Group from Alfred University attends Society of Women Engineers conference

group of eight women in two rows smiling — The group from Alfred University who attended the Society of Women Engineers shown above are (front, from left) Samantha Capin, sophomore biomaterials engineering major; Montana Weidman, first-year masters student in materials science and engineering; and Rebecca Welch, visiting assistant professor of materials science and engineering in Alfred University’s Inamori School of Engineering. In back (from left) are Faith Pander, first-year biomaterials engineering major; Emma Meyer, junior materials science and engineering major; Catherine Padilla, sophomore ceramic engineering major; Jane Tkachenko, sophomore mechanical engineering major; and Noa Broekman, first-year mechanical engineering major.

Seven women engineering students from Alfred University traveled to Chicago recently to attend the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) 2024 Conference.

The students were accompanied to the WE 2024 conference, held Oct. 24-26, by Rebecca Welch, visiting assistant professor of materials science and engineering in Alfred University’s Inamori School of Engineering. The trip was supported in part by Alfred University’s Bernstein Funds for Student and Faculty Development.

After spending Tuesday, Oct. 22, driving from campus to Chicago, the group spent Wednesday, Oct. 23, visiting the labs at Materials Development, a materials science and resource and development engineering company based at the Technology Innovation Center in Evanston, IL. There, they learned about high temperature levitation techniques used to melt materials up to 3,500 Celsius using lasers, and met with Stephen Wilke, senior resource and development scientist, and Rick Weber, company founder and president. They later visited the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry.

The group attended the SWE conference— the world's largest conference for women In engineering and technology—Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Oct. 24-26. The event offered students opportunities to engage in networking, gain career insights, and connect with industry leaders on innovation.