Thursday, January 19, 2006

The Engineer in Paris I started this post last week (it's now 1/24/06 as I write) on something completely different but by the time I got back to it I changed my mind.  So, till I get my thoughts on that topic straight, here's some information on the International Institute of Women in Engineering.  IIWE is currently taking applications for its summer institute, "Women Engineers:  Pushing for Sustainability".  June 30-July 21, 2006.  From their announcement: The IIWE summer seminars are for students who are either currently undertaking their engineering studies or are recent graduates.  During three weeks we look at numerous non technical topics that directly impact on today’s engineers: ethics, standards, communication techniques, cultural diversity, work/life balance, etc.  But we also have industrial visits, where we spend complete days at our sponsors’ sites: IBM France, Schlumberger and EADS.  Participants get a chance to talk to practicing women engineers and get a feel for what it’s really like to be “out there” on the job.  In the process, IIWE members form their own professional and personal network that they will use for their entire lives.  This year a special accent is again placed on sustainability.  We’ll be looking at what women engineers are doing worldwide in this field and we’ll also see how their efforts can tie into the IIWE’s own multidisciplinary NCHP activity: The Nile Countries Hydro-management Project aims at transforming the role of women in the ten Nile basin countries from the water carriers to the water managers.  This project touches virtually every engineering and scientific field as well as a multitude of non technical disciplines.   It is of interest to all; for more information visit here.      The IIWE is open to all engineering fields, all nationalities, races, religions, political orientations and... to men!  Please join us, you won’t regret it. The IIWE is an intense program but as participants are housed in the heart of Paris, they can take advantage of this wonderful city during the off-hours.  For complete program details, please see our website. Important:  if applicants need visas to enter France, please inform them that the process can now take up to 4 months. I checked the link supplied in the announcement for the program details website, and got redirected to here.  The seminar fee is 600 euros (about $737 USD at today's exchange rates) but this does not include most meals or transportation to/from France.  It does include lodging, some lunches, and all seminar materials.  That seems like a pretty reasonable price.  I suppose you could live quite well on bread and cheese in France for three weeks if you needed to scrimp on meals.  Geez, I'd like the opportunity to live on bread and cheese in Paris for three weeks.  Doesn't anyone want to sponsor me?  Oh, wait, I'm too far along in my career for this seminar.  Doggone you graduate students, you get all the fun. Anyone who really wants to go but has no idea how they can afford this trip - I suggest contacting a local engineering firm and asking if they want to sponsor a bright and enterprising engineer on her quest to learn more about global issues in engineering.  Well, you may want to check with your university's foundation or development office first.  You don't want to step on their toes in fundraising.  But they may be able to direct you to someone - an alum at some firm - who could champion your request.  Find out who is the engineering officer at the development office and contact them directly.  Don't just ask the person who directs phone calls.  Also, check with your college dean to find out if they have any discretionary funds to support your trip.  What about a student or local professional SWE chapter?  Do not be afraid to ask for money.  If you don't, the answer is no.  If you ask, it may still be no - but it could be yes!       10:50:02 AM    comment [] trackback [] The Woman Scientist Paradox There's a wonderful post on Snakes by Echidne on the subject of paradoxes.  Here's a quote on the feminist paradox: The third paradox I want to write about is the all-powerfulness and insignificance of feminism. Feminists, those evil, hairy and manless shrews. They are all-powerful. They have destroyed everything that we hold dear: the family, the military, the labor markets, the Western civilization. Their power is felt everywhere, though hidden from sight. Even when conservatives run this country they are really just abject slaves of feminists. Pick any crime you can think of, and feminists are the guilty party. They are even to blame for blow jobs! Scary, scary feminists! Tremble, you poor wingnuts. But at the same time feminists are nothing! Nobody takes them seriously! They are a sorry lot, manless and ugly and nobody invited them to the prom. And they haven't gotten laid for centuries. Besides all that, feminism is deader than the doornail. NO! It's all over the place, swarming upon us, drowning out the the strong voices of masculinity, weakening and corrupting the culture! Making Men into Mice! NO! Feminists are the laughing-stock everywhere. Nobody takes them seriously. Nature is not a feminist and nature can't be denied! God is not a feminist and God can't be denied! The feminist experiment is therefore doomed to failure but never stop fighting it, because if you do they might win! This is so beautiful; I wish I'd written it.  But I didn't.  So I'll just add my 2 cents.  Call it the paradox of the woman scientist. Women don't have the math skills to do good science.  No, they do, but they'd rather stay home with their babies.  Women who want to do science are ugly, poorly-dressed, man-hating dykes.  Women who want to do science are so cute!  How can you take them seriously when women are just so adorable.  They distract men from their work by their mere presence. If women were such great scientists, they'd already be working at MIT/Cal Tech/Harvard.  But no, women are being hired preferentially over men, and taking over the faculty.  And then, my very favorite paradox relating to women scientists:  We are really committed to diversity because science and engineering need the talents of women if we are to remain competitive in this global marketplace.  We just don't want to lower standards. Not quite as eloquent as Echidne, but there's my modest effort.  Just for the record:  Zuska, Goddess of Science, Empress of Engineering, was not asked to the prom; she asked a boy to her prom.  And she got laid just this morning.  By a man.    9:09:54 AM    comment [] trackback []

© Copyright 2006 Suzanne E. Franks. Last update: 2/6/2006; 4:05:48 PM.

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