IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2012 - 31

discussed a variety of ideas before they
selected one and started to build. Some
teams sketched out basic tower plans.
Most teams ran into trouble by using
tape inefficiently. The tape was the scarcest resource for almost every team. Some
redesigning occurred once it became
clear that the amount of tape supplied
would not work with an original design.
Some teams learned a powerful lesson about working with others: one
boy took me aside and confided that
he absolutely could not work with his
partner because he was not cooperating
and did not care about the project. I
explained to him that many adult engineers face the same problems. Some
of the end-result towers were very well
done. In every classroom, there were
at least a few that met all of the design
constraints and did not fall over (or have
the tennis ball fall off) when in front of a

floor fan on the high setting. I was very
impressed by several of these designs.
This research project offered me a
unique opportunity to do independent
research abroad. For over 15 years of
my life, I have been the student. It was
a truly eye-opening experience to be
in a teachering role and have fourth to
sixth graders look up to me. Almost all
of the students seemed to enjoy themselves through the presentation, especially during the design challenge. At
the end of one classroom session, two
girls ran up to me and gave me a hug
and said that they had so much fun and
now they want to be engineers too. That
was a very rewarding moment. It was
also a great experience to conduct this
research project in Australia. After my
first presentation, I had to adjust my
survey (for example, cell phones are
referred to as "mobile phones" in Aus-

tralia) and try to relate to the students
with the colloquial phrases they are
used to ("maths" instead of "math," for
instance).
This project allowed me to reach out
to students in Melbourne, Australia,
and begin to break down some of their
misconceptions about engineering. One
fundamental point that was emphasized
in every discussion was how drastically
engineering affects our lives, from transportation to communication, to production, to the latest and greatest gadgets
and how engineering will affect our lives
in the future, from renewable energy,
to clean water, to human health issues.
Globally educating the next generation
about the role that engineering plays in
our lives is essential to the advancement
and sustainability of humanity.
-Lisa Pinals

From Imagination to Market
"IEEE Standards Online
gives us access to
up-to-date standards
with minimal effort."
- Leading Technology Company

IEEE Standards Online
Your Direct Connection to IEEE Standards
Continuous access to the comprehensive and growing collection
of IEEE Standards.
Access tomorrow's draft standards ﬁrst and get a jump on
the competition
Find a standard quickly with fast and comprehensive search
and retrieval features
Immediate updates and automatic email alerts
Substantial savings over purchasing individually

Free Trial!
Experience IEEE -
request a trial for your company.

www.ieee.org/standardsonline

JUNE 2012

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

http://www.ieee.org/standardsonline

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2012