Members of both the College of Engineering and the College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering represented The University of Akron at the recent annual conference of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) in Anaheim, CA.
Held November 7-9, 2019, the conference hosted a record 16,500 attendees and over 400 company exhibitors and graduate schools. While the polymer college has hosted a booth for several years at SWE to recruit talented students into their master’s and doctoral programs, this year, for the first time, both colleges joined forces at a booth staffed by Melissa Bowman, Coordinator of Academic Programs in Polymer Science, Sarah Thorley, Coordinator of Academic Programs in Polymer Engineering, and Heidi Cressman, Director for Diversity and Inclusion in the College of Engineering.
The premier conference for women in engineering, SWE 2019 saw no shortage of students, staff and alumnae from The University of Akron. While not inclusive of all the UA attendees, those able to make the Friday photo from the College of Engineering and the College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering were first row (left to right): Alexandria Stephens, Maddison Grimes, Lindsey Schmucker, Megan Laws, Elizabeth Meyer (alumna), Bailei Hoyng, Shawnn Foster, and Dr. Mary Verstraete, Professor Emeritus, Biomedical Engineering. Back row: Heidi Cressman, Jordan Bryner, Jennifer Anand (alumna), Melissa Bowman, Sarah Thorley, Tzu-Yu Lai, and Muge Pekersoy (alumna). Not pictured in the photo were Allison Targosky, Deanna Dunn, Stephanie Schindewolf, and alumnae Melissa Childers, Melissa Headland, Dr. Nevin Gerek Ince, Maria Rizzo, Lindsay Aichinger, and Sara Beck.