Volume 1, Issue No.2. November 201a

Clean Energy ., + Empowennent

C3Ealso includes a network of leaders from the public, private, non-profit, andacademic sectors who support advocacy, research, scholarships, hands-on training,funding, and networking opportunities to prepare and inspire young women toenter and thrive in STEMfields. C3ENetwork participants have pledged many typesof commitments, from highlighting female role models to creating hands-onactivities for young girls.

Ongoing activities include:• Filming and featuring women in dean energy fields on online ITV outlets(Earth Day Network);

• Designing pilot projects and expanding Young Women's Conferences at DOE'snational labs (Princeton Plasma Physics Lab);

• Expanding the number of women invited as reviewers and committee members atnational research forums (Maxine Savitz, National Academy of Engineering);

• Speaking publicly about the importance of getting more women involved in theclean energy sector (Ginger Lew at APEC.Betty Shanahan at the World Federationof Engineering Organizations event in Argentina, Kristina Johnson in severalpublic places);

• Sponsoring events on women, climate, and clean energy at the Conference of theParties 16 in Cancun (Earth Day Network and UN Foundation);

• Assessing government programs for opportunities to expand energy componentsor female enrollment (Ellen Ochoa at NASA);

• Working with national girls' organizations to create dean energy projects(Natalie Givans, Booz Allen / Girl Scouts);

• Expanding menta ring programs and online menta ring platforms with an eye forclean energy and women (Simil Raghavan, Engineer Girl and Natalie Givans,Booz Allen); ete.

We always encourage new commitments and activities to promote the advancementof women in the clean energy sector!

Participating governments (Australia, Denmark, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, UnitedArab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States) are involved in a) creatingfellowships I scholarships to support women pursuing energy-technology relatedstudies at the university or graduate level; b) establishing exchanges foryoung womenwith research interests in renewable energy technology; and c) facilitating internshipsfor young women in the summer of 2011, hosted by private sector firms and matchedwith strong female mentors.

The goal ofC3E is to ensure that women play an active role in the clean energyrevolution and contribute to the creation of new technologies. To achieve this visionrequires closing the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics(STEM) education.

In This Issue C3E Activities

Links to Check Out

Interview with Miesha Brooks, High School Intern contributing to C3E

Miesha is a junior at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School inWashington, DC. As part of her school's work study program,she interns at the Department of Energy (DOE).AmandaQuinones, who oversees the interns, explains more aboutthe program: 'The Don Bosco Corporate Work Study Programprovides talented high school students opportunities to gainlife skills through on-the-job training. Committed students,like Miesha, have contributed greatly to the efficiency of ouroffice. We are lucky to have such a great group of students:'

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One of Miesha's internship responsibilities is to conduct research for C3Eon womenand underrepresented groups in STEMfields. OE's Acting Director, Laura Bacon,recently informed Miesha's supervisors about her high-quality work: "Miesha justsent me her preliminary research work on women and underrepresented groups inSTEM.It is excellent work, and I'm extremely impressed and pleased! Her researchskills far exceed what I'd expect from someone in high school, and she alsosummarized each study she found in a really concise and helpful way:'

For more on Miesha, please read our interview with her below:

Who are your role models?

My Mom is definitely my main role model. She's persistent and never letscircumstances or people hold her back from what she wants to do with her life. I lookup to her character.

What do you like most about your high school?

Don Bosco Cristo Rey's sole purpose for being built is to help urban teens get tocollege. My school is nearly a freebie if you're planning for college. The teacher-student ratio is great if you need one-on-one time to figure out something difficulttaught in class or learn about picking a college.

What have you learned while interning at DOE?

From working in the Office of Minority Economic Impact, I've that learned that thereare a lot of grants and scholarships to help a multitude of college-bound teens.

What has surprised you about DOE and this internship?

What really shocked me about the internship is my increased interest in engineering.I love science, but at a young age I subconsciously started believing that engineeringwas either working under a car or staring at a board with numbers for the rest of youriife. That's where I~and many of my peers-eliminated engineering from my list ofinterests. It wasn't until I came to intern here that I realized that I was ill-informed. Ilearned designing and building your own mechanical creations looked, to mydisbelief, fun. My curiosity for this somewhat elusive subject began to grow, and Isoon found out that engineering can help a lot of people, which is one of the mainthings I want to do with my life.

What do you want to be when yougrow up, and why?

When I grow up I want to be an arttherapist, a writer, and I've beenpondering having a backup inmechanical engineering. With myaffection for art and psychology, arttherapy was an obvious choice for me. Itcombines my art and psychology skillswith my willingness to help people. Asfor writing, I've been writing stories andpoems since age nine. Writing has beenlike air to me: I need it, enjoy it, and can'tthink of living without it. No matter whatgreat things I achieve in life, I'll alwaysrefer to myself as a writer. Withmechanical engineering, I couldcombine my creativity and ability to seelittle details and see the big picture. Thecountry could use engineers who thinkcreatively, not just solemn math loverswho think in straight lines. Also, there's alower chance you'll be laid off in engi-neering. With all the news onlay-offs, it's a smart move to get aback-up career just in case.

In your opinion, what can teachersand programs do to prepare andinspire more underrepresentedminorities, including girls, for STEMfields?

In my opinion, teachers should firstinform their students that engineering isnot about being perfect at numbers orbeing covered head-to-toe in car oil.Students need to know that you canapply your creativity and what you knowfrom past experiences. Students alsodon't have to be the number-one test.taker in the school or have a brain equalto a state-of-the-art calculator. Most ofaU,what they truly need isencouragement. Of the kids I've met,they were repelled away from STEMright in the classroom. Teachers can havemore hands-on projects to make

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As for her commitments to C3E,they arebold and plentiful. One pledge involvesan organization that she and anotherMIT alumnus founded: the Energy,Environment, and SustainabilityCommittee of the MIT alumniassociation. Under the C3E banner, shehopes to create more mentorship andcareer guidance opportunities throughthis group for MIT grads consideringentering the clean energy sector.

Givans has mentored beyond Booz Allenwith two formal mentoringorganizations, MentorNet and theDepartment of Labor's GEM-SET,whofocus on women and underrepresentedminorities as proteges. As part of herC3Ecommitment, she hopes to facilitatethe creation of a "clean energy" group

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Nntll!ieM, Givu'lS,5""ior Vice Presidenl, Booz Alien fiml1l1ton

President, MIT Class of 1984

Booz Allen Sponsor, MIT IndustrialLiaison Program

Advisor, George Mason UniversityC41Center

Board Member, Corporate PartnershipCouncil for the Society of WomenEngineers

Women's Advisory Board Member, GirlScouts of the Nations Capital

Recent Awards:2010 Engineer of the Year by the Districtof Columbia Council of Engineering andArchitectural Studies

2010 Harold E.Lobdell '17 DistinguishedService Award

Institutional Affiliations:Chair, Armed Forces Communicationsand Electronics Association (AFCEA)International Board of Directors

Education:B.5.degree in Electrical Engineering, MIT

M.5. degree in Electrical Engineering,Johns Hopkins

C3EParticipant Profile: Natalie M. Givans,Senior Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton

Natalie Givans is a founding member ofC3E. Givans is currently Senior VicePresident at Booz Allen Hamilton,focused on Cybersecurity for the firm'sCivil Market, including Health, Energy,and Environment.

A committed leader, mentor, andengineer, Givans attended C3E'sinaugural launch dinner, and wasinspired to contribute ideas and actionto C3E. Afterward, she remarked: "I washonored to be invited to the dinner, andvery impressed with what this Initiativeis trying to do and the caliber of womeninvolved:' Givans is active in initiativesand networks focused on STEM,K-12,and helping women select and thrive inthe fields associated with STEM. She ispassionate about making a difference-and works to leverage theseconnections to improve the climate foryoung women entering the technologyfields and specifically in energy,environment, and sustainabJlity.

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students realize that they are actuallydoing society a favor.

Anything else you'd like to add?

From what I've researched in STEM,mostchildren start with an attraction tosciences. It's new to them and they'recurious enough to pursue it. However,after a while, many minorities and girlsbegin to acknowledge the bias andstereotypes; at that young age, they areeasily propelled away, They won't hangon and pursue sciences that theyassociate with a "chilliness"that will makethem feel inferior. Instead they beginto look at other things and become lessinterested in STEM,By the time they'repicking majors for college, it's probablytoo late. For those who stick throughand began to major in STEMfields, theybegin to truly see how certain studentsare treated better and with more focusfrom the professor. This causes them tofeel hurt or indifferent, and drop STEMfields from-there,

Do you have any advice for middleschool or junior high school students?

Take whatever you complain about mostoften, to go out and do something aboutit. "You have absolutely no right tocomplain if you don't plan to dosomething about it" was the bestadvice my mom has ever given me andnow I pass it on to you. The world needsmore people who knows how to spot aproblem, think of an idea to solve it, andimplement it Whether it's the way yourschool is run, or the way people thatsome groups of people are treateddifferently, you can do something aboutit Age, race, religion, and gender haveno setbacks when you're this kind ofperson. Usually it takes youth to standup and say what needs to be done thenwork towards it.

\Jatalie ,\{ Gh'lws

••••••••Two annual activities coordinated by wrSTand DEPinclude "Science Careers in Searchof Women" and "Introduce a Girl toEngineering Day;' described below. Theseprograms draw students from the largerChicago metropolitan area and have beenfilled to capacity.

Science Careers in Search of Women (SCSW)- This award-winning outreach conference

was founded 23 years ago by Dr. Marion Thurnauer, Chemist and former ChemistryDivision Director and Dr. Harold Myron, Argonne physicist and Director of theDivision of Educational Programs. Each year, SCSWhosts approximately 350female high school students, in addition to almost 90 teachers and counselors.SCSWconvenes students and female speakers and panelists from a variety ofscientific disciplines. The team coordinating the conference reports: "The emphasisof SCSWis on exploring opportunities and options for women choosing a career inscience and engineering. A major theme is the discussion of what life is like whenpursuing scientific professions. In addition, information on employmenttrends and

Argonne National Lab is known forits world-class research facilities.For over two decades, Argonne hasalso invested in promoting theadvancement of women and girlsin science and engineering fields.Understanding that girls have highscientific aptitude, but that interest,confidence, and understanding

• about sdence careers often wanesas they grow older, Argonne's

Women in Science and Technology (WIST) program and Division of EducationPrograms (DEP) have launched several innovative and successful initiatives forwomen and girls.

WISTwas created in 1990"to recruit, retain, and promote women in an effort todiversify and strengthen the Laboratory's scientific workforce." WIST'smission is thefollowing:1. Provide leadership and resources to Argonne to promote the success of women inscientific and technical positions at the Laboratory and elsewhere;

2. Support and implement programs that encourage, develop, and utilize the fullpotential of women in science and technology; and3. Promote movement toward equity at all levels within Argonne so as to contributeto a best-in-c1ass research and development institution.

component of the Girl Scouts'curriculum, perhaps to be piloted inthe Nation's Capital. Givans serves onthe Women's Advisory Board of the GirlScouts of the Nations Capital, and thushas been helpful in facilitating theconnection between C3E and Girl Scouts.

Finally, Givans has shared news of C3Ewith her broad professional networks,and is prepared to enlist them when C3Eseeks further support and partnership.She is working with Booz Allen'sCommunity Partnerships andPhllanthropy leadership to furtherexpand C3E'srea<;:hin the globalcommunity.

C3E thanks Givans for her enthusiasticsupport!

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within both of those mentoringprograms to connect professionalleaders with young women in highschool and college interested in theclean energy sector.

Another C3E project Givans hopes toaccomplish is to work with the GirlScouts to develop a clean energy

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•.••dl'III" fll t \ ....;lHnu·

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educational requirements is presented. Ample time is allowed for participants to meet the speakers and learn first-hand aboutthe rewards for women in science."

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED)

IGEDwas introduced by Debby Quock, Computer Scientist at Argonne. IGED is celebrating its 10th year. This conference hastraditionally hosted approximately 50 middle·school girls each year, however this year organizers plan to increase that numberby more than 50 percent. The focus of this day is to demonstrate the many aspects of engineering and science, utilizinginteractive and hands-on presentations and tours, and illustrate how these can be rewarding careers for women. Students arepaired with Argonne engineers and scientists who mentor them throughout the day and provide an opportunity for small-group conversation.

Students also have an opportunity to meet like-minded peers, helping them to discover that their interest in science andengineering is shared by many other girls in their age group.

Slots for the conference are limited; last year, Argonne received more than 200 applications for its SOslots, As a result of thisoverwhelming interest and the desire not to let any of these girls miss out, the organizing committee extended IGED into asecond "overflow" event, held on a Saturday, where approximately 100 girls, accompanied by their parents, came for half a dayto Argonne. Dr. Kawtar Hafidi, physicist at Argonne, WIST Program Initiator, and recipient of DOE Office of Science'sOutstanding Mentor Award for 201a said of the"overflow" IGEDevent: "This is a new experience where parents and children getto be introduced to science careers. It was a very exciting time." Depending on the response and number applications receivedfor this year's event, there are plans to offer this event again to 8th grade girls who will not have the opportunity to participatenext year.

Congratulations to WIST on their 20th anniversary!

Profile:

INCREASE:A Model to IncreaseAccess to DOE UserFacilities

The Interdisciplinary Consortium forResearch and Educational Access inScience and Engineering (INCREASE)isan organization that promotes researchand education in Historically BlackColleges and Universities (HBCUs)andother Minority-Serving Institutions(MSls).

Founded in 2007 and based at HamptonUniversity, the consortium is increasingmember faculty utilization of nationaluser facilities - starting with the NationalSynchrotron Light Source (NSlS) atBrookhaven National laboratory (BNl)-and facilitating education and researchtraining, especially for members ofgroups underrepresented in science andengineering research at nationalfacilities, such as African-Americans,Hispanics, and women. INCREASEis adirect outcome of the Faculty andStudents Team Program (FaST)managed by the Office of EducationalPrograms (OEP)at BNL for theDepartment of Energy (DOE) - Officeof Workforce Development for Teacherand Scientists in conjunction with theNational Science Foundation.

INCREASEis a multi-campus andinterdisciplinary consortium includingapproximately 44 science and

engineering faculty participants from 26 MSls and other strategic university partners.That explains INCREASE'sorigin at BNL NSLS:synchrotron light sources are vital andstate-of-the-art research facilities useful In almost all science and engineering fields.

Besides the relationship with NSLS,INCREASEis building collaborations with theCenter for Functional Nanomaterials at BNL and other sites to facilitate the technicaland logistical training that will enable faculty members to become regularindependent users of these national research facilities. The goal is to expand theprogram across the DOE complex. Dr. Florence Etop,an African-American female andAssistant Professor of Physics at Virginia State University, stated at a recent INCREASEworkshop"most faculty at MSls don't necessarily have the research capabilities attheir home institutions to conduct their experiments. However, INCREASEcreatesaccess to world-class facillties such as those at BNL that our schools can't afford toconduct cutting-edge science." Dr. Michele Manuel, a Hispanic-American femalescientist from the University of Florida indicated "I was able to become a user of theCFN/NSLSat BNL by attending the 2010 INCREASE-CFNWorkshop."These are someof the female professors that make up INCREASEand the consortium is recruitingfemale science and engineering faculty members to participate in every area ofresearch. The group is also exploring research and education projects with otheragencies, including NASA, NSF.and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

INCREASEhas coordinated three successful National Synchrotron Light Source(NSLS)-sponsored workshops, and is sponsoring another Center for FunctionalNanomaterials (CFN)workshop at BNL in January 2011 (details for the CFN and otherfuture events will be posted at the consortium's website). This past summer, during avery productive workshop at BNL'sNSLS,the group agreed on an initial research andeducation focus: energy storage.

Participants at the same meeting also elected its Executive Committee, Dr. Eric J.Sheppard of Hampton University is the Chair of INCREASE,Dr.Sekazi K.Mtingwa ofMIT and the African Laser Center is the Vice Chair, and Dr.Stephen U.Egarievwe ofAlabama A&M is the Secretary. Dr.Gabriel Gwanmesia of Delaware State Universitywas elected as the Research Programs Coordinator and Dr.Joe Omojola of SouthernUniversity was elected as the Education Programs Coordinator.

The consortium's partnership with BNL'sN$lS and OEPhas led to the successfulevolution of the group. In particular, Dr.Chi-Chang Kao,former director of NSLS,andKenneth White and Noel Blackburn of OEPhave been steady supporters from thestart. The Executive Committee works particularly closely with OEPand the FaST

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C3EConnection. November 2010 • Page 7

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program has been a major connectionbetween INCREASEmembers and BNL

The consortium also acknowledges thatrecent workshops have received fundingfrom a NSFHBCU-UP grant at SouthernUniversity, New Orleans, thanks to theEducation Programs Coordinator, Dr.Omojola.

For more information about INCREASE,please go to:http:// www.increaseonline.org

Statistics

National Science FoundationEach year, NSFsupports approximately 200,000 scientists, engineers, educators and students at universities, laboratories andfield sites all over the world. As NSFputs it, their support ranges ufrom Alaska to Alabama to Africa to Antarctica"!

NSF is divided into seven directorates that support science and engineering research and education:1. Biological Sciences2. Computer and Information Science and Engineering3. Engineering4. Geosciences5. Mathematics and Physical Sciences6. Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences7. Education and Human Resources

The following sites might be of interest to C3E participants seeking NSF funding:

Homepage for NSF's division for Research on learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRl):http://nsfgov/div/index.jsp?div=DRl

Informal Science Education (lSE): http://www.nsf.gov/pubsI2010/nsfl0565/nsfl0565.pdf

Cooperative Activity with Department of Energy Programs for Education and Human Resource Development:http://nsf.gov Ifundi ng/pgm _summ.j sp?pims jd=5 632&0 rg= DRl&from=hom e

Solicitation for Research on Gender in Science and Engineering (GSE):http://nsf.gov/pubs/2010/nsfl0516/nsf10516.pdf

Graduate Education (DGE): http://nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=DGE

Undergraduate Education (DUE): http://nsfgov/div/index.jsp?div=DUE

Human Resources Development (HRD): http://nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=HRD