News Article

Engineering makes its mark on ‘Women Impacting ISU’ calendar

 

TOP: Nicole Bell, senior in construction engineering. BOTTOM: Kristen Constant, associate professor in materials science and engineering.

Stores and malls have already started hawking calendars as Christmas gifts, from puppies to pinups.

The idea of a calendar featuring women from across the Iowa State University campus might generate a certain preconceived notion about the content.

“I never dreamed I’d be on a calendar,” says Nicole Bell, senior in construction engineering.

But she is, and while it may not be what you think, “Women Impacting ISU” may make you think; at least Bell and Kristen Constant hope so. They are the two College of Engineering representatives on the third edition of this calendar.

“When I was a student working at a national lab, I was the only woman who went into the labs,” says Constant, associate professor in materials science and engineering. “Posted on the lab walls were a bunch of calendar girls.”

Today, Constant is an example of success and a strong advocate for changing that sort of environment. Not just taking the girls off the walls, but getting women in the labs and in leadership positions.

The calendar is sponsored by the Catt Associates, part of the Catt Center for Women and Politics. Catt Associates is an interdisciplinary student organization that seeks to raise civic awareness and encourage women’s leadership. The calendar features twelve women from campus whose leadership, administration, teaching, research, and service have made an impact on the university. Fifty individuals were nominated.

For Constant, the honor represents her love of building community and how she is trying to make a difference for the females on campus. One of the ways in which she accomplishes this is through her work with ISU ADVANCE. This program seeks to develop and implement curricula that enhance the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women in science, technology, engineering, and math fields at Iowa State. Constant works as a liaison between the university-level ADVANCE researchers and the faculty in the MSE department to help understand the issues and main concerns and create a good work environment for everyone.

“My impact is to make people aware of the issues,” says Constant. “Recruiting and having successful women faculty, students, and staff is important and makes ISU more competitive.”

In addition to working with the ADVANCE program and teaching engineering students about career planning and ceramic science, Constant conducts research on photonic band gap materials, or materials that manipulate light. One of the areas that Constant studies pertains to energy efficiency, both creating light and collecting light using solar panels.

Constant is also a member of the University Committee on Women, an organization that concerns itself with women’s issues including monitoring and improving the number of women in leadership positions at Iowa State, especially as department chairs, and continuing to create a positive environment for women faculty, students, and staff. Constant is the chair of the College Review and Oversight subcommittee, which researches and presents a “status of women” report with information about enrollment, faculty, and staff representation for each college. The purpose is to aid colleges in their assessment and evaluation of trends within their colleges. The work that Constant does for the University Committee on Women aligns with her work with ADVANCE and helps her build community.

Bell sees this honor as accomplishing a goal and being a good role model for women on campus.

“This is a prestigious calendar because it lists our accomplishments and focuses on the impact we’ve had on campus,” says Bell. “I remember when the first calendar came out two years ago, and I thought it was pretty neat. I wasn’t sure that I would meet the requirements, so I was really excited to learn that I had been chosen.”

Bell is a good leadership role model for students. In her time at Iowa State, Bell has held a variety of leadership positions, such as president of the Iowa State chapter of the Mechanical Contractors Association. Currently, she is vice president of the Student Alumni Leadership Council and co-coordinator for the Construction Engineering Cornerstone Learning Community. This is in addition to her studies in construction engineering.

Bell is currently working on both her graduate and undergraduate degrees. She will graduate in the spring with her BS in hopes of completing her graduate degree in the spring of 2010 while working full time. Through her activities and studies, Bell has gained confidence to work in the field and has learned the importance of communication, which will assist her once she enters the construction-engineering field in the fall as a project engineer. A few job responsibilities of a project engineer include on-site logistics, working and communicating with the owners and subcontractors, and problem solving.

Another valuable skill that Bell has gained from her studies and activities is time management. Without this skill, she never would have been able to accomplish as much as she has, including being a captain for two competition teams (one of which went to nationals), holding various positions in the Iowa State chapter of the Associated General Contractors and Women in Science and Engineering, and being a peer mentor for her learning community.

“I’ve accomplished much more than I ever expected I would,” says Bell. “I guess it shows that anything is possible when you set your mind to it.”

Watch for these two engineering women on the 2009 calendar, which became available on December 5 during an official unveiling and recognition reception. To learn more about the calendar and the 10 other women that will be featured, read the news release at http://www.las.iastate.edu/newnews/cattcalendar2008.shtml.

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