The deadline for applications for FY2021 grants has been extended to coincide with the start of C-Term: Applications are now due by 5:00 pm ET Thursday, February 4, 2021; no further extensions will be granted.
Please review the guidelines carefully. The PDF of the application is available so that you can prepare your application in advance of completing the web form for official submission. Please do not submit a completed PDF instead of using the web form. This year, the review committees are particularly interested in projects supporting efforts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Should you have any questions about the grant process, please email us at win@wpi.edu .
The Women’s Impact Network (WIN) is excited to accept grant applications for WIN Impact Grants. The grants support initiatives from the WPI community which meet the following grant criteria and WIN objectives:
- Provide pathways to advance women at WPI
- Increase the number of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) fields
- Create a positive difference in the extended WPI community
- Elevate WPI’s impact and extend its reach around the globe.
We invite individual undergraduate and graduate students, project teams, WPI student groups, and WPI faculty and administrative staff to apply for WIN Impact Grants.
The number and amounts of the grants will vary depending on the scope of the projects, but grants will be awarded up to $50,000. Grant applications are open in C-Term and grants are awarded in D-Term.
2020-2021 Grant Applications
Bridging the Gap in Gender and Discipline: Women Impact Network Colloquium Series
The "Bridge the Gap: WIN Colloquium Series" program will provide opportunities for female faculty and students to explore exciting cross-disciplinary research areas, where women are making significant contributions. By promoting cross-disciplinary exchanges, our goal is to motivate more women to enter robotics, computing, and engineering disciplines, to fully realize their capabilities, and be positioned to take their rightful place in helping to address our societal needs through cross-disciplinary approaches in the near future.
Primary Applicant: Jie Fu
Co-Applicants: Jing Xiao, Jean King, Zhi Li
Expanding the Early Research Experience in E (summer) Term to promote and support female participation
In 2020, WPI will offer the Early Research Experience in E Term (EREE) program to provide funding for summer research for early-stage WPI undergraduate students, especially those from historically underrepresented groups. EREE will increase the number of students participating in summer research by connecting WPI undergraduate students to meaningful research experiences in STEM. Funding from the Women's Impact Network will multiply this investment to double its reach and impact by supporting additional female students.
Primary Applicant: Catherine Whittington
Co-Applicant: Debra Boucher
GROW: Graduate Research Organization for Womxn in STEM - Creating an organization for the professional development and support of womxn graduate students at WPI
WPI is a welcoming community of scholars that prides itself on diversity, inclusion and outreach initiatives. There remains a need, however, for a graduate organization designed to ensure the womxn graduate students (M.S./ Ph.D.) of WPI have a safe place to learn, connect with others, and further themselves as womxn in STEM. This initiative will provide female graduate students with a framework for supporting their development as leaders in STEM during their tenure at WPI.
Primary Applicant: Heather LeClerc
Co-Applicants: Elizabeth Belden, Elzani Van Zyl, Lily Gaudreau, Elizabeth Stewart
Personal and Professional Development Series for Women in Mathematics
As representatives of the Association for Women in Mathematics Chapter at WPI, we propose to develop a four-part panel series for personal and professional development for women in Mathematics. We envision one panel session per term to help graduate and undergraduate Mathematics students throughout the process of applying for jobs, internships, and graduate programs while acknowledging and learning how to overcome gender bias and gender discrimination in a male-dominated field such as Mathematics.
Primary Applicant: Elisa Negrini
Co-Applicants: Dayna Mercadante and Andrea Arnold
Supporting Women in Data Science via the Women in Data Science Symposium: Fostering Diversity, Community, Mentorship, Outreach and Global Impact all in one!
Global Women in Data Science (WiDS) conference inspires students and professionals alike featuring exclusively female speakers at 100+ concurrent locations worldwide. WPI WiDS as Central Massachusetts satellite serves as local hub for mentoring, networking and inspiring our inclusive community of students, faculty and professionals with a keynote, career panel, tech talks, poster session, hands-on table projects, and data competitions. Our committed group is passionate about bringing this inspiring program to WPI as an annual event.
Primary Applicant: Elke Rundensteiner
Co-Applicants: Fatemeh Emdad, Geri Dimas, Erin Teeple, Huimin Ren, ML Tlachac
Taking Collaboration Among Women to the Next Level: Interdisciplinary Presentations by Women Faculty, Alumnae and Students
Interdisciplinary work involves deep understanding of diverse domains. This is equally important and intimidating. To help build interdisciplinary connections among women faculty, alumnae and students, we organize a workshop to immerse participants in diverse disciplines by using a Slideshow karaoke model - an improvisational activity where presenters deliver a presentation based on slides they have never seen before. The workshop celebrates the work of women and facilitates meaningful interdisciplinary interactions in a fun, stress-free environment.
Primary Applicant: Rodica Neamtu
Co-Applicant: Alycia Abbott
Teachers and Learners Ecosystem for Increasing Participation of Women in Physical Sciences and Other STEM Disciplines as WPI
We will empower women to pursue STEM careers, attract motivated women applicants from diverse backgrounds to WPI, support and retain women students at WPI. We will create a resilient ecosystem that includes the undergraduate and graduate women physics students at WPI, Worcester Girls, Inc. Eureka! program, and a network of Central MA high school physics teachers who will receive training and tools grounded in STEM education research to support girls in physics classroom.
Primary Applicant: Lyubov Titova
Co-Applicants: Douglas Petkie, Izabela Stroe, Emily Sutherland, Erika Colin Ulloa, Caroline Jaeger
The Belmont Street Community School SEED (STEM Education Equity Development) Program
We aim to work with K-12 teachers, classroom assistants, and school administrators to create a sustainable model to improve the academic development of students at the Belmont Street Community School. Through professional development in STEM education and working with educators to develop engaging and culturally responsive STEM modules, we seek to improve student interest, confidence, and performance. WPI students and faculty will interact with the Belmont schoolteachers and students to serve as role models.
Primary Applicant: Jeannine Coburn
Co-Applicants: Tiffiny Butler and Katherine Chen
Using applied theater to foster bias awareness and intervention
This project will bring to campus an applied theater group, PowerPlay Interactive Development, to introduce an engaging mechanism for bias awareness and intervention training for faculty, students, and staff. Sketches and debriefing will address faculty inclusion and evaluation as well as student inclusion and belonging. Assessment results will be used to formulate recommendations to WPI decision-makers on how best to sustain ongoing professional development related to bias literacy and intervention.
Primary Applicant: Chrysanthe Demetry
Co-Applicants: Kristen Billar, Tiffiny Butler, Natalie Farny, Rame Hanna, Jeanine Skorinko
WIN Women's Young Investigator Fellowship: Providing WPI Students and Faculty with Mentorship and Research Conference Opportunities for Research
The Women's Young Investigator Fellowship (WYI Fellowship) program supports female researchers at WPI. Twenty fellows composed of undergraduate students, graduate students, staff and postdoctoral research scientists, and faculty members will participate in mentoring groups, professional development workshops, and conference preparation. Fellows will receive monetary support for conferences, addressing the need for funding across all stages of research careers. Thanks to the Women's Impact Network, 2020-2021 will be the third year of the WYI Fellowship program.
Primary Applicant: Avery Harrison
Co-Applicants: Erin Ottmar, Katie Sawrey, Luisa Perez
Women in the STEM World: Showcasing STEM-Education IQPs that Impact Women and Girls
We request funding to investigate the impact of STEM-education IQP projects across decades and around the world. Our initial WIN grant funded the development of an extensive database of nearly 20 years of IQP projects serving women and girls. With the help of student and faculty researchers, we now seek to deepen our understanding of STEM Ed for women and girls to reveal how WPI project work helps support and catalyze global STEM education.
Primary Applicant: Leslie Dodson
Co-Applicant: Stephen McCauley
Women of WPI Fall Leadership Conference Workshop
The Women of WPI propose bringing a professional workshop facilitator for their Fall Leadership Conference. The Committee seeks to enhance our pool of talented alumnae/faculty/staff with an outside workshop facilitator to provide an immersive and interactive experience that encourages professional and personal growth for WPI women. Planning is in the early stages, but is always based on feedback from past attendees, who have requested that we feature speakers from within and outside the WPI community.
Primary Applicant: Alison LeFlore
Co-Applicant: Jami Walsh
Worcester Women in STEM Pathway Initiative (WWiSPI)
The Worcester Women in STEM Pathway Initiative (WWiSPI) is a combination of several WIN-funded programs and existing WPI programs into a cohesive pathway for young women in Worcester to embark on a journey of exploration of STEM fields. The pathway provides multiple opportunities for the girls to engage with STEM content, explore STEM careers and be exposed to WPI STEM role models with the ultimate objective of broadening college and career choices for these women.
Primary Applicant: Suzanne Sontgerath
Co-Applicant: Katherine Chen and Tiffiny Butler
WPI Alden Voices Sostenuto
The WPI Women's Alden Voices is an all-female choir of over ninety members. The choir strives for excellence in musicality while providing a platform for students to engage with relevant issues, appreciate multiple cultural backgrounds, and interact with the larger Worcester community. Women's Alden Voices received a grant to provide funding for new music and travel opportunities, as well as seed funding to help establish an endowed fund.
Primary Applicant: Joshua Rohde
