This project involves a cooperative effort between Purdue University, the major institution, and the University of Washington and Stephens Institute of Technology. It proposes to provide greater access for women to careers in engineering, while counteracting projected shortages of engineering personnel by assisting and encouraging engineering schools throughout the United States to establish innovative programs for women in engineering or to expand the scope of existing programs. Specifically, this program would: (1) organize a national conference to study issues and present models of programs for women in engineering; (2) establish the first national network of Women in Engineering Program Administrators; (3) provide technical and technical programmatic assistance to institutions desiring to initiate, replicate, or expand Women in Engineering programs in a cost-effective manner; (4) establish a central source of research, information, and resource materials about women in engineering and related areas; and (5) disseminate information nationally through conferences and publications. The heart of the proposal begins with items (1) and (2)-the holding of the national conference and the establishment of the national network. In this regard, the three institutions, Purdue, Washington, and Stephens, will have key administrators participating and coordinating - Purdue, the entire program, Washington, the western region and Stephens, the eastern region. A time table has been developed and the conference will be held in October, two months after the planning sessions both years. Subsequently, annual conferences and continued upgrading of the directories might be possible. Because of the work of Dr. Daniels at Purdue, the network is fairly well in hand, and definitive were given for its strengthening, collecting and dissemination of information. The project will provide a very meaningful source of information, and to the extent that the network is successful, it should provide a very useful conduit for women to know about, recognize, and enter careers in engineering. Financial support will come from eight sources: the threee sponsoring institutions, various engineering organizations, the conference participants, industry, the AAAS, and hopefully, the National Science Foundation.
