‘Nerd Girl’ scientist to speak at engineers banquet

How I dislike people who adopt pejorative terms for themselves. "Nerd" is a pejorative, yet here we have someone who has adopted it and thereby apparently hopes to turn it into a positive. Not going to happen, IMHO.

From WSU: ‘Nerd Girl’ scientist to speak at engineers banquet

RICHLAND, Wash. - The founder of the nationally acclaimed "Nerd Girls” program will be the keynote speaker Feb. 24 at the 2012 Tri-Cities Engineers Week banquet in Kennewick.

Karen Panetta is professor and director of the Simulation Research Laboratory at Tufts University in Massachusetts and is a NASA Langley Research Scientist "JOVE” Fellow. She created the "Nerd Girls” program, where undergraduate engineers research renewable energy topics and serve as role models for younger students.

Panetta received the 2011 Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Award for Social Impact and the 2010 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. The latter was awarded by the White House to recognize the crucial role that mentoring plays in the academic and personal development of students studying science and engineering.

The banquet is Feb. 24 at the Red Lion Hotel, 1101 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick. Doors open at 6 p.m. Dinner and the program start at 6:30 p.m. During the evening, the 2011 Tri-Cities Engineer of the Year award will be announced.

Purchase a table or individual tickets by 4 p.m. Feb. 22 by contacting Bonnie Bates at bbates@tricity.wsu.edu or 509-372-7171. The cost is $300 for a table of eight or $40 per person.

This is the 61st anniversary of Engineers Week, being held Feb. 19-25. It was established in 1951 to coincide with George Washington's birthday. Washington has been described as America's first engineer. National Engineers Week is dedicated to raising public awareness of engineers' positive contributions to quality of life. Learn more at http://www.eweek.org.

Banquet sponsors and organizers include the Tri-Cities Engineering Week Coalition, the 3 Rivers Community Foundation, Washington State University Tri-Cities, Battelle, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and WSU Tri-Cities engineering alumni.

WSU Tri-Cities is located along the scenic Columbia River in Richland, Wash. Established in 1989 with upper division and graduate programs, WSU Tri-Cities expanded in 2007 to a four-year undergraduate campus offering 18 bachelor’s, 10 master’s and eight doctoral degrees. Learn more about the most diverse campus in the WSU system at http://www.tricity.wsu.edu.