‘Femineers’ showcase projects
by MELODY YU
Female engineering students will participate in the Women in Engineering Femineer Summit at Cal Poly Pomona today.
The students, called “Femineers,” will present their projects in an engineering exhibit. The showcase will feature student presentations from a total of 27 middle and high schools in Southern California.
“I have multiple motors, curves, sensors and extensions to work with and made a Shrek-themed scene,” said Elizabeth Martinez, sophomore. “I started my project in February and have been working on it every Friday since.”
Each school year, Femineers are expected to engage in a 30-hour project that will showcase their engineering skills, such as soldering and wiring. As part of a three-year program, Femineers will work with different topics each year: Creative Robots, Wearable Technology and Raspberry Pi Robotics. Because this year will be the first time the Femineer Program has been offered to Schurr students, all Femineers will work on the Creative Robots theme, which focuses on utilizing sensors and creating additional visuals and backgrounds to match their concept.
“This year has gone really well; getting adopted by Cal Poly Pomona has helped to pay for funding our projects,” said Marilyn Cortez, Femineer adviser. “[I hope] the girls have a lot of fun presenting their projects and looking at other Femineers’ projects, meet new people and have a good time talking about engineering.”
The program was created by Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Engineering in 2013 to encourage females to pursue science, engineering, technology and mathematics fields, according to cpp.edu.
“My life is a lot more fulfilled as I learn new aspects of engineers,” said Martinez. “[Working together] I feel that I have gradually become a part of this engineering family.”