WEPAN Newsletter May 2024

$50 Virtual Ticket for the ADVANCE EiSCC

Can't make it to Baltimore for the ADVANCE EiSCC? There is also a virtual ticket option for $50. Virtual attendees will have access to the live streamed plenary sessions through the WEPAN Events App. Virtual attendees have event app access for networking, viewing presenter materials, and using other features

Register at https://registration.socio.events/e/adveiscc2024/

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Events

ADVANCE EiSCC Keynote Speakers

For the keynote dinner on Tuesday, June 4th, 6-8 pm, our speakers are:

• Jessica Hernandez, an Indigenous scholar and author of the award-winning book Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science
• Lydia Jennings, an Indigenous soil scientist, science communicator, and runner
• Chelsey Juarez, a forensic anthropologist and community advocate

For the closing keynote on Wednesday, June 5th, 1:15-2:30 pm, our speaker is:

• Autumn Asher BlackDeer, a queer anti-colonial Indigenous scholar-activist

If you have not yet registered for the 2024 ADVANCE EiSCC, you can do so at: https://registration.socio.events/e/adveiscc2024/

The complimentary annual conference registrations that are a part of institutional memberships will be applied to this conference. Additionally, all WEPAN members receive a $150 discount off the general registration price.‍

Please note that the registration price will increase on June 1, so make sure to register if you have not yet done so!

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News

Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and VentureWell are offering prizes of up to $20,000 to student teams in undergraduate biomedical education that are developing novel tools to solve unmet clinical needs, through the Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge competition.

Applications are due in two weeks, on May 31! Apply here.

Know a student team working on a solution to a significant real-world healthcare problem? Let them know about DEBUT and encourage them to submit an entry to the challenge! This is a great opportunity for students who are currently working on capstone design projects.

TIPA Webinar Series Now Available

WEPAN partnered with Qualcomm to host a webinar series exploring topics covered in The Inventor’s Patent Academy (TIPA, with each of the three webinars aligning with a TIPA module. TIPA, created in partnership by Qualcomm and Invent Together, is a free patent education course that supports historically underrepresented inventors in understanding patenting, intellectual property, and how to navigate the patenting system.

• The first webinar, “Promoting Equitable Innovation,” featured four inventors who shared their patent successes and challenges as well as strategies, tools, and tips for navigating the patent journey, and is available to watch here.
• The second webinar, “Understanding Patent Law,” covered the specifics of patents, patent rights, and duration, including the steps of applying for a patent and the professionals, such as patent attorneys and patent agents, who play a key role in the process, and is available to watch here.
• The third webinar, "Working with the Patent Office," covered how to write claims, office actions and responses, and activities that occur after a patent issues, and is available to watch here.

WEPAN Listserv

Do you have something to tell the WEPAN community? Remember that subscription to the WEPAN-L listserv is a member benefit! Share announcements, post publication opportunities, and collaborate with colleagues from different institutions and organizations on special projects.

To subscribe to the WEPAN-L listserv, visit: lists.purdue.edu/mailman/listinfo/wepan-l

Resources

Publications, reports, or communications relevant to women in engineering and STEM equity. All resources listed below are available in the ARC Network online resource library. If you need help accessing the library, please contact ARC Librarian Bethany Farmer at bethany@wepan.org.  

• "Strategic approaches for DEI Implementation in Engineering Education" by M. Palaninatha Raja & A. M. Abirami"

"The quality of education that one gets is directly related to his quality of life. Equity plays the vital role in offering quality education to all by addressing their issues, barriers and challenges. A fair and inclusive learning environment are the most important factors to provide equitable education. It aims to provide equal opportunities to all students for developing the successful and socially responsible engineering graduates. The education system has to be modernized with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) principles and policies that ensure valuable and quality education for all students. This article demonstrates the strategic implementation of different DEI strategies adopted in the Engineering Institute and discussed the results obtained out of them."

ARC Network

Funded by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program, Awards HRD-2121468 and HRD-1740860, the ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network seeks to achieve gender equity for faculty in higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. WEPAN serves as the backbone organization of the ARC Network.‍

Read and Give Feedback on the Latest ARC Emerging Research Workshop Reports

The two newest reports from the ARC Network's Emerging Research Workshops have been released. The reports, "Using Big Data and Algorithms to Foster Equity in STEM" and "Cultivating Equity In STEM Through Inclusive Language," cover research and promising practices on each of the topics and suggest new directions for future work. We invite the community to share their expertise on the topics. To read the reports and share your input visit https://www.equityinstem.org/about-emerging-research-workshops.

Institutional WEPAN Membership

Want to encourage your institution to deepen its commitment to equity and excellence?

Consider becoming a 30 for 30 Institutional Champion Member. At this membership level, institutions have unlimited member representatives who get to dive into critical diversity, equity, and inclusion issues through custom workshops. These members also get the opportunity to strengthen their inclusive leadership capacity as part of the Equity and Excellence Council. Additional 30 for 30 Institutional Champion member benefits include:

• Professional Development
• Decades of resources in the WEPAN Knowledge Center
• Professional development webinars, including one featuring an invited speaker from your institution
• Free and discounted workshops, including one customized for your institution
• Free and discounted access to WEPAN’s Program Days
• Three annual convening registrations
• Communication & Networking
• WEPAN-L listserv
• Slack
• WEPAN member directory
• Social media spotlights of your institution
• Workforce
• Free and discounted job postings for your institution in WEPAN’s Career Center

For more information on how to become a 30 for 30 Institutional Member, please email membership@wepan.org.

WEPAN Slack Channel

Please join us on Slack to drive that connectivity across our membership during a critical time for connection. Join our Slack community today!

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