Keynote Speaker: Priscilla Guthrie

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the U.S. Department of Defense

Though she had worked on defense projects earlier in her long career with TRW, Inc., Priscilla Guthrie never pictured herself working in the federal government. She politely declined when a friend with an appointment in the administration tried to recruit her. "I wasn?t willing to give up my retirement at TRW, where I?d spent my entire career to that point," she says.

That was before September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks that day prompted Guthrie to call her friend and say, "I?ll do anything to help." A few months later her friend called on a Wednesday and said they needed her there by Monday. Guthrie went without hesitation, even though it meant forfeiting some retirement benefits. Now in her fifth year as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Deputy Chief Information Officer in the Department of Defense, Guthrie works in the Pentagon?one of the buildings attacked on September 11.

As the primary advisor to the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer, Guthrie's main goal is to achieve network centricity, or net-centricity, across the department. She explains the challenge this way: "Historically, the military operated self-contained platforms, such as ships. If there was a need for the ship to communicate with Marines on shore during a conflict, they developed a customized interface." Her job is to make it easier and faster for not only the branches of the military to communicate with each other but also with coalition partners, such as the countries aiding the United States in Iraq. She compares the network to the Internet but says, "Obviously, for security reasons we can?t put most of our information out there on the Internet so we have our own network." Guthrie says she loves her job despite the pressure inherent in developing systems where the ability to get data quickly can be a life-or-death situation.

Guthrie has never run from a challenge. Against her parents' wishes she applied only to Penn State. During her freshman year she switched to electrical engineering where, in the late 1960s, she was often the only woman in class. After graduating, she started at TRW in 1971 as a data entry clerk. The company told her they would give her a professional title after six months if she hadn't "run off to get married" by then. Guthrie stayed at TRW, working on defense projects during the Cold War years. She also served as program manager for a $300 million operation to modernize the tax systems of the IRS and as vice president and general manager of TRW's commercial IT businesses. Before leaving in 2001, she was vice president for e-business, with a focus on improving the supply chain.

At Penn State, Guthrie served on the Dean's Advisory Board for the Women in Engineering Advisory Council, as a board member of the Penn State Engineering Society, and as commencement speaker in 2000. She currently is chair of the Leonhard Center Advisory Board. She also endowed a scholarship in engineering for entering students with financial need.

Penn State has previously named Guthrie an Alumni Fellow in 2003 and honored her with the Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award in 2001. Guthrie, who also holds an M.B.A. from Marymount University, is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association and lives in northern Virginia with her partner, Charles Stableford.

Welcome Speaker: Renata S. Engel

Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies
Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics

Renata S. Engel is Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and International Programs in the College of Engineering at Penn State. A member of the Penn State faculty since 1990, she is Professor of Engineering Design and Engineering Science and Mechanics and has served as Executive Director of the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. Through various collaborative efforts, she has affected changes in the engineering curriculum at Penn State, primarily to incorporate elements of design in fundamental engineering courses. Engel's discipline specific research couples her interest in design and manufacturing with advanced materials. Motivated to improve manufacturing processes or products, she has modeled liquid injection processes, metal powder compaction and powder compact strengthening via high temperatures. She has also worked with product design fiber reinforced polymers.

For her individual and collaborative contributions to engineering education, she has received several awards including the University's George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Penn State Engineering Society's Outstanding Teaching Award, the Dow Outstanding Young Faculty Award, and the Outstanding Alumna of the Fayette Campus. Engel was also a member of the team that won the 1998 Boeing Outstanding Educator Award and is a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education. An active member in the American Society for Engineering Education, Engel has held leadership positions in the Mechanics Division, Middle Atlantic Section and as the Vice President for Member Affairs.

Speaker: Mary Ann Walsh

Region G Governor

Mary Ann Walsh is a life member of SWE and has served in various roles within the society, presently as Ohio Valley Region G Governor. She obtained her undergraduate degree Summa Cum Laude, in Chemical Engineering, 1989 and completed the MS in Industrial Engineering, Engineering Management in April 2005, both at the University of Pittsburgh.

She is currently employed at Bechtel in the Pittsburgh area. She has worked in the areas of heat transfer and fluid flow, advancing to the level of senior engineer. Presently, she is responsible for the design follow, fabrication, testing, and field support of a variety of mechanical equipment, in support of power plant applications. In addition, she is a recruiter for Bechtel, and she continues to be an active member of SWE, including attending the SWE national and Region G conferences. Ms. Walsh was honored to be selected as a SWE Distinguished New Engineer in 1999. Other professional society memberships include: AIChE, American Nuclear Society, Women in Nuclear, University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association, and Tau Beta Pi. She has been married for 30 years and has two grown sons.

Speaker: Amy L. Freeman

Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean of Engineering Diversity
Multicultural Engineering Program

Amy L. Freeman is the Assistant Dean of Engineering Diversity at The Pennsylvania State University serving as an advocate for women and other underrepresented students in Engineering. She holds a Master of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from Penn State. In 2008, she will complete a Ph.D. in Workforce Education with a dissertation focusing on underrepresented graduates in technical fields.

Along the way, Amy Freeman has served the interests of underrepresented students and the field of Engineering in many capacities. As an educator, Ms. Freeman served the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education for 10 years directing retention programs for Bloomsburg University, and as Director of Human and Cultural Diversity for Lock Haven University. During that time, she developed a wide range of retention programming for students who identified as underrepresented, international, women, or transgendered. At Penn State, she continues to provide recruitment and retention enhancement through the long standing Multicultural Engineering Program, the Women in Engineering Program and through cultivation of partnerships with corporations, alumni, university constituents and organizational alliances. She is currently serving as the President-Elect of the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates, and will be President of the organization for the 2008-2010 term.


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		Keynote Speaker: Priscilla Guthrie Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the U.S. Department of Defense Though she had worked on defense projects earlier in her long career with TRW, Inc., Priscilla Guthrie never pictured herself working in the federal government. She politely declined when a friend with an appointment in the administration tried to recruit her. "I wasn?t willing to give up my retirement at TRW, where I?d spent my entire career to that point," she says. That was before September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks that day prompted Guthrie to call her friend and say, "I?ll do anything to help." A few months later her friend called on a Wednesday and said they needed her there by Monday. Guthrie went without hesitation, even though it meant forfeiting some retirement benefits. Now in her fifth year as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Deputy Chief Information Officer in the Department of Defense, Guthrie works in the Pentagon?one of the buildings attacked on September 11. As the primary advisor to the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer, Guthrie's main goal is to achieve network centricity, or net-centricity, across the department. She explains the challenge this way: "Historically, the military operated self-contained platforms, such as ships. If there was a need for the ship to communicate with Marines on shore during a conflict, they developed a customized interface." Her job is to make it easier and faster for not only the branches of the military to communicate with each other but also with coalition partners, such as the countries aiding the United States in Iraq. She compares the network to the Internet but says, "Obviously, for security reasons we can?t put most of our information out there on the Internet so we have our own network." Guthrie says she loves her job despite the pressure inherent in developing systems where the ability to get data quickly can be a life-or-death situation. Guthrie has never run from a challenge. Against her parents' wishes she applied only to Penn State. During her freshman year she switched to electrical engineering where, in the late 1960s, she was often the only woman in class. After graduating, she started at TRW in 1971 as a data entry clerk. The company told her they would give her a professional title after six months if she hadn't "run off to get married" by then. Guthrie stayed at TRW, working on defense projects during the Cold War years. She also served as program manager for a $300 million operation to modernize the tax systems of the IRS and as vice president and general manager of TRW's commercial IT businesses. Before leaving in 2001, she was vice president for e-business, with a focus on improving the supply chain. At Penn State, Guthrie served on the Dean's Advisory Board for the Women in Engineering Advisory Council, as a board member of the Penn State Engineering Society, and as commencement speaker in 2000. She currently is chair of the Leonhard Center Advisory Board. She also endowed a scholarship in engineering for entering students with financial need. Penn State has previously named Guthrie an Alumni Fellow in 2003 and honored her with the Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award in 2001. Guthrie, who also holds an M.B.A. from Marymount University, is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association and lives in northern Virginia with her partner, Charles Stableford. Welcome Speaker: Renata S. Engel Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics Renata S. Engel is Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and International Programs in the College of Engineering at Penn State. A member of the Penn State faculty since 1990, she is Professor of Engineering Design and Engineering Science and Mechanics and has served as Executive Director of the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. Through various collaborative efforts, she has affected changes in the engineering curriculum at Penn State, primarily to incorporate elements of design in fundamental engineering courses. Engel's discipline specific research couples her interest in design and manufacturing with advanced materials. Motivated to improve manufacturing processes or products, she has modeled liquid injection processes, metal powder compaction and powder compact strengthening via high temperatures. She has also worked with product design fiber reinforced polymers. For her individual and collaborative contributions to engineering education, she has received several awards including the University's George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Penn State Engineering Society's Outstanding Teaching Award, the Dow Outstanding Young Faculty Award, and the Outstanding Alumna of the Fayette Campus. Engel was also a member of the team that won the 1998 Boeing Outstanding Educator Award and is a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education. An active member in the American Society for Engineering Education, Engel has held leadership positions in the Mechanics Division, Middle Atlantic Section and as the Vice President for Member Affairs. Speaker: Mary Ann Walsh Region G Governor Mary Ann Walsh is a life member of SWE and has served in various roles within the society, presently as Ohio Valley Region G Governor. She obtained her undergraduate degree Summa Cum Laude, in Chemical Engineering, 1989 and completed the MS in Industrial Engineering, Engineering Management in April 2005, both at the University of Pittsburgh. She is currently employed at Bechtel in the Pittsburgh area. She has worked in the areas of heat transfer and fluid flow, advancing to the level of senior engineer. Presently, she is responsible for the design follow, fabrication, testing, and field support of a variety of mechanical equipment, in support of power plant applications. In addition, she is a recruiter for Bechtel, and she continues to be an active member of SWE, including attending the SWE national and Region G conferences. Ms. Walsh was honored to be selected as a SWE Distinguished New Engineer in 1999. Other professional society memberships include: AIChE, American Nuclear Society, Women in Nuclear, University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association, and Tau Beta Pi. She has been married for 30 years and has two grown sons. Speaker: Amy L. Freeman Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean of Engineering Diversity Multicultural Engineering Program Amy L. Freeman is the Assistant Dean of Engineering Diversity at The Pennsylvania State University serving as an advocate for women and other underrepresented students in Engineering. She holds a Master of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from Penn State. In 2008, she will complete a Ph.D. in Workforce Education with a dissertation focusing on underrepresented graduates in technical fields. Along the way, Amy Freeman has served the interests of underrepresented students and the field of Engineering in many capacities. As an educator, Ms. Freeman served the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education for 10 years directing retention programs for Bloomsburg University, and as Director of Human and Cultural Diversity for Lock Haven University. During that time, she developed a wide range of retention programming for students who identified as underrepresented, international, women, or transgendered. At Penn State, she continues to provide recruitment and retention enhancement through the long standing Multicultural Engineering Program, the Women in Engineering Program and through cultivation of partnerships with corporations, alumni, university constituents and organizational alliances. She is currently serving as the President-Elect of the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates, and will be President of the organization for the 2008-2010 term.