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New Frontiers

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New England Region F

Conference 2009

Smith College    Saturday, April 4

Northampton, MA   

 

 

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Session 2:  Working Across Generations

Description

Your workplace is likely populated with colleagues from four different generations and with strikingly different communication styles, motivations, work styles, values, attitudes towards work, learning styles and levels of commitment.  Instant messaging may seem to be adequate communication for a Gen Y worker, while older workers might wonder “Why won’t she talk to me?”  Younger workers may be motivated by money or advancement while older workers can be highly motivated by family time and vacation.  During this interactive workshop led by speakers from diverse generations you will:

Take an assessment to find whether your values and motivation align with the Veterans (or Matures), the Baby Boomers, the members of Generation X, or the young Gen Yers.

Identify the dominant work values, emotions & styles in today’s workforce based on age differences.

Learn 10 strategies for dealing with Generational Diversity that you can take back to your workplace.

 

Speakers

 

Jeanne Trinko Mechler, is a member of the Baby Boomer generation.  She’s a senior technical staff electrical engineer with 23 years of experience in ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) chip design with the IBM Systems & Technology Group in Essex Junction, VT. She works on a daily basis with design teams and customers from India, China, Japan, Germany, and all over the United States and has traveled frequently to teach classes to customers and IBM design center engineers in those locations.  She received the M.S. and B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Vermont in 1989 and 1985 respectively, and the M.S. in engineering management from the National Technological University in 1992.  She holds patents and has published papers in the areas of design for test, reliability, failure analysis, and ASIC design.  She has completed more than a two dozen ASIC chip designs, specializing in those containing High Speed SerDes and is the author of the engineering textbook High Speed SerDes Devices and Applications.  She is a member of the Technical Program committee for the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference 2004-present.  She is a senior life member of the Society of Women Engineers, and a member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, the National Engineers Week, EX.I.T.E., and technical education outreach committees for IBM, and a Girl Scout Leader.  She resides in Essex Junction, VT with her husband and three children, ages 11, 12, and 16.  She has very little spare time, but does manage to enjoy photography and site-seeing in exotic places!

 

Maureen Masiulis, is a Gen Y worker from General Dynamics, Advanced Information Services who is working on her Masters Degree in Engineering Management.  Maureen graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2003 with a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Systems Engineering. Upon graduating from RPI she joined General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in Pittsfield, Massachusetts as a member of the Engineering Leadership Program.  Maureen now leads as a cross functional team responsible for designing a new data system intended for Ohio Class Submarines. Maureen is also a member of a committee that provides guidance for current Engineering Leadership Program members.  Maureen received a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2006 and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration through the UMASS Amherst Part-Time Online MBA program. When not working, Maureen enjoys participating in local community events, SWE Regional and National Committees, playing softball, swimming, biking, and running.

 

Teresa Berra, is a non-traditional college student at Smith College who returned to school at the age of 34 and is a member of “Generation X”. Her first career was in the heath care field as a pediatric, critical care nursing assistant. When she decided that the health care field was not the avenue she wished to pursue for the long term she left to work in the restaurant business as a baker. Although she found baking to be creatively satisfying, she found herself frustrated with the career prospects that she had without a college degree. In 2005 she decided to enroll at Greenfield Community College where sherediscovered her aptitude and love of math and science and completed her Associates Degree in 2007. In 2007 Teresa was accepted to Smith College through the Ada Comstock program for non-traditional students and was also a recipient of a SMART scholarship sponsored by the Department of Defense. During the summer of 2008 she interned at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Dahlgren, VA where she worked with the Electromagnetic Raligun team. After graduation this May she is taking a position with NSWC working in the Electromagnetic and Sensor Systems division. Her Senior Design Clinic project has been the design of a system for 3-D tracking of personnel, a project sponsored by Lincoln Laboratories. The engineering program has been the challenge she was looking for and is looking forward to having an opportunity to use her experiences to provide mentoring or encouragement for other young women and non-traditional students to explore the possibilities of careers in engineering.

 

Karen Horton, University of Maine

Karen Horton joined the MET faculty in the Fall of 1997 from Bath Iron Works where she worked for five years in Noise, Shock and Vibration building Aegis Destroyers. Prior to pursuing her Masters Degree she spent three years as a Mechanical Engineer at the Naval Coastal Systems Center in Panama City, Flordia, then taught Math and Electronics for a year at Ramstein American High School, Germany.  Professor Horton teaches Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Technology, Strengths of Materials, Engineering Materials, Industrial Vibrations, and independent study courses. She has also taught Technical Drawing, Manufacturing Technology, Introduction to CAD/CAM, Fluid Flow Technology, CAD/CAM Projects, and Virtual Preservation of Archeological Structures.

Prof. Horton serves as the counselor to the student section of the Society of Women Engineers and encourages young women to pursue engineering as a career. She also serves as Vice President of the (professional) Maine Section of SWE. She directs the Creative Design at CAD Camp, an annual resident or commuter summer experience for high school students focusing on team building and creating art using computer-aided design.

 

 

Our 2009 Corporate Sponsors

 

Trail Blazer:

Raytheon

 

Pioneer:

US Navy

CIA

 

Explorer:

Rohm and Haas