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WISE/FSI |
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Ottawa-Carleton Chapter |
Fall 1999 |
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Message from the President I look forward to reconnecting with our members during our first
event, and welcoming new members to our chapter. Our first networking event
to be held on September 22nd is a perfect opportunity for students and
professionals President: Natalie St.Denis has a B.A. in psychology with a specialization in
psychoneuro-pharmacology. She is presently working on her master’s thesis looking
at the enculturation process of new faculty in science and engineering with a
focus on gender differences and similarities. Natalie works full time at the
University of Ottawa as the Assistant to the Vice-Rector, Research. In her
spare time, she likes to visit museums and parks with her three year old
daughter. Natalie also has a profound passion for mountain hiking... always
looking for another peak, another challenge! Past
President: Dr. Monique
Frize joined Carleton University in
July 1997 as a professor in the Department of Systems and Computer
Engineering, and the University of Ottawa as a professor in the School of
Information Technology and Engineering. She
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the first person to hold
the position of NSERC/Nortel Joint
Chair for Women in Science and Engineering in Ontario when it was established
at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University in July 1997. Throughout
her career, Dr. Frize has achieved many distinctions in her field of research
(clinical engineering) and continues to work relentlessly in improving the
representation of women in the disciplines of science and engineering. Monique
really enjoys hiking in Fundy Park, bicycling around Ottawa, organic gardening,
Scottish country dancing and reading.
Treasurer/Membership: Ann Therriault
graduated with a B. Sc. Hons. in geology from the University of Ottawa and
moved to Houston, Texas to work for three years at NASA’s Johnson Space Center
while completing a master’s thesis at the University of Houston. As part of her
thesis she spent 6 weeks in South Africa in 1990. She is currently completing
her Ph.D. while working as a geologist with Natural Resources Canada,
Geological Survey of Canada. Ann and her husband Paul McDonald are the happy
parents of a little girl and are expecting their second child in January 2000.
Secretary: Marianne Chomiak comes to Ottawa from Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. She earned her B. Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Victoria in 1995, but spent several summers as a co-op student at NRC here in the capital. She now works as a research scientist at i-STAT in Kanata, a manufacturer of a hand-held blood analyzer for use in hospitals. Marianne and her husband are the proud parents of an 8-month-old baby boy, who takes up most of her time these days but when she has a free minute she can be found at the computer or traveling around the world.
Programs Coordinator: Jocelyn Chow received her B.Sc.Eng. in Applied Mathematics and Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University and is currently a Ph.D candidate in Electrical Engineering at Queen’s University. Since 1995, she has worked at Nortel Networks here in Ottawa and is also a member of IEEE. Her extracurricular activities include running her company, Canada Computers and Electronics Inc., which she and her husband founded. She also enjoys dance, in particular ballet and jazz, photography, singing, fine arts and performing arts.
Newsletter: Aileen Salares spends most of her working hours frantically writing advertising copy in her position as Marketing and Product Manager for Canadawide Scientific, a national distributor of laboratory equipment and supplies. While she was completing her B.Sc. Hons. in Biochemistry & Psychology at Carleton University, she spent one summer working with rats in a cocaine addiction lab. She likes to lift weights, do aerobics, and singing in an all-woman choir, but in the summer, Aileen and her husband Steve Marshall can be found in their kayaks exploring the waterways around Ottawa.
Website Coordinator: Heather Tkalec graduated from DalTech in Halifax in 1998 with her B.Eng. Electrical, and currently works at Newbridge Networks Corp. in Kanata. She volunteers with the Centretown food bank to computerize their records and with the host program through the Catholic Immigration Center, where is paired with a newcomer to Canada and helps them with their English and acclimatization to the Canadian culture. She enjoys sports, especially soccer (playing on two teams!), and traveling, where she is planning a trip to Hong Kong and Thailand for Spring 2000.
Professional Outreach: Jennifer Flanagan received her Bachelors degree in Bio-psychology from the University of New Brunswick. Her involvement in educational programming started in 1993 at University of New Brunswick with a program called Worlds Unbound whose activities included in-school workshops, teacher training and summer day camps. Jennifer combines a strong commitment to youth and innovative action-oriented business approach to create specialized programs that have reached thousands of Canadian youth. She has developed several specialized educational programs for children with learning disabilities, for aboriginal youth, for remote communities and for girls.
IEEE Outreach: Paula Terpstra graduated with a B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ottawa in 1996. Since then, she has worked at Nortel Networks in the Product Integrity Division, in Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC). She has been accepted to study part-time under Dr. Monique Frize for her masters in biomedical engineering. She is an IEEE member and was actively involved in the Student Branch of IEEE at the University of Ottawa for 3 years. Personal hobbies include rollerblading, traveling, hiking, music, and spending time with friends and family.
Student coordinator, University of Ottawa: Louise Vaillancourt’s passion for the visual arts could have led her to a very different path, but after spending a year in Equador, she chose to study physics. She is presently doing her third year of her bachelor degree and is one of the founders of the WISE Student Branch at the University of Ottawa.
Student coordinator, Carleton University: Jennifer Young is in her second year of Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University. She keeps busy in swimming, choir, Pathmakers, African Dance and Carleton Student Engineering Society activities. At the same time she is a professional student, balancing classes and extracurricular activities full time.
Ottawa-Carleton WISE
Executive 1999-2000
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President |
Natalie St-Denis |
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Vice-President |
Colleen Ennett |
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Treasurer/Membership |
Ann Therriault |
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Secretary |
Marianne Chomiak |
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Program Coordinator |
Jocelyn Chow |
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Newsletter/Public Relations |
Aileen Salares |
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Website Coordinator |
Heather Tkalec |
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Professional Outreach |
Jennifer Flanagan |
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IEEE Outreach |
Paula Terpstra |
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Past President |
Monique Frize |
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U of O Coordinator (student branch) |
Louise Vaillancourt U of O Web site: Email address: |
lvailllan@physics.uottawa.ca http://www.science.uottawa.ca/wise www.science.uottawa.ca/cfsg cfsg@science.uottawa.ca |
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Carleton Coordinator (student branch) |
Jennifer Young Carleton Web site: |
http://WISE.engsoc.carleton.ca |
WISE web site:
http://www.carleton.ca/wise/wiseinfo.htm
Mailing address for our
Chapter:
Ottawa-Carleton WISE
Chapter, BOX 35037, Westgate P.O.,
1309 Carling Avenue, Ottawa
ON K1Z 7L3
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Reminder: Membership
renewals for 1999-2000 are now due. Payments
can be made by mail or at the first event. Fees
are $40 for regular members, $10 for students. |
Announcements
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Wanted: New Pathmakers! The Pathmakers
(Voies Nouvelles) Program is designed to introduce students, and especially
young women, to a wide range of career options in science, engineering, and technology. While the program was originally intended
for females only, over the last few years the Pathmakers have been educating
both young women and men that women have successful careers in these
“non-traditional” disciplines. Founded in 1986, the Ottawa-Carleton
Pathmakers Program has been supported financially and staffed by the
University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Algonquin College and the
Ottawa-Carleton District School Boards. Funding has been generously provided
for the upcoming year by Telesat. Since 1997, Dr. Monique Frize, the
NSERC/Nortel Joint Chair for Women in Science and Engineering in Ontario has
been coordinating the activities, the fund-raising and the promotion of the
program. Pathmakers are
female post-secondary students pursuing a career in science or engineering.
They volunteer their time to speak to students from kindergarten to
university level about their degree or career in these areas. She serves as a
role model by presenting career options in occupations in which women are
under-represented for consideration when the time comes to choose a path of
study. Pathmakers gain valuable communication, inter-personal, and
presentation skills while participating in the program. New Pathmakers
are needed each year. No previous experience is necessary, and you are bound
to have a positive and fun experience like our volunteers in past years. It
is recommended that new Pathmakers attend one of the training sessions
offered, where she would learn techniques for her future presentations and
network with other experienced Pathmakers. Training
sessions run from 5 pm to 8 pm on the following dates and locations: Tuesday, Sept.
28, 1999 University of
Ottawa, Cafeteria in Pavillon Marion Wednesday, Sept.
29, 1999 Carleton
University, 2203 Dunton Tower January 19, 2000 Algonquin
College, see website for details For more
information visit: http://www.carelton.ca/wise/pathmaker.htm http://www.genie.uottawa.ca/wise/pathmaker.htm Jennifer
Young, Coordinator of the Carleton
University WISE student branch and a second year aerospace engineering
student, is one of the recipients of the C.D. Howe Scholarship for 1999-2000.
Two scholarships of $6,000 is awarded each year. One award was offered to a
male and one to a female student. This merit scholarship was open to
qualified full-time engineering students entering the second year of their
program and who will graduate within the next two of three years. Candidates
must have completed a full first year program in a Canadian faculty of engineering
and who intend to continue their studies in engineering. Selection was based
upon scholarly competence as demonstrated by transcripts, prizes and test
results (worth 80%); and leadership qualities as evidenced by volunteer and
extracurricular activities (worth 20%). A selection committee of
representatives from universities across the country chose the award holders.
Congratulations Jennifer and best of luck with your studies in the coming
year! Louise
Vaillancourt, Coordinator for the
University of Ottawa WISE Student Branch and third year physics student, was
the recipient of the Young Woman’s Leadership Award at the annual Women of
Distinction Awards (YMCA-YWCA of Ottawa-Carleton) held on May 31, 1999. The
awards celebrate outstanding achievements and contributions to the
advancement of women and the quality of women’s lives. Our congratulations go
out to Louise for the recognition of her work! Ottawa has been
chosen to host the “12th International Conference of Women
Engineers and Scientists” (ICWES12) in July 27-31, 2002. The
conference occurs once every three years in a different location around the
world. With the theme “Women in a Knowledge-based Society”, the organizers
hope to bring together highly skilled women scientists, engineers and students
to challenge the world to a new vision of women’s roles and contributions in
the areas of science, engineering and technology. Sub-themes of the conference will be “Women in Research and
Development”, “Women and Technology”
and “Balancing Work and Family Life: Achieving Harmony”. Technical papers and papers on gender
issues and research will be welcome. At ICWES11, the bid from Canada was very
well received. The vote to support the choice of Ottawa was unanimous (31
against 0). It was heartening to hear
how people were already excited about coming to this event. So plan to attend! We promise you a rich
and rewarding experience at ICWES12! Monique Frize,
Chair of ICWES12. |
Carleton Getting Paid to Hire Women Researchers
by Steven Ladurantaye. Silicon Valley NORTH -
Editorial, Ottawa July 1999. Reprinted with permission.
© Silvan Communications Inc. and
Silicon Valley NORTH.
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The gender balance
in the faculties of Ontario universities will shift a little to include more
women, thanks to this year's federal budget. Seven women will receive University Faculty Awards
because of new funding to the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council (NSERC). Carleton U, Dalhousie
U, McMaster U, York U, and the U
of Montréal will each benefit. Each NSERC University Faculty Award provides $40,000
in annual salary support for up to five years, as well as a substantial
research grant. The seven new awards represent an investment of $1.3 million
beyond the $2.4 million previously awarded in March. Dr. Ronald Duhamel, federal
secretary of state for science, R&D, says the government has been going
out of its way to increase women's representation in the life sciences and
engineering fields. 'Fewer than 12% of the faculty of these two sectors is
comprised of women,' he says. 'This program targets that and adds more role
models for women students to look up to.' Duhamel is quick to point out that the women
received their research grants because they are exceptional researchers. He
says they went through as thorough a screening process as any other
applicant, and they aren't working just because they're women. 'Each woman
had to prove herself and is excellent in her field,' he says. 'And we
recognize there are barriers. More women need to realize they can do this
kind of work.' Monique Frize, holder of the NSERC/Nortel Networks joint chair
for women in science and engineering in Ontario, says the grants are a step
in the right direction. She cites statistics from 1995-1996 that say women
only made up 6% of professors in her field of engineering. 'It is often said by schools that they can't find a
woman to hire,' she says. 'That's unacceptable. They need to ask themselves
what they are doing to proactively attract women. We hope the women chosen
for the awards will show them what they have been missing.' Katie Gilmour answered the call for Carleton. The fish physiologist has been
holding down a teaching job, but welcomes the chance to focus on research. 'This is a huge deal,' she says. 'The biology
department has been supportive of me doing research, but now there will be
equal emphasis on teaching and research.' She will study the effects of soft water on fish to
see how they adapt to a lack of ions in the water. She says as a woman
scientist, she is used to having a lack of women colleagues. 'I don't know
the numbers,' she says. 'But as a woman, it is rare for me to have a woman as
a colleague. There is an under-representation of women. This helps address
it.' Frize thinks it's unfortunate the federal government
has to pay a university to hire a well-qualified research woman. 'It's a sad
thing,' she says. 'Everyone rewarded is an excellent researcher and role
model. The problem is, male hirers often hire someone in their own image who
reminds them of themselves when they were young men.' Thank you to our sponsors: |