CETA Student Ambassadors Visit the University of Hartford Magnet School

CETA Celebrates 2017 Engineers Week:

http://www.discovere.org/our-programs/engineers-week

Girl Day: http://www.discovere.org/our-programs/girl-day

 

 

Engineer’s week kicked off on Monday, 2/20/17, with cake and balloons in the CETA Student Lounge and was followed by a visit to the University of Hartford Magnet School on Thursday, 2/23/17, to celebrate and build awareness of Girl Day.

DiscoverE announced Girl Day as “a worldwide campaign to introduce girls to the fascinating world of engineering. Thousands of people--engineers, teachers and others--act as Role Models and educate girls about how engineers change our world. This simple act has turned many girls on to engineering & technology careers”.

In the early 1980s only “5.8% of engineers in the U.S. were women”. Studies have proven that exposing more women to engineering have improved those numbers. Since 2012, the statistics have moved to 20% of engineering students in the U.S are women (Crawford 2012).  A select group of CETA Student Ambassadors chose to do their part in encouraging women in STEM by visiting the University of Hartford Magnet School to honor Girl Day. Sixty-five second graders enjoyed a presentation of Women Engineers in History followed by the Marshmallow Challenge. 

Current CETA Student Ambassadors: Jackie Maynard, Heather Volkens, Kareema Shell, Lydia Metcalf and Andrea Hoyt offered up their time to share their experiences as women in STEM. They began the visit with a presentation honoring successful women in engineering and science.

They challenged the social stereotypes that link “masculinity to technology” by urging the three Second grade classes to begin exploring science, technology, engineering and math early on, no matter your gender (Crawford 2012).

 

All in all, the visit was an effective way for our CETA students to share the passion they have for engineering and to encourage the youth of today to be the engineers of tomorrow. These visits help elementary students discover the world of engineering and improve the inclusiveness of women in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

Resources:

"DiscoverE." DiscoverE. N.p., 06 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2017. <http://www.discovere.org/our-programs/girl-day>.

 

Crawford, Mark. “Engineering Still Needs More Women.” ASME.org. ASME.org, Sept. 2012. Web.

27 Feb. 2017.<https://www.asme.org/career-education/articles/undergraduate-students/engineering-still-needs-more-women>.

Salehi Delivers Talk on His Research Findings - SPIE Photonics West International Conference

Dr. Hassan Salehi at SPIE Photonics West 2017.

Dr. Hassan S. Salehi, electrical and computer engineering faculty member at the University of Hartford's College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA) delivered a talk on his research findings at the SPIE Photonics West International Conference, held in San Francisco, January 28-February 2, 2017. 

At the talk, Dr. Salehi demonstrated a study testing capabilities of a new feature-based classification algorithm using image processing and machine learning techniques specifically Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) for early detection of pathologic changes in tissues. As a result, this algorithm can enable the clinicians to better understand the disease process and to detect changes in an early stage, which would result in more successful treatment outcome. Dr. Salehi’s talk was titled “Characterization of Human Oral Tissues Based on Quantitative Analysis of Optical Coherence Tomography Images.” 

In this research project, Dr. Salehi is closely working with his collaborators, Dr. Mina Mahdian, assistant professor and program director at Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine, and Dr. Aditya Tadinada, assistant professor at University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC) to develop the optical imaging technology. Dr. Salehi and his colleagues have now established an interdisciplinary team composed of multiple clinicians with expertise in diagnostic imaging and an engineer with background in image processing, computer vision, optical imaging modalities, and lasers.

SPIE Photonics West is the world's largest multidisciplinary event for photonics. Every year over 20,000 people come to hear the latest research and find the latest devices and systems driving technology markets including state-of-the art medical technologies, the Internet of things, smart manufacturing and “Industry 4.0,” autonomous vehicles, scientific research, communications, displays, and other solutions powered by photonics.

More about Dr. Salehi

CETA Students Attend Regional Waste Water Conference

 

Left to right: Liam Bernier, Jenna Bogaczyk, Becca Viguers, Professor Brown

 

Left to right: Ali Alinkis, Ali AlQarni, Mana Almansour

 

On Tuesday, January 24, civil engineering students Ali Alinkis, Ali Alquarni, Mana Almansour, Liam Bernier, Jenna Bogaczyk, and Becca Viguers joined Professor Todd Brown at the Annual Conference of the New England Water Environment Association in Boston.  The annual event is recognized as the place in New England to convene the brightest minds and the most innovative water quality solutions.

This prestigious conference, which consistently attracts over 2000 engineers, consultants, scientists, operators and students features a variety of technical sessions and over 200 exhibitor displays. The conference provides an opportunity for professional exchange of information and state-of-the-art concepts in wastewater treatment and other water environment issues.

The students learned about pumps, valves and other wastewater industry equipment in the exhibit hall and attended various technical presentations on current water quality topics.  They also began expanding their professional network, meeting water quality professionals from around the region. 

Students interested in similar opportunities in the environmental field are welcome to contact Professor Brown at tobrown@hartford.edu.  

Todd M. Brown, P.E.

Applied Assistant Professor of Engineering

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,

TECHNOLOGY, AND ARCHITECTURE