More than 300 10th and 11th grade girls from the Capital Region, New York State, and across New England will participate in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s “Design Your Future Day” (DYFD) program on Saturday, April 17. The event is designed to engage students in activities to inform and excite them about degree programs and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines.

“According to a January 2009 population survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, women comprise 46 percent of the civilian labor force that is 20 years old or older,” said Barbara Ruel, director of Rensselaer’s Diversity and Women in Engineering programs and program director of the day’s events. “Yet the most current data from a National Science Foundation report in 2003 indicated that only 11 percent of all engineers in the labor force were women.”

“Rensselaer is working to change that,” Ruel added. “Design Your Future Day gives young women the opportunity to explore intellectually stimulating and exciting degrees and careers in math, science, technology, and engineering and to meet young women like them who have already chosen to pursue such careers.”

Participating local high schools include Albany High, Averill Park, Bethlehem Central, Glens Falls, Hudson Falls, and Schenectady. Seventy percent of the visiting students are from the state of New York, including New York City and Syracuse. The remaining 30 percent are from New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island.

The event will take place on Rensselaer’s campus from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Darrin Communications Center and other campus locations. The event is hosted by Rensselaer’s School of Engineering and sponsored by Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, and the Gene Haas Foundation.

The 14th annual program will kick off at 9:45 a.m., with a welcome address by Danielle Desalu, class of 2001, who serves as a systems engineer for Cisco Systems’ Technology Solutions Organization based in Herndon, Va. In her current position, Desalu designs, validates, implements, and trains customers on various technologies that provide business solutions for organizations worldwide. As an advocate who encourages and challenges young women to investigate and pursue careers in science, engineering, and technology, she has assisted in the development of the “IT Rocks” campaign, a program launched by Cisco Systems to promote careers in the field for high school and middle school. Desalu will share her personal stories and aspirations, and the lessons learned in college and since college about excellence, leadership, and persistence.

The program will also feature a panel discussion by undergraduate scholars, poster presentations by undergraduate researchers, and 14 workshops led by Rensselaer faculty, staff, and graduate students on a range of topics. They include: materials science and engineering; lighting; embedded control systems; the design, manufacture, and use of medical devices, prosthetic limbs, tissues, and organs; art and games with computer animation; nuclear engineering; intellectual property and patent law; and manufacturing candy boxes.

The program provides a parallel schedule for parents, and includes an interactive discussion with representatives from Admissions and Financial Aid, the Career Development Center, the Office of the First-Year Experience, the Dean of Students Office, and Residence Life.

Since its inception, more than 3,000 female students have participated in the Design Your Future Day program. In addition, Rensselaer graduates have gone on to pursue careers such as product design engineers, systems design engineers, business analysts and consultants, mechanical and aeronautical engineers, medical researchers, biomedical device engineers, doctors, patent attorneys, architects, and Naval officers.

Design Your Future Day is part of Rensselaer’s larger effort to engage young people in science and engineering studies and professions. Other “pipeline” programs include: Black Family Technology Awareness Day, to interest area young people and their families in pursuing occupations in the fields of science and engineering; and Exploring Engineering Day, to spark the interest of scouts and other children, ages 9 to 12, in STEM disciplines.

Sample Design Your Future Day workshops that will be offered from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. include:

• Going Nano: Walker Laboratory, rooms 6213 and 6113
  Students will explore the exciting field of nanomaterials.
• Art & Games with Computer Animation: Library Computer Lab:
  Students will learn the basics behind computer animation, and use an iconic coding program to create and manipulate characters.
• The Body Bag: Sage, room 2112
  Students will explore how medical devices, prosthetic limbs, tissues, and organs are designed, manufactured, and used with the help of interactive anatomy software and models.
• Uncovering the Secrets of Lighting: Jonsson Engineering Center, room 4201
  Through interactive experiments and demonstrations, students will see the surprising ways that we use light in our lives. Students will also learn how engineers and scientists are exploring new ways in which the colorful world of light can impact our health, happiness, and safety while saving energy and protecting the environment.
• Going Bananas Over Nuclear: CII 3051 and 3045
  Did you know that more than 20 percent of the United States energy supply is nuclear? Students will learn about surprising natural radiation resources and nuclear systems that power our lives with zero greenhouse gas emissions.
• Engineering at Rensselaer is Sweet: Advanced Manufacturing Lab, CII 1027
  Students will learn how to assemble a box of candy in the Advanced Manufacturing Lab and learn the different processes including robotics and automation, plastic injection molding, 3-D printing, and water-jet cutting.
• Computer Vision, Visualization, and Graphics: You’ll Like the View!: Jonsson Engineering Center, room 3117
  Explore how the use of computers, computer vision, and computer imaging supports the work of doctors, crime investigators, and artists in the 21st century. Find out what’s behind the technology and how you can apply math and science to advance health sciences, solve crime, and create new forms of art.

For more information and to view the 2010 Design Your Future Day program, go to: http://www.eng.rpi.edu/dyfd/.

Contact: Jessica Otitigbe
Phone: (518) 276-6050
E-mail: otitij@rpi.edu