PAC 2007 Activities Amy Bell, PAC Chair 17 November 2007 Boston, MA, USA EAB Public Awareness Committee (PAC)

EAB Joint New Initiative with WIE l Former Name: Increasing the Representation of Women in IEEE Fields of Interest Real World Engineering Projects (RWEP)

RWEP: Real World Engineering Projects l EAB-WIE New Initiative l Two year project: l Total budget: $380,000 l Discovery-based projects for first- year ECE and CS students l Best teaching practices workshops for the ECE and CS classroom

Focus on High-Quality Undergraduate Education l IEEE will provide ECE and CS faculty with first-year, discovery-based, projects that focus on real-world problems whose solutions impact society l IEEE will provide ECE and CS faculty with online, self-study workshops on the best pedagogical techniques for the engineering/computer science classroom

Timeline l June-July 2007 l First review of submitted project and workshop abstracts l Online peer review process l Invitations to submit proposals l October 2007 l Second review/final selection of first year proposals and workshops l Peer review meeting in Arlington, VA

2007 EAB-WIE Advisory Board Members l Prof. Gozde B. Akar l Prof. Joan Carletta l Dr. Luisa Coppola l Prof. Deepa Kundur l Prof. Jenny Lo l Prof. Theresa Mayer l Prof. Mary Beth Rosson l Prof. Yaling Yang

Abstract Submissions l Submitted abstracts l 34 projects from 12 countries l (In order submitted): Colombia (2), Iran (1), Indonesia (1), India (1), United States (15), Bangladesh (2), Canada (4), Thailand (1), South Africa (2), Brasil (1), Australia (3), Switzerland (1) l Appx. 10 project abstracts submitted by women (estimated from first name) l 4 workshops from 3 countries l (In order submitted): United States (1), Australia (1), Serbia (2) l Appx. 3 workshop abstracts submitted by women (estimated from first name)

Outcome: Abstract Review Double-blind review Authors unknown to reviewers Reviewers unknown to authors Invited for proposal 18 projects from 6 countries Appx. 5 proposal invitations extended to women (estimated from first name) l 1 workshop from 1 country l Appx. 1 proposal invitation extended to a woman (estimated from first name)

Proposal Submissions l Submitted proposals l 15 projects from 5 countries l Iran (1), India (1), United States (8), Canada (4), Switzerland (1) l Appx. 4 project proposals submitted by women (estimated from first name) l 1 workshop from 1 country l Australia (1) l Submitted by a woman

Review Criteria (Projects) l Relevance: Does the proposed project address a problem whose solution benefits society? Is the project presented in the context of a real-world, contemporary application? Are these connections made explicit in the proposed project? l Quality: Is the proposed project described in a straightforward, organized, and complete manner? Are the proposed project description and methods accurate, clear, and concise? Is the proposed project tractable for first year EE, CE and CS students? l Discovery: Does the proposed project result in student discovery of an underlying principle or concept? Does the proposed project illustrate strategies and trade-offs that are important in the engineering problem solving process?

Outcome: Proposal Review Double-blind review Authors unknown to reviewers Reviewers unknown to authors Selected for awards 5 projects from 2 countries (US and Canada) Appx. 3 awards extended to women l Note: 4 additional project proposals are in revision, we anticipate making awards to them

9 Project Awards l Span 7 technical categories: circuits, communications, computer hardware/architecture, controls, human computer interaction, power electronics, signal processing l Project titles: l Error Correction Codes for Wireless Communication Systems l Audio Forensics: Solving a Crime using Digital (Audio) Signal Processing

Titles (cont.) l Manipulating Everyday Objects With Prosthetic Hands l Solid State Lighting for the Developing World l HCI Alternatives using the Nintendo Wii l Using Engineering to Save the PlanetOne Ear at a Time l Power Electronics/System: A Look at Renewable Energy l Smarter Vehicles l Feedback Controlled Brushless DC Motor

Benefits to IEEE l IEEE faculty members have all materials needed to conduct real-world projects in EE/CE/CS classroom l Students discover excitement of real problems and understand the importance of IEEE fields to society l Preliminary results indicate this is successful for recruiting women students l IEEE faculty members have online access to self-study teaching workshops

Future l RWEP portal development l Assessment plan and tool development for understanding impact on student outcomes l Publish/promote inaugural projects l Initiate second year CFP and CFW l New leader for RWEP

Thank You