Friday, March 19, 2010
5:00-9:30 PM Registration Sheraton University City, Lower Level
6:00-7:30 PM Walking Tours of Philadelphia
(See descriptions below)
Sheraton University City, Lower Level
Meet at the Bottom of Staircase
7:00-10:00 PM "SWEets and Beats" Welcome Reception Sponsored by Pepco, Inc.
(See description below)
Benjamin Franklin Ballroom
Sheraton University City, Lower Level


Saturday, March 20, 2010
8:30-9:15 AM Breakfast Hall of Flags, Houston Hall
8:30-12:00 PM Registration 2nd Floor of Houston Hall
8:30-5:00 History Exhibit 2nd Floor of Houston Hall
9:15-10:00 AM Welcome
(See descriptions below)
200 College Hall
10:00-4:00 Career Fair Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall
10:00-4:00 SWE Boutique 2nd Floor of Houston Hall
10:00-10:50 AM Workshop Session 1 Click Here
11:00-11:50 AM Workshop Session 2 Click Here
12:00-1:15 PM Lunch Buffet presented by the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program
Joint Sponsorship Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc. (BPMI), Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corp. (Bettis and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratories), Naval Reactors, and the U.S. Navy Engineering Officers Program
(See description below)
Hall of Flags, Houston Hall
1:15-2:05 PM Order of the Engineer Ceremony Golkin Room, 2nd Floor of Houston Hall
2:15-3:05 PM Workshop Session 3 Click Here
3:15-4:05 PM Workshop Session 4 Click Here
3:15-4:30 PM Professional Meeting Ben Franklin, 2nd Floor of Houston Hall
4:30-5:00 PM Professionals Tea Break Golkin Room, 2nd Floor of Houston Hall
4:15-5:30 PM Collegiate Meeting with Tea Break Terrace Room, Cohen Hall
6:30-8:30 PM Dinner Banquet
(See descriptions below)
Benjamin Franklin Ballroom, Sheraton University City, Lower Level
8:30 PM Walking Tours of Philadelphia
(See descriptions below)
Sheraton University City, Lower Level, Meet at the Bottom of Staircase


Sunday, March 21, 2010
9:00-11:00 AM Continental Breakfast Benjamin Franklin Ballroom, Sheraton University City, Lower Level



Friday Night Reception: "SWEets & Beats"

Kick off your conference with a mouthwatering chocolate fountain and the sensational entertainment of UPenn performing arts groups! A fun, informal social gathering to let you mingle with other conference attendees over light refreshments and lively beats. In addition, you can bring out your creative side with design-your-own coffee mug making. Use your artistic flair to create a colorful collage of images that insert into your travel mug, and take it home as a memento of your fun at the conference! This open house-style event runs from 7pm to 10pm at the Sheraton. Casual attire. Sponsored by Pepco.



Morning Welcome Speakers

     Alma Kuppinger Forman, a SWE and Philadelphia Section Charter Member, has been a member of the Philadelphia Section since its inception. She is one of the women engineering students at the Drexel Institute of Technology, now Drexel University, who in November 1946 “organized a society to promote friendship and to help each other with problems.” In those early days when she was a senior and chairman of the SWE group, she had to go Dr. James Creese, President of the Institute, to get money to sponsor activities such as the 1949 first SWE conference. She ran against Dr. Beatrice Hicks, who became first President of the Society. During SWE’s formative years, Alma served on the National Board of Directors and the Nominating Committee, as Chair of the first Eastern Seaboard Meeting that was held in Philadelphia in March 1955, several terms as Section Chairman and editor of the section newsletter, “SWE Outlook.”
     In later years most of her activities centered on working with students. As an engineering professor at Temple University, Alma encouraged the women engineering students to form a SWE Student Section and she served as Faculty Advisor to the section until she retired in 1995. She continued to work with Temple’s outreach programs for another three years. In recent years Alma has provided many archival materials and other background on the genesis of the Society and the Philadelphia Section. She was named to the section’s Hall of Fame in 1990.

     Alma’s husband Ross encouraged her SWE activities and was one of the driving forces behind the formation of a group of SWE member spouses called the Men’s Artillery, which was a precursor to the national SWE Men’s Auxiliary.

     Alma has worked in industry and academia. Her industrial experience includes positions at Peter Paul, Inc., Kuljian Corporation, the Department of the Interior, Aero Service Corporation, and consulting with Footwear Industries of America and C. W. Dustin. Her academic experience includes lecturing at Drexel University, Montgomery County Community College, and Spring Garden College and finally as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Temple University; she was also Director of Computer Services for the School of Engineering and Architecture.

     In 1949 Alma Kuppinger Forman became the first woman at the Drexel Institute of Technology to receive a degree in civil engineering. She is a registered Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania.

     Joseph Bordogna is Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the National Science Foundation and served previously as head of NSF's Directorate for Engineering. Complementing his NSF duties, he is a member of the President's Management Council; has chaired Committees on Manufacturing, Environmental Technologies, and Automotive Technologies within the President's National Science and Technology Council; and was a member of the U.S.-Japan Joint Optoelectronics Project.
     He received the B.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the S.M. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As well as his assignment at NSF, his career includes experience as a line officer in the U.S. Navy, a practicing engineer in industry, and a professor.

     Prior to appointment at NSF, he served at the University of Pennsylvania as Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Engineering, Director of The Moore School of Electrical Engineering, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Faculty Master of Stouffer College House, a living-learning student residence at the University.

     He has made contributions to the engineering profession in a variety of areas including early laser communications systems, electro-optic recording materials, holographic television playback systems, and early space capsule recovery. He was a founder of PRIME (Philadelphia Regional Introduction for Minorities to Engineering) and served on the Board of The Philadelphia Partnership for Education, community coalitions providing, respectively, supportive academic programs for K-12 students and teachers.

     He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the International Engineering Consortium. He also served his profession globally as president of the IEEE.




Lunch Speakers

Lieutenant Commander Leticia Soto: “A Strong Foundation for Engineering Success”

LCDR Leticia Soto has managed a range of design and construction projects both overseas and in the United States for Naval Facilities Engineering Command. She holds a Masters of Science in Systems Design and Management from Massachusetts of Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s from Purdue University in Electrical Engineering.

She works in an environment where politics and national security changes are only two of the many parameters that drive the right engineering solutions; her ability to provide a holistic design is essential to supporting the “warfighter”.

In her talk she will discuss how providing products that are adaptable to changing resources and demands are the best solutions for today and tomorrow. She will discuss the importance of both technical knowledge and personal relationships as the keys to building a strong engineering foundation.




Dinner Banquet Speakers

     Siddika Demir is the Associate Director of Corporate Engineering – Operational Excellence (OE) at Genentech. Headquartered in South San Francisco, Genentech is among the world's leading biotech companies, with multiple products on the market for serious or life-threatening medical conditions. Demir oversees the OE Department which supports Engineering and Corporate Facilities services. She leads OE in meeting Corporate Engineering’s goals in continuous process improvement, customer service, staff development, safety, quality, compliance and efficiency. Her team applies proven tools (e.g., Lean/DMAIC) to achieve planned, predictable process performance and deliver breakthrough results.
     Prior to joining Genentech, Demir worked at Bechtel Corporation as the Manager of Corporate Services Six Sigma. During her 11 years at Bechtel, Demir contributed to broad range of activities with positions in engineering, procurement, contracts, estimating and corporate services Demir obtained her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from University of Houston and master’s in civil engineering from Purdue University.

     Demir joined the collegiate section of SWE at the University of Houston (UH) in 1990 and was president. She served as Region A Governor; coordinator of two national-level awards; Golden Gate Section representative; Houston Area Section president, vice president and treasurer; and the national convention publicity chair in 1998. She was recognized as the SWE Emerging Leader in Quality, SWE Distinguished New Engineer, UH Outstanding Young Alumna and the Houston Young Engineer of the Year. She was the president of the UH SWE section which received the Best Section Award in Region C in 1992.

     Demir is an avid reader and enjoys exchanging books with her friends. She is married to Emre Velipasaoglu, Ph.D. Together, they enjoy traveling and dancing.

     Dr. Jeannie Rojas has held positions of increasing responsibility at Johnson & Johnson in R&D, Clinical Pharmacology and Business Development. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and will complete her MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in May of 2010.
     As an Associate Director for Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical division, Jeannie Rojas entered Wharton without any prior business education and found the first semester to be challenging. "I’m a technical person by training and some of the everyday language of business was foreign to me." Now that I’m completing my MBA, I believe that having both strong technical and business skills is a powerful combination.

     In her talk she will discuss what it is like to transition from a highly technical role into management roles of increasing responsibility. She will discuss her observations on how to position yourself to make the transition and the importance of continually developing yourself and your career.




Walking Tours of Philadelphia

Art Museum District:
The Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philly's own Champs-Élyseés, stretches from City Hall to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Along the way you'll see some of Philly's finest claims to fame including Love Park, Rodin Museum, and the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul. This tour, like the city, is flowing with culture, ethnic flavor, and history.

Historic Philly:
The tour follows the footsteps of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, all of whom lived in Philadelphia when they were laying the groundwork for a new nation. But you will see more than Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. This tour also visits 18th century churches, 19th century factories that became 20th century apartments and art galleries, and the hippest restaurants in the city.

Rittenhouse Square:
The tour will take you through the Victorian neighborhoods that surround Rittenhouse Square and past some of the finest shopping and dining in the city. Along the way you will see the lush, green park, sites from movies, many old churches, and modern high rise residences.

University City:
This tour will introduce you to the "Left of Center" neighborhood of University City. On this tour, you'll visit the area surrounding Drexel University, the University of Pennsyl- vania, and 30th Street Station. On the way, you will see such highlights as the world's first gen- eral-purpose electronic computer, unique landscaping, and award-winning architecture.