The “We are Women in Engineering” (We are WE) Networking Luncheon and Seminar was held on March 5-6, 2015. Based on applications from women across the country, 17 students attended the event. They hailed from North Carolina, Alabama, California, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. An additional 27 undergraduate and graduate students in CCEE also participated.

The two-day event included a workshop on conducting research, a tour of the NCSU campus, and a seminar and open discussion. The keynote seminar was presented by Dr. Susan Burns of Georgia Tech. Dr. Burns spoke about her career in engineering and the challenges she faced in teaching and research. The seminar was followed by a panel discussion, with Dr. Burns and CCEE faculty Drs. Brina Montoya and Margery Overton. The panelists talked about balancing work and family in academics, obtaining faculty positions, and finding good mentors.

On the second day, We are WE participants chose to attend either the Annual Water Resources and Environmental Engineering Spring Symposium or the First Research Symposium in Geotechnical Engineering. Students met individually with professors and current students throughout the day to discuss research and graduate school opportunities.

Three of the visiting women enrolled in graduate school at NCSU in the Fall 2015 semester. Funding to support travel costs was provided by McKim & Creed, FDH, CCEE, the NC State Engineering Foundation, and the National Science Foundation via a grant to Dr. Montoya. Individuals and organizations interested in supporting the We are WE Program in the future can contact the NC State Engineering Foundation through Lora Bremer.