Issue date: 11/15/06 Section: News

Cal Poly's Society of Women Engineers picked up their fifth award for being first in the nation, along with five other awards.

Winning first place once is hard enough, yet the Cal Poly Society of Women Engineers (SWE) has won first in the nation for its fifth straight year.

Each year a SWE National Conference award ceremony is held to give awards for the prior year's accomplishments.

Cal Poly finished before the Colorado School of Mines and Cornell University for the best student chapter for large universities (those with more than 100 members). Cal Poly had 481 SWE members last year. About nationally around 300 universities and about 100 professionals in the engineering field belong to the National Society of Women Engineers.

"I'm very proud of all the hard work they've done and am happy to receive this recognition," SWE director Helene Finger said.

Cal Poly SWE picked up five other awards under the outstanding large collegiate section. The awards were given for best membership program, collegiate membership upgrade, the Boeing Company multi-cultural program and best collegiate newsletter award for the region.

Cal Poly's SWE Team Tech group took second place to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz. for its work with Northrop Grumman Corp. on a jet engine inspection system design. Fifteen club members attended the convention held in Kansas City, Mo. in October. Eight were sponsored by College of Engineering Dean Mohammad Noori and the rest were supported by engineering department chairs.

Last year's theme was "sustaining the world through engineering, education and opportunity." The club organized 200 events throughout the year.

This year's theme, said club president Lisa Dakis, is "inspiring inclusiveness," meaning Cal Poly SWE wants to work with students and clubs to plan events. Most clubs organize their own events, but by working together it promotes unity and teamwork among the different clubs.

Cal Poly SWE and six other clubs organized "building an engineer day" that took place Oct. 28.

Students from sixth through eighth-grade participated in eight engineering labs and other engineering projects. Around 130 students, 60 adults and 40 volunteers attended. This was the second year of the event and many students returned, mechanical engineering student Dakis said.

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