
Group photo from the SWE NESS 30th Anniversary Celebration on May 5, 2019.
Monthly SWE NESS Planning Meeting:
FY21 EC #7 - March 26th at 7pm via video chat.
Email new_englandshoreline@swe.org if you are interested in joining the Executive Council for the monthly planning meeting! We discuss plans for events we want to hold in the new year and what activities our members are interested in, so come provide your input.
Email new_englandshoreline@swe.org if you are interested in joining the Executive Council for the monthly planning meeting! We discuss plans for events we want to hold in the new year and what activities our members are interested in, so come provide your input.
We have some great ideas for events this year! Contact us if you are interested in helping out with events or joining the next planning meeting. Meetings often include a special treat from Sue, like brownie cheesecake fruit dessert! |
Upcoming Events
NASA Solar System
Ambassador Presentation:
Mars Rover Perseverance
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 7 PM - All are welcome to join SWE-NESS for this virtual event on Zoom. The talk will start at 7pm.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcoc-CprTgsHtdYk5dMsvrcoe3zRWaiNOnq.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
The latest NASA Mars 2020 rover named Perseverance has successfully landed on the Red Planet. In this presentation NASA Solar System Ambassador Geoff McLean will describe the equipment the rover is equipped with, its various capabilities, and its four main missions. Also presented will be the landing site for the rover and why it was chosen.
Meet our guest speaker, Geoff McLean: Geoff graduated from Miami University with a Bachelor of Science. While at Miami U he took a graduate level course in astronomy. He has always been a space dreamer and advocate not just for the adventure but for the knowledge and technological challenge. Upon graduation he was a US Naval Officer and served in various capacities for nine years. He worked for various defense contractors writing mainly software, but also was lead engineer on a contract to develop ballasting trainers for submarines. He went on to start his own business which has performed such varied tasks as researching better home building software, car dealership databases, websites, radio interference software, and a real-time multiplatform networked combat simulation. When his daughter was young she was awarded a 5-day/4 night stay at Goddard Space Center with Girl Scouts USA (he was extremely jealous). Afterwards they formed the Eastern CT Girl Scout Astronomy Club. This eventually lead to the recent formation of the Astronomy Troop for Girl Scouts of Connecticut for which he is co-leader. In 2019 he was sent to the University of Tucson Space Camp for Girl Scouts where he learned a great deal on how to educate girls on astronomy topics. Tens of thousands of people have looked through his four telescopes at the sun, moon, planets and deep sky objects and listened and learned from his various presentations. He speaks on a wide variety of science topics including The Search for Life, Black Holes and Other Absurdities of our Universe, Light Pollution, Pluto (the flyby information we've learned), and many others. He is also an avid astrophotographer having over 200 images in his collection.
Ambassador Presentation:
Mars Rover Perseverance
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 7 PM - All are welcome to join SWE-NESS for this virtual event on Zoom. The talk will start at 7pm.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcoc-CprTgsHtdYk5dMsvrcoe3zRWaiNOnq.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
The latest NASA Mars 2020 rover named Perseverance has successfully landed on the Red Planet. In this presentation NASA Solar System Ambassador Geoff McLean will describe the equipment the rover is equipped with, its various capabilities, and its four main missions. Also presented will be the landing site for the rover and why it was chosen.
Meet our guest speaker, Geoff McLean: Geoff graduated from Miami University with a Bachelor of Science. While at Miami U he took a graduate level course in astronomy. He has always been a space dreamer and advocate not just for the adventure but for the knowledge and technological challenge. Upon graduation he was a US Naval Officer and served in various capacities for nine years. He worked for various defense contractors writing mainly software, but also was lead engineer on a contract to develop ballasting trainers for submarines. He went on to start his own business which has performed such varied tasks as researching better home building software, car dealership databases, websites, radio interference software, and a real-time multiplatform networked combat simulation. When his daughter was young she was awarded a 5-day/4 night stay at Goddard Space Center with Girl Scouts USA (he was extremely jealous). Afterwards they formed the Eastern CT Girl Scout Astronomy Club. This eventually lead to the recent formation of the Astronomy Troop for Girl Scouts of Connecticut for which he is co-leader. In 2019 he was sent to the University of Tucson Space Camp for Girl Scouts where he learned a great deal on how to educate girls on astronomy topics. Tens of thousands of people have looked through his four telescopes at the sun, moon, planets and deep sky objects and listened and learned from his various presentations. He speaks on a wide variety of science topics including The Search for Life, Black Holes and Other Absurdities of our Universe, Light Pollution, Pluto (the flyby information we've learned), and many others. He is also an avid astrophotographer having over 200 images in his collection.
February 24, 2021 at 6pm - Be An Engineer Webinar with the Providence Children’s Museum will now be a virtual event and will include a discussion from a panel of engineers, a book reading, and an at-home engineering activity. Contact Donna at treas@sweness.org for more information. Sign up for the webinar at https://79804.blackbaudhosting.com/79804/Be-an-Engineer-with-SWENESS-Society-of-Women-Engineers-Shoreline-Section.
February 21-27, 2021 - Engineering Week Library Outreach was held virtually this year. We shared our engineering resources with town libraries and every public school administration in Rhode Island and Southeastern Connecticut. You can learn more on our website. Check out the Library Outreach page to find outreach resources that explore what engineering is all about and how engineers make the world a better place.
All Rhode Island Girl Scout events have been canceled through May.
SWE-NESS Certificate of Achievement - High School administrators, teachers or counselors may submit a request on behalf of 2 students (one boy/one girl) each year to be presented with the SWE NESS Certificate of Achievement. Requests are accepted between the months of February and May. Please contact Emily Pietrzak at Emily.sweness@gmail.com to make a request or share a point of contact at a local school.
February 21-27, 2021 - Engineering Week Library Outreach was held virtually this year. We shared our engineering resources with town libraries and every public school administration in Rhode Island and Southeastern Connecticut. You can learn more on our website. Check out the Library Outreach page to find outreach resources that explore what engineering is all about and how engineers make the world a better place.
All Rhode Island Girl Scout events have been canceled through May.
SWE-NESS Certificate of Achievement - High School administrators, teachers or counselors may submit a request on behalf of 2 students (one boy/one girl) each year to be presented with the SWE NESS Certificate of Achievement. Requests are accepted between the months of February and May. Please contact Emily Pietrzak at Emily.sweness@gmail.com to make a request or share a point of contact at a local school.
Past Events:
December 13, 2020 - 4 to 6pm. We had a great time making our holiday crafts at this year's Virtual Holiday Jamboree, and we raised $170 in donations for Lucy's Hearth! Lucy’s Hearth is a 24-hour emergency and transitional shelter in Newport County serving children and their families who are homeless due to economic hardship, family crisis, divorce, eviction, and severe shortage of safe, affordable housing. The primary goal is to foster independence and help the residents gain the life skills necessary to prevent future homelessness. Learn more about them at lucyshearth.org.
March 14, 2020 - 11:30am to 3:30pm. Rhode Island Science and Engineering Fair at CCRI in Warwick. SWE-NESS presented an award to two girls for their science fair project.
February 22, 2020 - 11am to 2pm. Be an Engineer Workshop at Providence Children's Museum. SWE NESS and Brown University members volunteered. 87 kids and about 80 parents attended the event. Everyone had fun at the five stations which included pulleys, human robot, completing a circuit, building towers, and making oobleck!
February 8, 2020 - 9am to 1:30pm. Engineering Your Tomorrow: Think Like an Engineer Journey Workshop at RWU Engineering Building in Bristol, RI, for Junior girl scouts.
February 7, 2020 - 7 to 9pm. Paint Night Fundraiser at O'Brien's Pub in Newport, RI. We sold out ticket sales and raised $525 which we will put towards funding our outreach programs!
March 14, 2020 - 11:30am to 3:30pm. Rhode Island Science and Engineering Fair at CCRI in Warwick. SWE-NESS presented an award to two girls for their science fair project.
February 22, 2020 - 11am to 2pm. Be an Engineer Workshop at Providence Children's Museum. SWE NESS and Brown University members volunteered. 87 kids and about 80 parents attended the event. Everyone had fun at the five stations which included pulleys, human robot, completing a circuit, building towers, and making oobleck!
February 8, 2020 - 9am to 1:30pm. Engineering Your Tomorrow: Think Like an Engineer Journey Workshop at RWU Engineering Building in Bristol, RI, for Junior girl scouts.
February 7, 2020 - 7 to 9pm. Paint Night Fundraiser at O'Brien's Pub in Newport, RI. We sold out ticket sales and raised $525 which we will put towards funding our outreach programs!
January 12, 2020. Cadette Think Like an Engineer Journey in Groton, CT.
November 23, 2019 - 12:30 to 4:15pm. Junior Think Like an Engineering Workshop at Connecticut College in New London. The stations included Emergency Shelter (build a shelter to keep our teddy bear dry), Seismic Shakeup (build a structure that can withstand our shake table test), and Paper Structures (build a weight bearing structure out of 8 sheets of newspaper).
November 2, 2019 - 9am to 1:30pm. Engineering Your Tomorrow: Think Like an Engineer Journey Workshop at URI Pastore Hall, Kingston, RI. Junior Girl Scout event.
November 2, 2019 - 12 to 3. Girl Scout STEM Day at Stonington High School in Pawcatuck, CT. Small groups of girl scouts performed 4, 30 minute projects.
October 17, 2019 - 5 to 8pm SWE and Sensata Technologies joined together for an evening on Cultural Competence, an important issue employees in any organization need to understand.
SWE Boston and SWE NESS held an event with Sensata that consisted of dinner, networking, and presentation by, Angela Callahan, Vice Chancellor for talent and Chief Diversity Officer for the UMASS Dartmouth.
October 5, 2019 - 11am to 3pm Science Day at the Public Library of New London. SWE NESS setup a circuits and pulleys activity among many different organization's activities.
May 5, 2019 - 2:30pm SWE NESS 30th Anniversary Celebration at Dan's Tavern on the Green in North Kingstown. To celebrate 30 years since the founding of our chapter, we held a dinner with a keynote speaker, and a photo slide show of our accomplishments over the past years. The party theme was Star Wars AND the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. We had space themed favors and challenges. Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us! It was a lot of fun!

Jonna Gerken, FY18 National SWE President, gave an inspiring talk at the 30th Anniversary Celebration about seizing opportunities and travelling to new places!

Congrats to our founding members!
March 9, 2019, 1 to 3pm Design Leap Bots with the Brownies at
Pattagansett in East Lyme, CT. Help Design, Discover, Build, Teach! and lead a Brownie Badge workshop. Groups of 2 or 3 third graders will be building leap bots to earn one of the mechanical design badges. What's a Leap Bot? Leap Bots are built from thread spools and use springs to "leap" up a dowel.
March 8, 2019 - 6 to 9pm Design, Discover, Build, Teach! with high school Girl Scouts at Pattagansett in East Lyme, CT. Join us for a relaxing evening working with High School age girls, encouraging them to pursue a STEM education while we do hands-on on STEM activities. Due to the small group size, we really get to interact and get to know these girls over the course of the evening. Activities usually draw from Design Squad Activities guides.
February 16, 2019 - 11am to 2pm Be an Engineer! at Providence Children's Museum. Children participate in stations set up with activities from each engineering discipline run by volunteers from SWE NESS and collegiate chapters.
February 9, 2019 - 9 to 12 Girl Scout Workshop at Roger Williams University. 60 Girls attended and earned a SWE badge. Favorite stations included the materials engineering egg bungee design, the civil engineering tower building, and the song and rap station. The girls learned a lot about what it means to be an engineer and had a lot of fun doing it! Thanks to Sue for organizing and running the workshop!
January 25, 2019 - 9 to 4 Engineers to the Rescue with Girl Scout Cadettes at Pattagansett in East Lyme, CT. The theme of the event was a camping trip to Yellowstone where an earthquake hits! Our tents are ruined, the water in the campground broke and our food is at the bottom of the ravine! Girl Scouts in grades 4-6 use engineering to solve these problems by building scale models.
Pattagansett in East Lyme, CT. Help Design, Discover, Build, Teach! and lead a Brownie Badge workshop. Groups of 2 or 3 third graders will be building leap bots to earn one of the mechanical design badges. What's a Leap Bot? Leap Bots are built from thread spools and use springs to "leap" up a dowel.
March 8, 2019 - 6 to 9pm Design, Discover, Build, Teach! with high school Girl Scouts at Pattagansett in East Lyme, CT. Join us for a relaxing evening working with High School age girls, encouraging them to pursue a STEM education while we do hands-on on STEM activities. Due to the small group size, we really get to interact and get to know these girls over the course of the evening. Activities usually draw from Design Squad Activities guides.
February 16, 2019 - 11am to 2pm Be an Engineer! at Providence Children's Museum. Children participate in stations set up with activities from each engineering discipline run by volunteers from SWE NESS and collegiate chapters.
February 9, 2019 - 9 to 12 Girl Scout Workshop at Roger Williams University. 60 Girls attended and earned a SWE badge. Favorite stations included the materials engineering egg bungee design, the civil engineering tower building, and the song and rap station. The girls learned a lot about what it means to be an engineer and had a lot of fun doing it! Thanks to Sue for organizing and running the workshop!
January 25, 2019 - 9 to 4 Engineers to the Rescue with Girl Scout Cadettes at Pattagansett in East Lyme, CT. The theme of the event was a camping trip to Yellowstone where an earthquake hits! Our tents are ruined, the water in the campground broke and our food is at the bottom of the ravine! Girl Scouts in grades 4-6 use engineering to solve these problems by building scale models.

December 1, 2018 - 9 to 4 Saturday, December 1, 2018 - 6:30pm to 7:30 SWE-NESS Holiday Dinner.
Members and their families gathered at a restaurant for a dinner social to celebrate the holidays and the past year. Location: Gregg's in North Kingstown.
November 3, 2018 - 12:15 to 4:30 Junior Engineering workshop for Girl Scouts at Connecticut College.
October 27, 2018 - 9 to 12 SWE Girl Scout Workshop at the University of Rhode Island. Girl Scouts will be earning a SWE Badge.
September 26, 2018 - 5:30 to 7:30 Newport Vineyards' Fireside Music Series. SWE members and non-members visited the vineyard together for wine tasting and live music.
June 21, 2018 from 6:00 to 8:00 - Financial Seminar with Guest Speaker Athol Cochrane of Wealth Solutions, and Annual NESS Membership Yearly Overview Meeting.
Mar 18, 2017 from 8:30 to 5 - Girl Scouts Senior Leadership Conference Science & Technology Sessions at Salve Regina University.
Feb 18, 2017 from 11 to 2 - Be an Engineer Workshop at Providence Children's Museum.
Feb 14, 2017 from 9 to 12 - Engineering Your Tomorrow, Rhode Island Girl Scout Engineering Badge Workshop run and sponsored by SWE NESS at RWU Engineering Building, Bristol, RI.
Feb 4 - 9, 2017 from 9 to 12 - SWE Girl Scout Jr workshop at the RWU Engineering Bldg
Nov 19, 2016 from 9:30 to 12:30 - SWE Girl Scout Jr Workshop at URI Memorial Union
Nov 19, 2016 from 1 to 4 - SWE Girl Scout Jr Workshop at Conn College Olin Science Bldg
Nov 19, 2016 from 9:30 to 12:30 - Engineering Your Tomorrow, Rhode Island Girl Scout Engineering Badge Workshop run and sponsored by SWE NESS at URI Memorial Union, Kingston, RI.
Sept 10, 2016 from 12 to 6 - Connecticut Family and Music Festival in New Haven, CT, with STEM events.
Members and their families gathered at a restaurant for a dinner social to celebrate the holidays and the past year. Location: Gregg's in North Kingstown.
November 3, 2018 - 12:15 to 4:30 Junior Engineering workshop for Girl Scouts at Connecticut College.
October 27, 2018 - 9 to 12 SWE Girl Scout Workshop at the University of Rhode Island. Girl Scouts will be earning a SWE Badge.
September 26, 2018 - 5:30 to 7:30 Newport Vineyards' Fireside Music Series. SWE members and non-members visited the vineyard together for wine tasting and live music.
June 21, 2018 from 6:00 to 8:00 - Financial Seminar with Guest Speaker Athol Cochrane of Wealth Solutions, and Annual NESS Membership Yearly Overview Meeting.
Mar 18, 2017 from 8:30 to 5 - Girl Scouts Senior Leadership Conference Science & Technology Sessions at Salve Regina University.
Feb 18, 2017 from 11 to 2 - Be an Engineer Workshop at Providence Children's Museum.
Feb 14, 2017 from 9 to 12 - Engineering Your Tomorrow, Rhode Island Girl Scout Engineering Badge Workshop run and sponsored by SWE NESS at RWU Engineering Building, Bristol, RI.
Feb 4 - 9, 2017 from 9 to 12 - SWE Girl Scout Jr workshop at the RWU Engineering Bldg
Nov 19, 2016 from 9:30 to 12:30 - SWE Girl Scout Jr Workshop at URI Memorial Union
Nov 19, 2016 from 1 to 4 - SWE Girl Scout Jr Workshop at Conn College Olin Science Bldg
Nov 19, 2016 from 9:30 to 12:30 - Engineering Your Tomorrow, Rhode Island Girl Scout Engineering Badge Workshop run and sponsored by SWE NESS at URI Memorial Union, Kingston, RI.
Sept 10, 2016 from 12 to 6 - Connecticut Family and Music Festival in New Haven, CT, with STEM events.
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