PAESMEM/Stanford School of Engineering Workshop on Mentoring in Engineering

21-22 June 2004
Stanford University
David Packard Electrical Engineering Building - Room 101
Revised 8 May 2005

Flyer for the Proceedings of the workshop, which are now available as a paperback book while supplies last. Copies have been sent to all workshop participants and are being circulated by NSF. To request a copy write rmgray@stanford.edu.

This two day workshop provided a forum on the needs, goals, methods, and best practices for mentoring engineering students interested in an academic career and young faculty beginning such a career. The emphasis was on mentoring members of underrepresented groups in academic engineering, especially women. The workshop was jointly supported by the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering through the National Science Foundation and by the School of Engineering at Stanford University. Workshop funding was largely devoted to providing local housing and sustenance for the workshop. Participation was by invitation and application. There wwere no registration or other fees.

Participation

Participants included experienced mentors along with recent graduates and students who are considering, have begun, or have decided upon academic careers. Faculty in leadership positions were invited along with those emphasizing research and teaching. The workshop consisted of invited presentations, proposed presentations by participants that were accepted by the Organizing Committee, panel discussions, informal discussions. Presentation slides are posted on the Web (see the ``schedule'' link) and the Proceedings of the workshop are available in both pdf format for printing and html format for Web viewing. There was a bias towards EE/CS because of the constitution of the Organizing/Program Committee and the initial group of people involved, but it was not official and we encouraged all engineering disciplines (and other related disiplines where there is interest).

Organizing/Program Committee:

Eve Riskin - riskin@ee.washington.edu
Mari Ostendorf - mo@ee.washington.edu
Pamela Cosman - pcosman@ece.ucsd.edu
Michelle Effros - effros@caltech.edu
Jia Li - jiali@stat.psu.edu
Sheila Hemami - hemami@ece.cornell.edu
Robert M. Gray, Committee Chair - rmgray@stanford.edu
Natasha Newson - tasha@ee.stanford.edu

Workshop Structure

The workshop consisted of three sessions on each of the two days. Each session focused on one of the above topics and most began with brief (10 minutes) presentations by members of a panel followed by questions and discussion. Box lunches were be provided for lunch on both days, and there will be informal discussions and refreshments following the afternoon session. Coffee/tea/water breaks will be provided. There was a reception with snacks and liquid refreshment following the final session on Monday.

Workshop Goals

The workshop has two primary goals. The obvious one is to provide an opportunity for mentors, mentees, and mentoring facilitators to educate each other and have fun doing so. The second goal is a deliverable: we intend to produce a Proceedings of the workshop including summaries of the talks and discussions, a document distilling the best practices, resources, and other important issues. Current plans are to make the Proceedings available on the Web as both an html and a pdf file. The organizing committee will form the editorial committee, but all participants are requested to take notes and provide their written observations on the key points of the workshop.

Contacts

For further information contact Robert M. Gray with a copy to Natasha Newson.