Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering

Mary K. Hurd (BSCE 1947) encouraged the next generation of engineers as the keynote speaker for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) regional conference at Iowa State University March 3–5, 2006.

“She inspired us to not give up. It’s challenging to be the first in an area, but we should stick with it and just do what we enjoy,” says Iris Caldwell, conference co-chair and senior in environmental engineering from West Branch, Iowa. “We also need to be flexible and open to new opportunities.”

The conference covered topics such as technology and the environment, work-life balance, and investing. Networking opportunities were also provided.

Challenges

So, how do we increase the number of women in engineering?

“We need to give young girls and women the confidence to believe that they can do engineering. We need to give examples of women who have successfully balanced managing a home and a job, and we need women who have gotten a degree in engineering to go out in the workforce,” says Caldwell.

Hopefully, the 400 students and 100 professionals who attended the conference will be part of the solution. Iowa State has 70 SWE members.