News Release

Middle school girls from throughout the Baltimore region will get a chance to learn about engineering careers, design a team project and meet with college engineering majors during events to be held on Saturday, Dec. 1, at The Johns Hopkins University. The theme of the events is "Engineering the Human Environment."

The program is open to Baltimore-area girls in grades 6 through 8. It will be held in the Great Hall in Levering Hall at the university's Homewood campus, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Md. Two sessions will be held: a morning session from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and an afternoon session from 2 to 5 p.m. Up to 40 girls are expected to attend each of the sessions.

During each session, the girls will learn about the role of engineers, paying particular attention to how today's engineers defy stereotypes of gender and pursue a wide array of career interests. The girls then will be divided into groups to work on design projects related to the day's theme. Participants will get a chance to meet Johns Hopkins engineering students and local engineering professionals. Each girl will also receive a free tee shirt.

These events are offered because the engineering field has a gender diversity problem: too few women are entering the profession. To help correct this imbalance, organizers want to introduce women engineers and engineering projects to middle school girls whose minds are still open to non- traditional career paths.

The media contact at the events will be Lester K. Su, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins. (Before the event, Su can be reached at 410-516-8637.)

The program is being organized by the Johns Hopkins student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Financial support has been provided by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Social Concern and the National Science Foundation.