping in touch with
ECE alumnae who would love to reminisce and watch WECE
grow. I would like to make you aware of how this unique,
supportive organization for Women in ECE is one of the most
active organizations in the ECE department at Georgia Tech.
My vision as WECE president this year was very simple: “Make
it as much fun as possible by lining up non-stop events and
involve as many members as possible in all the fun events.”
This comprises of arranging weekly workshops to organizing
monthly social events for the entire ECE department. It has
definitely been a very busy year. WECE was founded 8 years ago as an excellent support
organization for the women in ECE as they pursue their
academic and professional goals. I am pleased to share the
most exciting news with you: WECE has been recognized as a
5-star organization by the Presidents Council Governing
Board at Georgia Tech’s Up with the White and Gold
Ceremony this year. This is a mark of how WECE has grown
so much over the past couple of years. WECE strives to maintain its established yearly traditions.
We continue to host weekly workshops ranging from
registration workshops to help students pick out classes to
corporate information sessions and interview workshops.
Moreover, we invited Nicole Rennalls(WECE President 08-09)
to address WECE members as a friend, recruiter and mentor.
Letter Letter Letter Letter ffffromromromrom the Presidentthe Presidentthe Presidentthe President Inside tInside tInside tInside this Issuehis Issuehis Issuehis Issue
Letter from the President & Halloween 1
Thanksgiving Feast & Winter Wonderland 2
Giving Back, Valentine’s & Lecture Series 3
Pool Party & Doughnut Fridays 4
Our collaborative events with organizations like HKN,
IEEE, SWE, Women@CoC, Women’s resource center, and
WIE have contributed to the size and number of our
social events this year like the Pool Party, Holiday Party,
Rock Climbing, Company information sessions,
Halloween Party. WECE recently hosted a T-shirt Design
contest and received some wonderful entries to choose a
student-made design for T-shirts next year. It has been a great experience working with future
leaders, prospective members, and alumnae of WECE.
Please consider being on our alumnae e-mail list to
receive semester updates of WECE and alumnae activities
by e-mailing [email protected]@[email protected]@ece.gatech.edu. We would also love
to get feedback on what you would like to see in future
newsletters and events. Kudos to the women in ECE on
keeping the organization growing! Sincerely, Prabha Viswanathan President, WECE 2011-12
Spr ing 2012 Newslet ter , Volume 2, I s sue 1 June 04, 2012
Zombies, Mummies, and Jackets…Oh my!Zombies, Mummies, and Jackets…Oh my!Zombies, Mummies, and Jackets…Oh my!Zombies, Mummies, and Jackets…Oh my!
By Anya Skomorokhova
Vice President
This year’s Halloween party was a collaborative event with
the Society of Women Engineers. The event featured several
contests and mini games. The two main contests were the
pumpkin carving contest and the costume contest, from
which the winners received an Amazon Kindle and an iPod
Nano. The mini games featured different miniature contests
such as trivia, mummy wrapping, and food eating. The
winners of these games received additional raffle tickets to
increase their chances of winning some of the other prizes,
such as a new HP backpack.
Party guests await costume judgingParty guests await costume judgingParty guests await costume judgingParty guests await costume judging at the Halloween Party.at the Halloween Party.at the Halloween Party.at the Halloween Party.
Page 2 WECE Alumnae Newsletter
Winter WonderlandWinter WonderlandWinter WonderlandWinter Wonderland
By Sahithya Dinakar
Treasurer
The Thanksgiving in November of 2011 was celebrated by
WECE during their general meeting on the 17th of November,
the week before Thanksgiving break. The event consisted of
a traditional Thanksgiving feast - turkey, gravy and stuffing
- open to all WECE members. It was a very holiday-family
atmosphere with members enjoying each others company
along with the buffet. The event successfully created a
festive atmosphere for the students away from home. The
idea and theme was so widely appreciated that WECE
organized another similar event in their next general
meeting, the week after Thanksgiving break!
The girls take a break from skating to pose at CentennThe girls take a break from skating to pose at CentennThe girls take a break from skating to pose at CentennThe girls take a break from skating to pose at Centennial Park.ial Park.ial Park.ial Park.
EXECUTIVE OFFICERSEXECUTIVE OFFICERSEXECUTIVE OFFICERSEXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Prabha ViswanathanPrabha ViswanathanPrabha ViswanathanPrabha Viswanathan
President
Anya SkomorokhovaAnya SkomorokhovaAnya SkomorokhovaAnya Skomorokhova
Vice President
Erin HansonErin HansonErin HansonErin Hanson
Secretary
Kira YKira YKira YKira Yang(Fall)ang(Fall)ang(Fall)ang(Fall)
Kavya Kavya Kavya Kavya NimmagaddaNimmagaddaNimmagaddaNimmagadda(Spring)(Spring)(Spring)(Spring)
Publicity Chair
Sahithya DinakarSahithya DinakarSahithya DinakarSahithya Dinakar
Treasurer
Jessica BlockJessica BlockJessica BlockJessica Block
Webmistress
Christine KhoChristine KhoChristine KhoChristine Kho
Historian
Yuvika RajanYuvika RajanYuvika RajanYuvika Rajan
Graduate Vice President
Alyse TaylorAlyse TaylorAlyse TaylorAlyse Taylor
Graduate Liaison
JanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuary
ECE Career Fair
FLL Lego Tournament
Ice Skating
What Not to Wear
FebruaryFebruaryFebruaryFebruary
Valentines’ Day Craft
Dr. McClellan DSP Talk
Professor Marilyn Wolf
Engineer’s Week
MarchMarchMarchMarch
Harris Presentaion
Tina Payne from DoPP
Professor Muhannad Makir
Union Pacific Presentation
AprilAprilAprilApril
Eaton Presentation
Pool Party with SWE
Registration Workshop
Up with White and Gold
What we have been up to…What we have been up to…What we have been up to…What we have been up to…
Thanksgiving FeastThanksgiving FeastThanksgiving FeastThanksgiving Feast
By Christine Kho
Treasurer
Although the weather didn’t bring snow to Atlanta
this year, the members of WECE managed to find a way
to have winter fun. The girls headed over to Centennial
Olympic Park’s outdoor ice skating rink for a night of
friends and relaxation zooming around on skates.
Everyone was excited to get out on the ice. Those who
had never skated before found new friends who helped
pull them to their feet and taught them to use their
momentum for speed. We had a big turn-out and
everyone had a really great time.
Giving BackGiving BackGiving BackGiving Back
WECE has participated in several community service
events this school year. Our first major event was TEAM
Buzz on October 22, 2011 which stands for Tech
Enhancing the Atlanta Metropolitan area. It is an annual
campus wide community service event that sponsors
several volunteer projects to be done on the same day in
the Atlanta Metro area. This year WECE
participated by helping to clean up and plant around
Kirkwood Urban Forest Park.
We also participated in Tech Beautification day, another
campus wide community service event. It is an opportunity
to serve the campus through a combination of general
cleanup and landscaping the grounds of campus. This year
WECE worked to plant bushes and spread pine in the
garden in front of the Klaus Advanced Computing Building.
It was very rewarding to enhance the garden in which many
WECE members pass by every day.
Our last major service event was the WECE annual
Medshare volunteer day on April 6, 2012. MedShare is a
nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the
environment and healthcare through the efficient recovery
and redistribution of surplus medical supplies and
equipment to underserved healthcare facilities in
developing countries. For the past couple years, WECE has
dedicated a day to go and volunteer at the local Medshare
office. This year we were able to help by repairing medical
equipment.
Page 3WECE Alumnae Newsletter
By Alyse Taylor
Graduate Liason
The WECE girls are ready to break ground.The WECE girls are ready to break ground.The WECE girls are ready to break ground.The WECE girls are ready to break ground.
WECE LoveWECE LoveWECE LoveWECE Love
WECE celebrates Valentine’s Day every year by holding a
Craft Center workshop on a general meeting prior to
Valentine’s Day. This year, we had about 15 girls join the
officers at the Craft center and get creative with glitter,
glue, sharpies and colorful cards. Some officers made
special cards for all the advisers in the ECE department.
This is WECE’s special way of thanking the ECE department
for being so supportive to our organization’s cause since 8
years. We also had a Valentines’ day table at the Van Leer
lobby on Valentine’s Day for students to drop by. Students
could pick cards or make some cards on the spot. The
Craft Center supported this workshop by providing all the
decorations and supplies.
By Prabha Viswanathan
President
ECE ECE ECE ECE ProfessionProfessionProfessionProfession SeriesSeriesSeriesSeries
This semester WECE hosted a ECE Profession Series.
We’ve had several faculty present research, curriculum
changes, and overall thoughts on life to not only women
ECE students but all ECE students. The series was a
wonderful success. Not only has it brought students in
contact with professors, but the professors enjoy feedback
as well. This spring semester we were lucky to hear from
Professor James McClellan, Professor Marilyn Wolf, and
Professor Greg Durgin. Dr. McClellan gave a spectacular
talk about the direction of Digital Signal Processing and
ways for students to keep up with what is new and exciting
in engineering technology. Dr. Marilyn Wolf presented on
Embedded Computing Systems and VLSI Systems. Dr. Greg
During gave a deep and moving talk on the direction of E-
Mag, whether or not a PhD is right for you, and if it is,
what to do with it after you accomplish it. We will wrap up
the series with a talk about 3D IC Technology by Professor Muhannad Bakir.
By Jessica Block
Webmistress
WECE Alumnae Newsletter Page 4
Pool Party!Pool Party!Pool Party!Pool Party!
By Kavya Nimmagadda
Publicity Chair
The pool party was so much fun! It was at the Crawford
Leisure pool at the CRC and sponsored by WECE and SWE.
There was a ton of delicious BBQ, good music and fun
games. And who doesn't love a good swim? I don't think I
could ever get sick of the humongous slide. More
importantly, it was really nice to mingle with other
engineering girls and commiserate about the Tech
experience. The pool party was a really good way to relax
after a rough week as well as a great way to end the
semester. Hopefully, this will become an annual tradition!
Doughnut FridaysDoughnut FridaysDoughnut FridaysDoughnut Fridays
By Yuvika Rajan
Graduate Vice President
Every Friday, we have dozens of doughnuts stacked on a
table on the 3rd floor of Van Leer for ECE students who are
in the Thank-God-It's-Friday spirit. Trudging through
every academic week at Georgia Tech is a challenge in
more ways than one and this event is our way of
appreciating students for their hard work each week. What
better way to steer an around-the-table discussion
between faculty and students than hot Coffee and fresh
Doughnuts?! WECE collaborates with HKN and IEEE to promote interaction between multiple student groups.
Rock Climbing!Rock Climbing!Rock Climbing!Rock Climbing!
By Prabha Viswanathan
President
Rock Climbing was this year’s team building activity. It
is a strenuous task. All the sporty ECE girls tried their best
to reach the top of the Rock Climbing wall at the CRC. It
was a good work out and a good Friday evening break as
well. This event was collaborated with the Women’s
Resource Center. It was a free event and a very good
opportunity to test your health and physique. WECE played
a part in enforcing how health is the primary most
important thing to take care of in life!
Prabha ViswanathanPrabha ViswanathanPrabha ViswanathanPrabha Viswanathan Kavya Kavya Kavya Kavya NimmagaddaNimmagaddaNimmagaddaNimmagadda(Spring)(Spring)(Spring)(Spring) Christine KhoChristine KhoChristine KhoChristine Kho
President Publicity Chair Historian
Anya Anya Anya Anya SkomorokhovaSkomorokhovaSkomorokhovaSkomorokhova Sahithya DinakarSahithya DinakarSahithya DinakarSahithya Dinakar Yuvika RajanYuvika RajanYuvika RajanYuvika Rajan
Vice President Treasurer Graduate Vice President
Erin HansonErin HansonErin HansonErin Hanson Jessica BlockJessica BlockJessica BlockJessica Block Alyse TaylorAlyse TaylorAlyse TaylorAlyse Taylor
Secretary Webmaster Graduate Liaison
Kira Yang(Fall)Kira Yang(Fall)Kira Yang(Fall)Kira Yang(Fall)
Publicity Chair
WECE Faculty/Staff Advisers: Dr. Leyla Conrad, Ms. Nirvana EdwardsWECE Faculty/Staff Advisers: Dr. Leyla Conrad, Ms. Nirvana EdwardsWECE Faculty/Staff Advisers: Dr. Leyla Conrad, Ms. Nirvana EdwardsWECE Faculty/Staff Advisers: Dr. Leyla Conrad, Ms. Nirvana Edwards
OfficerOfficerOfficerOfficer SpotlightSpotlightSpotlightSpotlight 2011201120112011----2012201220122012