iREDEFINE Workshop 2020

iREDEFINE Workshop

The iREDEFINE workshop capitalizes on the unique environment provided by the ECEDHA conference to create a mechanism to motivate and prepare women and underrepresented minority (URM) students PhD students for pursuing faculty positions in US Universities. The unique opportunity arises due to the high concentration of ECE department chairs attending the event, most of whom are investing great efforts in increasing the diversity of their faculty.

The workshop format will balance the effective aspects of the previous three years with feedback received from the participants. In particular, ECE PhD students will have significantly more opportunities to interact with department chairs to learn about their programs, potential faculty positions, and expectations of new faculty. The iREDEFINE Fellows will also have the opportunity to present their research projects and participate in dedicated programming including sessions on negotiation strategies, writing successful proposals, effective teaching methods, and navigating the academic job search including CV review and mock interviews. The iREDEFINE workshop will prepare women and URM PhD students for rewarding academic careers and provide them with a professional network of peers and mentors.

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iREDEFINE Workshop Schedule of Events

Thursday, March 19

7:30 am - 5:00 pm	Registration
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm	Opening Remarks & Getting to Know Each Other Opening Remarks & Getting to Know Each Other Students will be welcomed by the workshop organizer and given information about their schedule and expectations. They will introduce themselves to each other and participate in an icebreaker activity. The goal of this session is for the students to start making lasting connections with each other.
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm	Evening Reception with ECE Department Heads and Chairs Evening Reception with ECE Department Heads and Chairs Students will network with department heads and chairs. In advance of the session, they will be asked to prepare an “elevator speech” to introduce themselves to others at the reception. Feedback on the “elevator speech” will be part of the icebreaker activity in the above opening session.

Friday, March 20

7:30 am - 5:00 pm	Registration
8:00 am - 8:30 am	Spotlight Breakfast with ECE Department Heads and Chairs
8:30 am - 9:30 am	Mentoring Graduate Students Mentoring Graduate Students Running a productive research groups is a key to the academic success of a faculty member and their graduate students. In this panel, experienced faculty members will discuss how to set clear goals for the group, emphasize research productivity, create a positive group climate, establish positive communication, and mentor research group members. Moderator: Tony Maciejewski Professor and Department Head Colorado State University Panelists: John Booske Professor University of Wisconsin, Madison
9:30 am - 12:15 pm	Negotiation Skills: Strategies for Success Negotiation Skills: Strategies for Success Negotiation is a key everyday skill in academia (not just reserved for job interviews and buying cars and houses!). Research shows that if you are hesitant to engage in negotiation, it can result in lower salaries, fewer promotions and less influence at work. The workshop will focus on research-based strategies and improving negotiation skills, such as becoming aware of the issues, learning about the negotiation process and practicing negotiation. The workshop will also talk about strategies for continuing to build negotiation skills after the conclusion of the workshop. Speaker: Jenna Carpenter Dean and Professor School of Engineering Campbell University
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm	Networking Break
12:30 pm - 2:00 pm	Student Poster Session Luncheon Student Poster Session Luncheon with ECE Department Heads and Chairs Students will display research posters and discuss their scholarly accomplishments and career plans with department heads and chairs.
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm	Effective Teaching Methods Effective Teaching Methods The objective of this session is for the participants to understand two key components of effective teaching: having clear learning objectives and employing active learning. Specifically, participants will: (1) be able to define Learning Objectives and explain why they are important, and (2) define active learning, explain why it is important, and describe ways to implement it that range from simple to sophisticated. The session will conclude with a list of advanced resources, but will primarily emphasize practical methods on which beginning teachers can or should focus their efforts in order to get a good start on a lifelong, effective, teaching career. Speakers: John Booske Professor University of Wisconsin, Madison
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm	Keynote: Rachel Hutter, Senior Vice President, International FOS and Worldwide Safety, Health & Engineering, The Walt Disney Company Rachel Hutter Speaker: Rachel Hutter Senior Vice President, International FOS and Worldwide Safety, Health & Engineering The Walt Disney Company
3:30 pm - 5:30 pm	CV Review and Mock Interviews CV Review and Mock Interviews The goal of this two-hour long session is to help the iREDEFINE students in creating competitive CVs, to demystify the academic interview process, and increase the students’ confidence in their ability to be successful in their academic job search. ECE department heads will be available for one-on-one conversations about students’ CVs. Students will be encouraged to meet with 2-3 department heads to receive a comprehensive feedback on their CVs. Department heads will also be asking students typical academic interview questions. The interviewers will give the iREDEFINE students an immediate feedback on how they handled the question.
5:30 pm - 5:45 pm	Networking Break
5:45 pm - 6:45 pm	Types of Academic Institutions Types of Academic Institutions The panelists will discuss the expectations and experiences of being a faculty member at different types of organizations such as HBCUs, HSIs, teaching-oriented institutions, masters-granting institutions, Research II and I, and small and large universities. Panelists: Tim Wilson Professor and Chair Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
6:45 pm - 8:30 pm	ECExpo Reception ECExpo Reception with ECE Department Heads and Chairs The ECEDHA conference includes ECExpo which is an exposition of laboratory equipment, project ideas and components, textbooks, and other latest tools for engineering education. It is a great opportunity for iREDEFINE students to initiate their contact with industry which will be an important aspect of their work as faculty members. In addition, by learning more about lab equipment used in ECE courses, iREDEFINE students will be more attractive to their prospective institutions.

Saturday, March 21

7:30 am - 5:00 pm	Registration
8:00 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 10:00 am	Writing Successful Proposals
10:00 am - 10:30 am	ECExpo Networking Break
10:30 am - 12:00 pm	Panel with junior faculty members Panel with junior faculty members During this panel, the iREDEFINE scholars will meet junior ECE faculty from local institutions who belong to groups typically underrepresented in engineering in academia. The panelists will have a frank conversation about their experience as faculty members and advice to the students on how to navigate the challenges of their first years as academics in order to establish a successful career. Moderator: Panelists: Dr. Shafagh Jafer Associate Professor Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Dr. Shafagh Jafer is an Associate Professor of Software Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida, USA. She holds a PhD in Computer Systems Engineering from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Her research interest include simulation-based engineering, assured software systems, model-based development, and scenario-driven testing and development. Dr. Jafer has led and worked on funded research projects from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). In 2015 with funding from National Center for Women & IT and Microsoft, she launched the Women’s Engineering Institute (WEI) initiative to promote and support women engineering students. http://pages.erau.edu/~jafers/ Dr. Qun Zhou Assistant Professor University of Central Florida Dr. Qun Zhou is an Assistant Professor at University of Central Florida. She is the director of UCF Smart Infrastructure Data Analytics Lab. Before joining UCF, Dr. Zhou worked for Genscape and GE Grid Solutions as a power system engineer. She received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University. Dr. Zhou is devoted to improving energy efficiency and customer engagement through advanced data analytics, probabilistic modeling, and pricing schemes. She focuses on grid-edge resources, including smart buildings, rooftop PVs, and batteries, and their interactions with the grid. Dr. Mahshid Naeini Assistant Professor University of South Florida Dr. Mahshid Naeini is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at University of South Florida (USF) since Fall 2017. Dr. Naeini received her Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a minor in Mathematics from the University of New Mexico in 2014. Her research interests include leveraging data analytics and network science to integrate security and reliability measures as well as socio-behavioral models into the design and control of cyber-physical-human (CPH) systems with a focus on Smart Grids and Smart Infrastructures reliability and security. Her research has been supported by various funding agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DoD), and Florida Center for Cybersecurity.
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm	ECExpo Luncheon
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm	Q&A - Panel with iREDEFINE Committee Members Q&A - Panel with iREDEFINE Committee Members During this session, workshop participants will have a chance to ask questions to the workshop organizers as well as provide a feedback about their experience. Moderator: Agnieszka Miguel Associate Professor and Chair Seattle University Agnieszka Miguel received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 2001 from the University of Washington, and MSEE and BSEE from Florida Atlantic University in 1996 and 1994. Dr. Miguel's professional interests involve image processing, machine learning, and engineering education especially active learning, diversity, retention, and recruitment. Her teaching interests include MATLAB, circuits, linear systems, and digital image processing. She is a member of the IEEE, ASEE, SWE, and Tau Beta Pi. Currently, Dr. Miguel is the Chair of the ASEE Professional Interest Council I, a position that gives her a seat on the ASEE Board of Directors. She is also the ASEE Pacific Northwest (PNW) Section Chair (2015 - 2017). Dr. Miguel has held several other officer positions across the ASEE including: Division Chair and Program Chair of the ECE and New Engineering Educators Divisions, and ASEE Campus Representative. Dr. Miguel is also a member-at-large of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association (ECEDHA) Board of Directors. She has been a member of the ECEDHA Annual Conference Program Committee since 2013 and is serving on the Editorial Board for the ECEDHA Source monthly newsletter. Panelists: Agnieszka Miguel, Associate Professor and Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seattle University John Booske, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison Susan Hagness, Professor and Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison Tony Maciejewski, Professor and Department Head, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University Martin Margala, Professor and Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Lowell Timothy Wilson, Professor and Chair, Electrical, Computer, Software and Systems Engineering, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

iREDEFINE Workshop 2020