Forum explores career choices for women in science, Feb. 10

Women engineers from industry and academia will speak about their career choices and offer advice on balancing work and family life at a Friday, Feb. 10, conference hosted by Princeton graduate students.
 
The Women in Science and Engineering Conference will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Friend Center Convocation Room.

The conference is sponsored by the student group Graduate Women in Science and Engineering (GWISE). Details and free registration are available online.

“This is an excellent opportunity for women in science and engineering to either find a mentor or to become one,” said Sonya Nikolova, a graduate student in computer science and an organizer of the event.

The conference will begin with a welcome address by Maria Klawe, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Panelists from industry include: Corinna Cortes, a research scientist at Google; Florence Hudson and Tal Rabin of IBM; Connie Crawford, senior vice president and chief engineer at New York City Transit; and Ann Von Lehman of Telcordia Technologies.

Princeton engineering professors Claire Gmachl, Naomi Leonard and Jennifer Rexford will talk about their experiences in academia, as will panelists from the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers and Columbia universities.

Conference organizers have invited undergraduate students from eight other colleges and universities in the region to attend the event. “We hope to encourage undergraduate women who have not yet chosen a major to consider science and engineering,” said Tara Troy, a graduate student in civil and environmental engineering.