WIN Impact Grants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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