
Grad WiE Network
VISIONThe Grad WiE Network strives to empower and connect women engineering graduate students. MISSIONTo provide a supportive environment for the purpose of sharing information and strategies to enable women engineering graduate students to achieve success personally, academically, and professionally. Program Objectives
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Calling all graduate women in engineering! Grow your confidence. Present your amazing work. Cultivate your networks. The Grad WiE Network will host the 3rd annual Grad WiE Network Symposium Sharing Your Voice, Taking Your Next Leapon Tuesday February 13, 2024 at Purdue University
A professional development workshop will be held on Monday, February 12, 2024. The Grad WiE Network Symposium is an opportunity for women graduate students to build community, support your peers, hear about exciting research, and learn from inspiring alumnae. Registration opens December 1, 2023. Questions, please contact the Grad WiE Network Leadership team: wiepgwen@purdue.edu Individuals of all races, genders, and backgrounds are welcome. |
2024 Grad WiE Network Symposium: Registration Open
Sharing Your Voice, Taking Your Next Leap 3rd Annual Grad WiE Network Symposium Register here!Call for Abstracts The Graduate Women in Engineering Network (Grad WiE Network) Symposium will be held on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. It is a unique opportunity for College of Engineering graduate students to build their network, share the impact of their work in new and engaging ways, and learn from inspiring alumnae. The symposium accepts abstracts on topics associated with your research. We encourage all presenters to use active engagement strategies when presenting, so please start thinking about how your will engage your audience. Incentive for Presenters Those who are registered for and present at the Grad WiE Network Symposium will be eligible for the WiE Travel Grant drawing. Five (5) WiE Travel Grants of $2,000 each will be randomly awarded. WiE Travel Grant funds can only be used for professional conference travel within the 2024 calendar year at which the awardee presents their novel research. Names will be drawn at the end of day Closing Reception. Must be a current CoE graduate student and present to win. Key Points
Presentation Types
The deadline for submitting abstracts was Monday, November 13, 2023. Acceptance deadline is December 7, 2023 Questions, please contact the Grad WiE Network Leadership team: wiepgwen@purdue.edu |
FAQs for Attendees |
Congratulations to the 2023 WiE Travel Grant winners who were selected from presenters at the 2nd annual Grad WiE Network Symposium: Sharing Your Voice, Extending Your Reach held February 7, 2023.
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2023: Sharing Your Voice, Extending Your Reach
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Meet the Grad WiE Network Leadership Team
![]() Suzanne Zurn-Birkhimer | Associate Director
Dr. Zurn-Birkhimer is the Associate Director of the Women in Engineering Program and oversees the Grad WiE Network. Here is her bio.
Why the Grad WiE Network is great
"The Grad WiE Network is near and dear to my heart. I was involved in a similar program during my graduate years. Not only did it allow me to build a community of women scholars, I was able to grow personally and professionally. I am excited that we continue to bring these amazing opportunities to students today."
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![]() Cathy Deno | Administrative Assistant
Cathy is one of the Women in Engineering Program's Administrative Assistants. She works with the mentoring program teams and the WE Link recruitment team. Here is her bio.
Why the Grad WiE Network is great
"I love that the Grad WiE Network offers our women graduate students not only the opportunity to network with women outside of their disciplines but also a safe place to practice unique ways of presenting their research at the annual symposium."
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![]() Olivia Brandt | PhD Student | Materials Engineering
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Olivia is from Los Angeles and obtained a bachelor's degree in materials engineering from the University of California, Riverside in 2019. Olivia's PhD research is focused on understanding ceramic processing techniques that are used to create heat exchanges. Besides the Grad WiE Network, Olivia is active in the American Ceramics Society where she is chair of the President's Council of Student Advisors. In her spare time, Olivia enjoys playing the piano, cycling, and watching her favorite TV shows.
Why the Grad WiE Network is great
"The Grad WiE Network is an exceptional program that offers networking opportunities with alumnae and students within different engineering disciplines and provides a space for academic, personal, and professional growth through unique programming. The Grad WiE Network has given me resources and skills that I could not have obtained through my own engineering discipline and has allowed me to make connections that I would have otherwise missed if I was not involved."
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![]() Burla Ondes | PhD Student | Industrial Engineering
Burla received her B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Florida at Gainesville in 2019. Her PhD research is focused on deriving performance bounds for multi-objective simulation optimization algorithms. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, visiting springs and reading novels.
Why the Grad WiE Network is great
"The Grad WiE Network is an extraordinary program that offers many opportunities for women graduate students such as networking with alumnae and fellow women graduate students along with the opportunity to grow professionally and personally. It also provides a welcoming environment for women graduate students in any discipline of engineering which is extremely important especially in graduate school."
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![]() Angie Rojas Cardenas | PhD Student | Materials Engineering
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Angie received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL) in 2022. She is currently pursuing a PhD in the School of Materials Engineering at Purdue University. Her undergraduate research work focused on visualizing the stress on a confinement elastomer using mechanophores. She is currently working on a research project under the guidance of Prof. Chelsea Davis (MSE) and Prof. Amy Marconnet (ME) on Thermally conductive polymers.
Why the Grad WiE Network is great
"The Grad WiE Network is an exceptional program that actively promotes diversity and inclusion within the engineering community. By fostering connections with other women in engineering and even alumni, it provides a valuable opportunity to create a strong support network. I wholeheartedly encourage all graduate women in engineering to join us at our various events. Here, they will discover a welcoming and nurturing environment where they can forge meaningful friendships and find the support they need to thrive in their academic and professional journeys."
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![]() Elizabeth Sanders | PhD Student | Engineering Education
Hometown: Central Illinois
Elizabeth is an Engineering Education PhD student, originally from Central Illinois. She completed her B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and her M.S. in Higher Education from the University of Michigan. Her current research focuses on human-centered design, ethics, and empathy in engineering. Outside of school, she likes to spend her time making music, doing art, being outdoors, or enjoying some live music!
Why the Grad WiE Network is great
"The Grad WiE Network is an incredible program that intentionally centers community among women graduate students. I love that the Grad WiE Network provides an inclusive and welcoming space for women graduate students to connect across disciplines and create meaningful, lasting friendships!"
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![]() Anne Serban | PhD Student | Chemical Engineering
Anne received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2020. She is part of the Beaudoin group and is currently working on understanding the adhesion between energetic particles and their binders. In her free time, Anne enjoys being outside and trying new foods.
Why the Grad WiE Network is great
"The Grad WiE Network provides opportunities to meet fellow women in engineering and helps build networks; this was especially meaningful to me as I joined Purdue during COVID."
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![]() Shanmukhi Sripada | PhD Student | Mechanical Engineering
Shanmukhi is from New Dehli, India, and obtained a BS in Mechanical Engineering in 2021 from the Indian Institute of Technology, Dehli, India. She worked as an R&D engineer at Dassault Systèmes Solutions Lab before joining Purdue University as a PhD student. Her research is focused on minimizing the thermal resistance in the stator-winding assembly in electric motors. On the computational side, she is working on developing a Physics informed Neural networks model for accurate estimation of thermal properties of materials. She is also the Chair of Women in Mechanical Engineering at OMEGA (Official Mechanical Engineering Graduate Association). In her spare time, she plays Badminton, attends Zumba classes, and reads books.
Why the Grad WiE Network is great
"By joining the Grad WiE Network, I established valuable connections with fellow women engineers, including graduate students, professionals, faculty, and alumni, who share my dedication to making significant contributions in the field of engineering. Participating in the Pop-In events and presenting at the symposium not only allowed me to network with women who share similar goals but also enabled me to develop lifelong friendships that I hold dear."
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Grad WiE Network Partner:
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