Engineers Week: “Creating the Future!”

Professional Development Panel & Networking event hosted by SWE, AIAA, IEEE, and SAE

Join SWE-CI, AIAA, IEEE, and SAE for an in-person Professional Development panel talk and Networking Event to celebrate Engineers Week! This year's Engineers Week theme is "Creating the Future." Hear from an engaging panel of local STEM leaders from each of the sponsoring organizations speak about their take on how engineers are working to Create the Future in their respective industries!

When: Tuesday, Feb 21st at 6:00 PM

Where: CenterPoint Brewing Company, 1125 Brookside Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States

*Tickets for this event will also be available for purchase at the door.

**Dinner and soft drinks are included with the ticket cost. Alcoholic drinks will be available for purchase. Centerpoint Brewery is family friendly, so those 21 and under are welcome to join!**

Event Format:

6:00pm-6:45pm - Networking and Light Dinner

6:45pm-7:00pm - Introduction of organizations and panelists

7:00pm-8:15pm - Panelists speak on how they are "Creating the Future!"

8:15pm-8:30pm - Audience Q&A, Feedback Survey***, and Event Closing

***Attendees who will out the Post-Event Feedback Survey at the end of the Audience Q&A will be put into a raffle for a chance to win some exciting door prizes! Attendees must fill out the survey fully and must be present to win.

Moderator:

Tara Travis
Director of Technical and Environmental Integration
Cummins Inc.

Tara Travis, Director of Technical and Environmental Integration at Cummins, was born and raised in Virginia, where she spent her youth inspired by her grandfather, a retired nuclear engineer. She pursued an engineering degree at Virginia Tech, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Tara began as a Test Engineer at Cummins and since then, she has held several roles- from Structural Analyst in Applied Mechanics, to Project Manager in the Aftertreatment Integration Team, to building a global Fuel System Integration organization that encompassed the US, UK, India and China. In July of 2021, she began as Director of Technical and Environmental Integration. A valued member of the Technical Leadership Team, Tara provides oversight and support for Cummins’ most advanced products and processes. She continues her personal development as co-lead for the Talent Acquisition Committee for CBN (Cummins Black Network), serves as the Vice Chair for the Indiana Section of SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), sits on the Cummins SWE (Society of Women Engineers) Executive Council and as co-leader of recognition for Cummins’ LIFT (Leading Inclusion For Technical) initiative.

Panelists:

Dr. Lauren Christopher

Associate Professor-Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI

Dr. Lauren Christopher received her BS and MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1982 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, specializing in digital signal processing and chip design. She worked at RCA's David Sarnoff Research Labs in the 1980's developing chips for early digital television, and in the 1990s joined Thomson Consumer Electronics, where she led the first DIRECTV receiver design. In 2010, Dr. Christopher has been inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame for her work in leading the development of the DIRECTV set top box. She received her PhD from Purdue University in 2003, developing image segmentation techniques in 3D medical ultrasound images toward automatic cancer detection. Dr. Christopher joined IUPUI in 2008, and is currently teaching Electrical and Computer Engineering courses and heading the Machine Intelligence and Computer Vision in 3D (MICV3D) lab in the Department. Her research is in 3D image and computer vision, including interpreting pedestrian and bicyclist actions for autonomous vehicles, combining virtual 3D with real world data, and Machine Learning (Deep Neural Network) techniques to provide semantic understanding of 3D videos. Her research interests include real-time 3D systems, 3D image sensors and 3D Computer Vision algorithms.

Dr. Ann Bolcavage
Engineering Associate Fellow
Rolls-Royce

Dr. Ann Bolcavage is currently Engineering Associate Fellow at Rolls-Royce and leads the strategic development, validation, and deployment of critical coating materials and manufacturing technologies to support current and future aerospace gas turbine engines. Her areas of expertise include ceramic and metallic coating materials for hot-section engine components, the application of coating materials using thermal spray technology, and ‘green’ methods for coating manufacturing and repair. Dr. Bolcavage is an honors graduate of Lehigh University and received her advanced degrees in Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has co-authored 18 technical publications, given 23 conference / workshop presentations (5 invited), and has 13 patented inventions.

Joan Wills
Executive Director - Electronics
Cummins Inc.

Joan Wills (BSEE, MSEE) is currently Executive Director-Cummins Electronics responsible for development and support of electronics hardware, software tools and sensors across Cummins product lines. Prior to this Joan led Power Systems Engineering for Platform 3 products: engine systems 38-91L displacement both diesel and natural gas varieties and gensets roughly 1-3MW. She was also Chief Engineer and Program leader for Cummins range of TierIV High-Horsepower engines. Prior to this role she led Technology Strategy and Planning for Cummins working with the Chief Technology Officer and global Technical Leaders to set long-term technical investment direction. She has 14 years of experience in developing and leading development of control systems for automotive applications including diagnostic and control algorithms for various subsystems of diesel and spark-ignited engines. She has developed controls and diagnostics for engine and aftertreatment systems including initial introduction of key diesel aftertreatment technologies. She holds 19 US patents and for her work in developing diesel aftertreatment controls and diagnostics, technology which is currently in use in products multiple products.
At the invitation of the Secretary of the US Department of Energy, Joan serves as a US Ambassador in the Clean Energy & Empowerment (C3E) initiative to advance the careers of promising women in the field of clean energy. Joan was a 2017-2018 member of the World Economic Forum Global Futures Council on Energy and is active in SWE, SAE and IEEE.

Leslie R. Schulte, PhD, PE
Consulting Engineer
J.S. Held LLC

Engineers Week: “Creating the Future!”

Event Format:

Moderator:

Panelists:

Sponsored by: