Book Launch Session
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WEEF/GEDC date and time for the webinar/session:
WEEF & GEDC Session Agenda
1. During the session we will follow the following schedule which was also followed in the last year’s book launch.
a. Intro to the book and thanks to sponsors – Sirin Tekinay
b.Intro to Marlene Kanga, question to panelist 1 – Soma Chakrabarti
c. Marlene Kanga answers
d. Intro to Barbara P. Chan, question to panelist 2 – Sirin Tekinay
e. Barbara P. Chan
f. Intro to Lidia Zakowska, question to panelist 3 – Soma Chakrabarti
g. Lidia Zakowska answers
h. Intro to Cristina Trois, question to panelist 4 – Sirin Tekinay
i. Cristina Trois answers
j. Intro to Niranjane Ratnayake, question to panelist 5 – Soma Chakrabarti
k. Niranjane Ratnayake answers
l. Intro to Reem Sabouni, question to panelist 6 – Sirin Tekinay
m. Reem Sabouni answers
n. Question for Sirin – Soma Chakrabarti
o. Answer by Soma Chakrabarti
p. Question for Soma – Sirin Tekinay
q. Answer by Soma Chakrabarti
r. Thanks to Hans, Aliki, Salma, Kayla, Bonny – Soma Chakrabarti
Rising to the Top Book Launch Session
Description:
While engineering is often seen as a male-dominated field, more women than ever are pursuing engineering careers and the gender gap is shrinking globally. Engineers are changemakers who play a critical role in solving the grand challenges facing humanity—and it’s a role that will be even more important in the coming decades. For innovations to continue to evolve, it’s necessary to balance gender representation in the field and ensure engineering advancements include all members of society. Rising to the Top provides an intimate and inspiring look into the experiences that have shaped the lives and careers of women engineering leaders from around the world, from Sudan to Chile to Malaysia, and many points in between. By openly sharing their personal journeys in these pages, the authors hope to not only inspire the next generation of engineering leaders, but also provide valuable insight into the challenges facing women engineers around the world, and the opportunities that are theirs for the taking. Rising to the Top Volume I and II make it clear that women engineering leaders are not only essential for the advancement of all societies—they are here to stay.
Session Panelists
Prof. Hans Jürgen Hoyer serves as the Executive Secretary of the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) and the Secretary General of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES). Additionally, Dr. Hoyer is a Resident Scholar in Global Engineering at the Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University, Global Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland BC, and co-founder of the Indo-Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE).
Dr. Soma Chakrabarti has over twenty years of experience in leadership, administration, teaching and research in both academia and industry. She consults worldwide on professional and continuing higher education administration. She has been the assistant dean of Summer Term at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; the director of Continuing Studies at the University of Delaware’s Division of Professional and Continuing Studies; and the director of the Center for Engineering and Interdisciplinary Professional Education at the University of Kansas Continuing Education Division. Earlier Soma was the president and chief executive officer of BioComp Systems, Inc., a University of Kansas spin-off, that developed a near commercial quality true 3-D display system using two National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Phase I and Phase II grants with Soma as the principal investigator. She has taught chemical engineering and was an associate research engineer in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Kansas. She has a doctorate in biochemical engineering and biotechnology from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Prof. Sirin Tekinay is the first female dean of engineering in the United Arab Emirates. During her 20-year career in the US, she served the telecom industry (Bell Labs and Nortel), got tenured, and was promoted to Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology. From 2005-2009, she served the US National Science Foundation as Program Director. Relocating to her home country of Turkey, Dr. Tekinay held the positions of Dean of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Vice Rector for Research, and Rector. Dr. Tekinay holds a George Mason University PhD, and MS and BS degrees from Bogazici University, all in electrical engineering. Dr. Tekinay holds nine patents. She founded the first FabLab in Turkey, and pioneered new approaches in project-based education and transdisciplinary research. She is an expert reviewer for the European Commission; member of the Open Science Group of the European Universities Association; elected member on the Board of Directors of the European Society for Engineering Education; and Chair of the Global Engineering Deans Council.
Marlene Kanga (Panelist 1) is President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), the peak body for engineering institutions; it represents some 100 engineering institutions internationally and approximately 30 million engineers. A chemical engineer and a fellow of the Australian Academy of Engineering and Technology, she was the 2013 National President of Engineers Australia. Marlene has been listed among the Top 10 Women Engineers in Australia, the Top 100 Women of Influence in Australia and the Top 100 Engineers in Australia. She is a Member of the Order of Australia, a national honor in recognition of her leadership in the engineering profession.
Barbara Chan (Panelist 2) has 25 years of research experience in biomaterials, cell, and tissue engineering. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and PhD degree in Surgical Science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and her post-doctoral experience in Laser Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, USA. She joined the University of Hong Kong in 2003 and has been a key member of its Biomedical Engineering program. Barbara established the Tissue Engineering Laboratory with the vision to improve quality of life by bioengineering biomaterials and stem-cell based tissues for personalized therapies for diseased tissues.
Lidia Zakowska (Panelist 3) , PhD, is a Professor of Transport Engineering in Cracow University of Technology’s Civil Engineering Faculty. Her international research concentrates on engineering for sustainable development; mobility and accessibility of transport users; equity in transportation; environmental protection and climate change; safety studies in road transport; visualization in transportation; seniors’ mobility; and quality of life. The author of more than 100 research publications, Lidia is on the Editorial Boards of prominent international journals. She is a Founding member of the WIE (Woman in Engineering) Standing Committee at the World Federation of Engineering Associations (WFEO), an active member of INWES Europe, and past President of the Polish Association of Engineers and Technicians of Transportation, among other leadership roles. A founding member of WIE Network at Cracow University of Technology, she works for the equality of women engineers in their career development. As secretary general of the WOMENVAI platform, Lidia is engaged in bringing new technologies to environmental problems. She believes that adapting to climate change is possible at the local and international level. The planet can be sustainable if engineers and scientists, men and women, work together with policymakers and industry on large, innovative projects with advanced 21st-century technologies.
Cristina Trois (Panelist 4) is the former Dean of the School of Engineering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. A Full Professor in Environmental Engineering, she is currently the South African Research Chair in Waste and Climate Change (SARCHI). Prof. Trois moved to South Africa from the beautiful island of Sardinia in Italy in 1998 and has been working at UKZN since 1999. She holds an MScEng (summa cum laude) and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the Department of Geo-Engineering and Environmental Technology of Cagliari University (Italy). She is a Professional Engineer (Italy) and a fellow of the SA Academy of Engineers and of the Global Engineering Deans’ Council. Prof. Trois is coauthor of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications.
Niranjanie Ratnayake (Panelist 5) is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Moratuwa, the title awarded on her retirement from service as a Senior Professor in Civil Engineering. Her field of specialization is Environmental Engineering. In 2002, she was promoted to the post of Professor, thus becoming the first ever female Professor in any field of Engineering in the Sri Lankan University system. She was the President of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) for the session 2017/2018, considered as the highest position an engineer can achieve in his/her Professional career. In its history of 113 years, this is the second time that a female became President. She served as the founder Chairperson of the Women Engineers’ Forum and Chairperson of the Civil Engineering Sectional Committee of the IESL. She has won several prestigious national Awards, including a Presidential Award for Research and the Zonta Woman of Achievement Award in Engineering and IT. IESL recognized her by awarding the Outstanding Engineering Education Award of Excellence. She is also the President Elect of the Institution of Environmental Professionals, Sri Lanka (IEPSL) which is a gathering of Professionals of all disciplines committed to the common goal of a clean planet and sustainable development.
Reem Sabouni (Panelist 6) is an Associate Professor at the ABET-accredited Abu Dhabi University (ADU) and has authored several publications in the fields of geotechnical and structural engineering. She is also Coordinator of Student Enrollment and Success for the College of Engineering, ADU. Prior to joining ADU, Dr. Sabouni was Chair of the Civil Engineering Department and Director of University Laboratories at ALHOSN University (also ABET-accredited). She is a member of several prominent engineering societies, including the ASCE, fib, and CSCE. She is a founding member of the fib-UAE Chapter and is its Chair of Women Engineers. In March 2020, Dr. Sabouni was elected President of the ASCE-UAE Section. Dr. Sabouni acquired her PhD and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from Western University in Canada. She was the first researcher in North America to conduct full-scale tests on circular precast concrete manholes in a controlled laboratory environment. These tests were conducted in the Large Scale Geotechnical Testing Facility at Western University and in collaboration with the Ontario Concrete Pipe Association. Dr. Sabouni received several Canadian awards and research scholarships, and the Excellence Award from H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak for ranking first in UAE University’s Class of 2002.
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