With “Empowering Next Generation Engineers” as its theme, the ASME Foundation’s third annual Philanthropic Impact Event on November 16 was an hourlong, virtual celebration of the progress ASME’s philanthropic programs are making toward the goal of increasing equitable access to engineering and other technical careers and to the innovations that engineers create.

Among the highlights was an impassioned keynote address by Chandrakant Patel, chief engineer at HP, Inc., who made a persuasive case for the central role community colleges can play in meeting two critical social and economic imperatives: filling the millions of available skilled technical jobs, and opening doors of opportunity to those from groups who are significantly underrepresented in engineering-related fields.

Alba Colon Rodriguez, director of competition systems for Hendrick Motorsports, accepted the 2021 ASME Kate Gleason Award for outstanding contributions by a woman engineer, pointing to her record-breaking career in automotive technology as “living proof that diversity drives innovation.” 

Six highly diverse community colleges around the United States are participating in ASME's breakthrough pilot program called Community College Engineering Pathways. Funded by donations to the ASME Foundation, the CCEP initiative seeks to increase access to rewarding technical careers among those from backgrounds that are underrepresented in engineering-related jobs. According to the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, there are an estimated 3.4 million technology-related jobs that can be filled by those with two-year degrees or other certifications.

ASME’s CCEP program helps community colleges align their curriculum to market needs, enhance resources for career development support, and establish networks with employers to place students in internships, apprenticeships, and jobs. 

Engineering is the only one of the four STEM disciplines not typically included in K-12 core curriculum. One way that the ASME Foundation is changing is with its collaboration with Discovery Education, a leading platform for online K-12 learning resources.

Launched in November and currently available in more than 35,000 K-12 schools nationwide—most designated Title 1, serving low-income communities—"Engineering Dreams” is a video series highlighting the important role engineers play in innovating new solutions that make life better. The videos teach students to “think like an engineer” and to become “problem solvers for good,” and show the vast variety of employment opportunities available to those with engineering credentials.

Advancing social entrepreneurs’ innovative solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals from prototype to marketplace is the role of ASME ISHOW. But what about all the brilliant ideas that need support earlier in the process?

Enter ISHOW IDEA Lab, a new hardware accelerator initiative funded by the ASME Foundation that builds on the successful ISHOW model to help innovative ideas move from the drawing board to a working prototype. IDEA Lab provides seed capital, technical expertise, and business guidance to early-stage entrepreneurs whose products address one or more of the UN SDGs. 

ISHOW IDEA Lab officially launched during the December 2 Impact.Engineered event. The first design competition is scheduled for 2022, funded in part by a lead charitable donation by ASME Philanthropy Committee Chair Keith Roe and his wife, Elizabeth.   

In November, the Siegel Family Endowment pledged $100,000 to the ASME Foundation to fund a cohort of five cross-sector Engineering for Change Research Fellows and conduct a longitudinal impact evaluation of the program.

Founded by computer scientist and entrepreneur David M. Siegel, the Siegel Family Endowment focuses its charitable investments on organizations working at the intersections of learning, workforce, and infrastructure.

“Through the support of ASME’s E4C Research Fellowship Program, Siegel Family Endowment is proud to help build this new generation of engineers and foster a more nuanced, multidimensional approach to infrastructure design,” said Executive Director Kathleen Knight. Knight was a featured speaker at ASME’s December 2 Impact.Engineered event.

Increasing Women in Mechanical Engineering Conference (iWME)
February 3-4, 2022

Women are more than half of all U.S. college graduates, yet make up less than 15% of the engineering workforce and only 9% of all mechanical engineers. This second annual iWME conference addresses that imbalance with an eye toward expanding equitable access to engineering careers. Registration link available soon. 

EFEST DIGITAL 
March 24, 2022

ASME’s legendary college engineering festival returns as a global online event, where student teams vie for top honors in exciting design competitions—like the renowned Human Powered Vehicle Challenge—as well as other opportunities to demonstrate their abilities, acquire new skills, and network with seasoned professionals around the globe.