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The Specialist
1 ST N OVEMBER 2012 F ALL 2012, I SSUE 4 D AISY W ANG P UBLICATIONS O FFICER

T HIS WEEK S S EMINAR WITH C HARLENE C HU

This week's seminar will be about what an MBA can do for your engineering degree. Our speaker is Charlene Chu. Charlene Chu is a currently a Director of Digital Marketing at Ford Direct, a JV between Ford Motor Co. and its dealer network. Previously she was a Project Leader at Boston Consulting Group, where she worked with industrial goods clients on strategy and operational improvements. Charlene's additional work experiences include Human Machine Interface (HMI) engineer at Ford Motor Co., and various internships at GE, Intel, and IBM. Her educational background includes a MBA from Wharton School of Business, and a BS & MS in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon. -Picture/statistics taken from http://www.mba.com/why-bschool/benefits-and-futurevalue.aspx

U PCOMING S EMINARS :

November the 15th, 2012 November the 29th, 2012 All Seminars Take Place Every Other Thursday at 6pm Swell Dinner and Dessert at Every Meeting! By swell, I mean great food and not pizza.

I NSIDE THIS ISSUE : A LUMNI C ORNER 2 SWE ETHEART C ORNER 3

S AVE T HE D ATE !
Paint the Rock: A SWEventure Friday, November 2nd, 2012 Girls Night Out Friday, November 2nd, 2012 Pioneer High School Visit Thursday, November 8th, 2012 Town Hall Meeting Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 Tour of Menlo Innovations Friday, November 16th, 2012
For more information check out SWE announcements or the SWE website at swe.engin.umich.edu.

D EAR D AISY S UE 4 T HE S OCIETY O F 4 W OMEN E NGINEERS

5 H ELPFUL T IPS FOR THE P REPARED E NGINEER E ARTH S YSTEMS E NGINEERING SWE ET P UZZLES 6 7

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S WEETHEART C ORNER
Nominator: Emily Carroll: I would like to nominate Ethan Eagle as a SWEetheart! He attended our first subcom- During my PhD, I was a member of mittee and offered some great ideas. the Michigan Men's Glee Club. Their fall concert is coming up Nov 17th at Hill, and if you've never been you should definitely check them out! Recently, I've become involved with the SAPAC Men's Activism ET HEART program, where I do educational outreach to help prevent intimate partner violence. If you want to get involves, our next Ally Training is Nov 11th! Nominee: Name: W. Ethan Eagle Year: Post-Graduate Major: Aerospace Engineering, PhD If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why? If I could do anything, I think it would be interesting to have the power to teach animals (like my cat, Professor Scratches!) the ability to use language. The development of humanity crucially depended on our ability to communicate ideas, not just the thing itself. How cool What is your favorite hobby, extracurricular activity, or interest (after SWE, of course!)? would it be to watch or help another species evolve to do that? What do you like best about Ann Arbor? The city has an awesomely urban feel for a town of only 100k people. It's great that you can take a bus or walk almost everywhere. I think the unique character of Ann Arbor derives from the shops and eateries, like Zingerman's and Ashley's, that you can only find here in Michigan. Congratulations, Ethan!

H OW DO I GET THAT SWE ET B UTTON ?

As an new incentive to explore some of the variety of opportunities that SWE has to offer, youll get a button that looks like this when you become an Active Members in SWE. (An Active Member in SWE is a member who has earned 7+ points during this semester.)

If you are currently an Active Member, please see Andrea Berkemeier after the seminar or stop by the SWE office to pick up your button

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Please submit questions, I would really like this column to guests in your party; for example 2 people dining receive a discount be a success. I will also accept handwritten questions in my of 50% off, 3 people dining 33% off, 4 people dining 25% off and so on. mailbox! You can be as anonymous as you want. Dear Daisy Sue, My 21st birthday is coming up and I have heard a lot of random things about birthday specials around Ann Arbor. It is kind of difficult to keep track of, so I was wondering if you have personally partaken in any of these festivities and which ones would you recommend? -BirthdayBaby Dear Birthday Baby, What a surprise, my birthday is today so Ill put my personal list here :)
Good Time Charley's: Buy one, get one free meal. Free Shot on your 21st birthday Blue Tractor: Free dessert, logo glass and a $10 gift certificate for your next visit (expires in 1 month). Requires purchase of an entree. Bubble Island: Free medium-sized bubble tea or medium fro-yo. Cafe Zola: Free dessert crepe with purchase of an entree Cupcake Station: Free mini cupcake on your birthday Jolly Pumpkin: Free dessert (anything but chocolate flight) plus $10 gift card (expires in 1 month). Requires entree purchase. Stucchi's: Buy one, get one free single scoop of ice cream The Blue Leprechaun: Free shot on your birthday

Angelo's: 50% off entree with the purchase of a second entree. TeaHaus: Free small or large brewed tea of your choice. Chop House: *Offer only available on your birthday with valid ID Have fun!
driver's license. Offer only extends to the food portion of the bill (tax, gratuity and alcohol are excluded) and is based on the number of

-Daisy Sue

T HE S OCIETY OF W OMEN E NGINEERS , E STABLISHED IN 1950

More than sixty years ago, when women identified themselves by their marital status, and newspaper help wanted ads placed employment opportunities into separate categories for men and women, a group of more than sixty pioneering women engineers and engineering students gathered to build a national organization. They met in New Jersey, at The Cooper Union's Green Engineering Camp, on May 27-28, 1950 to officially form the Society of Women Engineers, and to make their way into a profession that did not necessarily welcome them. They did so not out of a desire to agitate or to rock the boat, but rather because they wanted the opportunity to develop their abilities, to give expression to their potential, to contribute to society. They were women who swam against the tide of their time. When a survey of women engineers was conducted in 1919, there were only 139 known women engineerGroups of women engineers and ing or architecture students in U.S. history. women engineering students had been meetThe labor shortage during the Second World ing informally in New York, Philadelphia, War did lead some women to explore engiBoston, and Washington, D.C. They underneering and pursue technical careers. Howevstood the value of sharing encouragement and er, when SWE was founded far less than one information; of the strength that comes from percent of working engineers were women, solidarity with like-minded peers. And they many employers remained skeptical of their knew that as a group they could accomplish abilities, and the general public still considso much more that isolated individuals to ered engineering to be a masculine profession make large-scale change, to open the halls of unsuitable for women. engineering to women. Since its founding, SWE has focused its efforts on introducing young women to careers in engineering, demonstrating to employers and the public the critical role women engineers play in creative teams, and providing support to women engineers as they advance in their careers.

-Article brought to you by http://

societyofwomenengineers.swe.org

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H ELPFUL T IPS FOR THE P REPARED E NGINEER

1. Identify the people who inspire you, and find out what makes them tick. If you love Apple products, Steve Jobs may be your idol, or perhaps you love the Segway and its creator, Dean Kamen. You can easily find out a lot of information about Jobs and Kamen or just about any other prominent person in technologyso use it to look into what's helped these people and their companies become so successful. Then emulate their good traits in your personal, scholastic, and professional life. 2. Develop a portfolio of projects. Participate in every hands-on, experiential learning opportunity that a balanced schedule allows. This way, you'll have something unique to show a prospective employer (or venture capitalist) when you graduate, while other students will only be able to list their courses. In addition, you'll be far more likely to retain the knowledge you've gained in classes because you'll be applying it and, in the process, boosting your communication and interpersonal skills. 7. Take a business class. As an engineer, it's not enough for you to be technically proficient; you need to have business savvy. If you're going to be a leader, you need to understand what a P&L is (also known as an income statement), read organization charts, know how to negotiate contracts, and be familiar with the myriad other functions that every top engineer needs to know. Otherwise, you won't understand what to do when an accountant, lawyer, or middle manager gets in the way. A business course or two can take you a long way, and these classes are often easier to pass than your calculus course!

8. Take design and other humanities classes. There's a wide world out there beyond problem sets, laboratories, and theory. Take a visual design course so you'll learn to represent ideas graphically. Take a cognitive science course to learn how people interpret the world and understand it. Take a literature course to develop your knowledge and appreciation of the classic books, which will help you write and communicate more effectively. 3. Learn the value of networking. When it comes to being a 5-Star Tip. Tomorrow's leaders will have to communicate leader, whom you know is almost as important as what you know. effectively across international borders and be familiar with other Attend lectures on your campus and introduce yourself to the speak- cultures, so develop some proficiency in another language, travel ers. Check with your school's alumni association to get a list of alumni abroad, or meet students from other cultures. Start "globalizing" from your program who want to connect with undergraduates. right at college. 4-Star Tip. In addition to E-mail, you can use LinkedIn or other social media tools to connect online. But remember: There's no 9. Make your summers productive. Employers place tresubstitute for a traditional, face-to-face meeting, so if you can find a mendous value on practical experience. Seek out internship opportuway to meet in person, that's always the best. nities actively and early in your academic career. Try to demonstrate through your internships a series of evolving leadership experiences, 4. Work in teams as much as you can. Whether it's creating and use the internships to build your portfolio of actual projects/ a solar-powered car, participating in a sport, or writing for the school products. New graduates who can show a commitment to using their paper, get involved with an organization that requires a team effort to summer to continue to learn are always viewed more seriously by a produce great results. Throughout your career, you can be sure you'll prospective employer. work in teams, and the skills you develop in school will help prepare you to lead teams when you graduate. 10. Recruit and develop your personal b oard of d irectors. As an undergraduate, you might feel alone when con5. Seek informal leadership roles. You're always a leader, fronted with hard decisions about the courses to take, jobs to apply whether you're officially in charge of a team or not. Sounds counter- for, or even balancing school work and your personal life. You won't intuitive, but you can lead from any position in an organization by feel alone if you develop a personal board of directors just for you. influencing how people work together and how they make decisions. Just as a company has a board that guides the organization, you can Usually people think that the leader is the president or the manager, stock your board with professionals from organizations and compabut if you learn how to recognize and deal with various leadership nies, as well as former teachers and knowledgeable family friends. styles from any position in a team, you'll be seen as a leader when you Extra Pointer. Be sure to "nurture" your board of directake on your first job or internship. tors: Keep in touch with them, provide them regular updates, ask them for guidance, and be sure to thank them for any help they pro6. Find your flawsand fix them. As with any skill, leader- vide. And don't be afraid of conflicting advice. If members offer difship needs constant improvement. When you are part of a team, try ferent suggestions, you'll have the occasion to balance off one idea to create a way to get feedback from team members, group leaders, against another and make your own decisionjust like at a real comand professors. When you have concrete feedback on how people pany. view you, you can work to improve your skills, including communication and leadership. Plus, you'll learn how to acceptand give -Article Taken from USNEWS.com constructive criticism. That's absolutely necessary for your future career.

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PLEASE W RITE FOR THE SPECIALIST ! T HIS WEEK I HAD 0 SUBMISSIONS !

Hello There, Have you ever considered becoming an author? Sharing innovative ideas? Sharing a recipe? Talking about something completely random like the origin of the toaster? Submit an article to the Specialist! Submissions can be original or taken from somewhere else so long as you cite your sources. If you are unsure what to write about or submit, check out the past Specialists online in the archives or email me for ideas! I am open to all forms of creativity and everyones voice should always be heard. The Specialist is published every seminar, so there are many opportunities to be published. One of the best parts is that you can even earn SWE points from your submissions, ranging from .5 to 2 points (with a max of 3), depending on how long your article is. Please submit articles by the Monday night of any seminar week. If you have any questions regarding submissions or the Specialist in general, email Daisy Wang, Publications Officer, at daiswang@umich.edu.

ENGINEERING IN THE WORLD TODAY :

How will genetic science change how medicines are made?

M EDICINE

proach are in place for some diseases. Variants of a gene linked to breast cancer, for instance, can foretell a womans likely susceptibility Human DNA contains more than 20,000 genes, all of which to developing or surviving the disease, a helpful guide for taking preare stored in our cells' nuclei. A gene is a strand of chemical code, a ventive measures. In certain cases of breast cancer, the production of sort of blueprint for proteins and other substances necessary for life. a particular protein signals a more aggressive form of the disease that Cells make those molecules according to the genetic blueprints. might be more effectively controlled with the drug Herceptin. Each persons overall blueprint is basically the same, made Still, multiple challenges remain in the quest for a wideup of about 3 billion letters of code, each letter corresponding to a spread effective system of personalized medicine. They will be adchemical subunit of the DNA molecule. But subtle variants in about 1 dressed by the collaborative efforts of researchers from many discipercent of our DNA often the result of just a single chemical letter plines, from geneticists to clinical specialists to engineers. being different give humans their individual identities. What are the benefits of personalized medicine? Beyond physical appearance, genes give rise to distinct chemistries in various realms of the body and brain. Such differences Ultimately, the personalization of medicine should have sometimes predispose people to particular diseases, and some dramat- enormous benefits. It ought to make disease (and even the risk of ically affect the way a person will respond to medical treatments. disease) evident much earlier, when it can be treated more successfully or prevented altogether. It could reduce medical costs by identifyIdeally, doctors would be able to diagnose and treat people ing cases where expensive treatments are unnecessary or futile. It will based on those individual differences, a concept commonly referred reduce trial-and-error treatments and ensure that optimum doses of to as personalized medicine. At its core, personalized medicine is medicine are applied sooner. Most optimistically, personalized mediabout combining genetic information with clinical data to optimally cine could provide the path for curing cancer, by showing why some tailor drugs and doses to meet the unique needs of an individual papeople contract cancer and others do not, or how some cancer patient. Eventually, personalized medicine will be further informed by tients survive when others do not. detailed understanding of the bodys distinct repertoire of proteins (proteomics) and complete catalog of biochemical reactions Of course, a transition to personalized medicine is not with(metabolomics). out its social and ethical problems. Even if the technical challenges can be met, there are issues of privacy when unveiling a persons unique Personalized medicine, writes Lawrence Lesko of the biological profile, and there will likely still be masses of people U.S. Food and Drug Administration, can be viewed . . . as a comprethroughout the world unable to access its benefits deep into the cenhensive, prospective approach to preventing, diagnosing, treating, tury. and monitoring disease in ways that achieve optimal individual healthcare decisions. (Article pulled from from http://www.engineeringchallenges.org ) Already, some aspects of the personalized medicine ap-

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N OTES :

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE:

All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me...You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. -Walt Disney