ASME Receives Grant from Lenovo Foundation to Develop New STEM...

ASME Receives Grant from Lenovo Foundation to Develop New STEM... ASME Receives Grant from Lenovo Foundation to Develop New STEM... ASME Receives Grant from Lenovo Foundation to Develop New STEM Outreach ProgramASME recently received a $10,000 grant from the Lenovo Foundation to fund the development of a new program, See What You Can Be, which is intended to introduce high school girls of color to mechanical engineering and enable them to interact with female engineering students and practicing engineers. ASME was one of 16 finalists selected from a field of 90 applicants to receive a grant from the Lenovo Foundations new Love On program, which was established to fund project proposals that would provide underserved populations with access to technology and STEM education.See What You Can Be, which is being administered by ASMEs Engineering Education department, is envisioned as a daylong forum for up to 25 female high school students from underrepresented communities in the United S tates. Five female undergraduate engineering students will participate as mentors at each of the events. The program is scheduled to launch next month at ASME E-Fest North in East Lansing, Mich., with two additional events planned for Atlanta, Ga., and Washington, D.C., later this year.The See What You Can Be events will encompass three engineering-based activities that address the experiences of minority women in the field of mechanical engineering. The Lenovo grant will be used specifically to purchase eight virtual reality headsets for a hands-on activity in which the engineering mentors will introduce the students to the concept of virtual reality and explain the various applications for virtual reality in the engineering field. The mentors will also help the young women create a video blog documenting their experiences during the daylong program.Although the See What You Can Be forums will offer the students an introduction to engineering from women who are pursuing careers in the field, the programs overall objective is to show the students who participate that careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are a viable option for them. Our goal is not for every woman to go into engineering, but to provide women with exposure to engineering and let them decide their path free of societys pressure, stereotypes and biases, said Ashley Huderson, manager of ASME Engineering Education, who is implementing the program along with Aisha Lawrey, director of ASME Engineering Education, and Patti Jo Rosenthal, manager of K-12 programs for ASME.For more information on the See What You Can Be project, contact Ashley Huderson, ASME Engineering Education, at hudersonaasme.org.