Closing the Gender Gap for Women in Science and Engineering
		Bringing Greater Numbers of Women into the Laboratories Although we have seen progress over the last few decades, women still lag far behind their male counterparts, especially at the doctoral level, in the fields of engineering, computer science, and physical sciences. The Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS) is addressing this gap through several educational programs. Summer Research The summer research program draws students from UCLA and other universities who are interested in embedded systems. Each student is paired with a graduate student mentor and a CENS faculty member. Over the eight-week program, the students work in the labs and contribute to research projects in the Center. Outreach CENS’ outreach to middle and high school students will enhance middle and high school science education in ways that promote students’ authentic inquiry into science. Using CENS’ embedded networked sensing technology, students will be able to remotely observe complex systems in nature. The program also allows students to create new experiments, directing the networked sensors in collecting data to solve questions posed by the students. Women @ CENS CENS has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop an undergraduate research program that will encourage women to pursue graduate studies in science and engineering. Through Women @ CENS, female undergraduate students will receive increased hands-on skill set and research experience; develop improved teamwork, problem-solving and presentation skills; and gain self- confidence and more positive attitudes towards their respective disciplines. The growing demand for graduates from the sciences and engineering requires a similar increase in the number of students in the pipeline. Encouraging young women to consider technical careers and supporting their education is one way CENS is helping to meet the needs of its partners in industry. Through its outreach programs, CENS is making a concerted effort to increase and support the active participation of women in engineering and the sciences.