Friday 7 August 2015

#iLookLikeAnEngineer


I spend every day with engineering students, so I feel like I have a pretty good handle on what engineers look like (or at least what they will look like when they graduate after 4 or 5 years). In the past few days there’s been heaps of talk about a female engineer who appeared in an advertisement for her company, and around what female engineers look like.

To catch up on the story, read this article

The response on media, especially twitter, has been huge, with lots of female engineers sending in photos of themselves. These photos proved something we should have all already known, that female engineers look like…well, females. At university, I can’t tell the engineering students apart from the business students, or the law kids, and that’s because what you study has nothing to do with what you look like.

It’s a really exciting time, as more and more girls are choosing to study engineering. My university is one of the best when it comes to the number of girls in engineering, though we're not yet at the 25% mark.  So there’s still a long way to go, but I want to share some photos of my friends at ANU with you. They’re engineering students, and they have some big ideas about what they’re doing and where they want to go, but most of all, they’re just a bunch of fabulous, smart and interesting women!

Enjoy!










I'd love to see other people's photos too! @EmilyK_Campbell

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Ready, GET SET, Go!

Last Friday I got to meet 60 girls in College thinking about studying engineering. I was on my best Glambassador behaviour as the ANU hosted these girls for the day. (I prefer the term Glambassador to Ambassador because I feel it better represents me).


We took them around to 4 different workshops relating to renewable energy, systems engineering, humanitarian engineering and biomedical engineering. I spent the day at the renewable energy workshop where we proved that red wind turbines actually do go faster.

Here's a photo of a (pretty cardboard) turbine that a student made. It had an efficiency of two percent! I had to take a photo of the yellow one because the red was just too fast to capture. (For any non-science people, this is a joke and red does not make things go faster).


I never had an opportunity like this. I was asked to speak to the girls at the beginning about why I chose engineering and I realised that it was a reeeeally last minute decision (the day before applications closed) sparked by my encounter with some Canadian engineering students that I met overseas. I had never even realised that engineering was a degree you could study and something you could be a professional in. It sounds stupid now, but the idea was just never presented to me. I was really jealous of these girls last week who were able to see all of these things and also learn about systems engineering too.

I'm definitely going to write an email to my old school telling them to get on board with ANU's Get Set program. It could have saved me a lot of time wondering what I wanted to do! (Not that I regret spending 7 months overseas on my gap year “finding myself”).

I think the ways of getting girls involved in degrees like engineering are a lot simpler than people think. Planting the seed in the girls' mind is all we need to do! They already know they like maths or science or teamwork or whatever it is, but they just need to be shown that these are all things we get to do in engineering!

Love,
Em.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

Project Presentation

Today we tried to put 20 students into our client's shoes for our group project. We began by simulating an office meeting where the "speaker" (me, miming to simulate our hearing-impaired client’s experience of work meetings) was presenting a pie chart on one side of the room while what was being said was being displayed on a projector across the room. The students were trying to watch what I was pointing to on the chart, read the text being displayed across the room, process the information and have an opinion on it simultaneously.

Here's the text and my special pie chart! (I called my character Jemima because she was miming…no one noticed this joke).



In the short presentation, the students couldn't see where/what I was pointing to and read the text at the same time. So, of course, there were no objections after I said a particular table of people were going to fail and I was going to reduce everyone's grades by 30%. Also, no one noticed that the pie chart didn't even add up to 100%...


Luckily, I'm not in control of their grades or any of the technical drawings for our assignment!


Lots of them laughed when I told them what we had done, but it seemed like a really effective way of making them see how serious the problem was.


Below is an "artists impression" of the app we designed. The client can see the transcription of the meeting while watching a video of what's going on around her. Heaps of ideas were tossed around from projector displays to google glass, but this best realised the client's requirements.



I even stole a line from my previous blog ("Social Engineering") for the end of the presentation where we had decided we wanted to "say something profound".  Here it is:


"This simple system is important because we're levelling the playing field by allowing someone to demonstrate their ability and not their disability to their co-workers."


And that's how little projects like these are really part of something much, much bigger than they seem.


Love,

Emily
AKA Jemima

Saturday 2 May 2015

Social Engineering

I had two assignments due this week. While the tasks couldn't have been more different, they were both tackling the same issue - deafness. The first was a structured report containing the functional analysis for my group project (basically what the steps are that a system has to complete to do its job). We're designing a new display system for a transcription process that will allow a deaf employee to participate more effectively in workplace meetings (pretty cool stuff as this is all for a real client). The second was a philosophy paper discussing different definitions of "disability", deafness as a disability and when governments should interfere in disabled persons lives. 

Here's my group working really hard!





It was a really weird week for me. For the engineering assignment, I had to look at the situation objectively, carry out technical analysis and take a practical approach to the client's issue. However my mind was constantly interrupting me with deep, abstract questions about the state of disability. Is their "disability" just a social problem that's been created by our own failure to adapt the world around them?  Is deafness even a disability? What does society owe them? I also wondered whether they identified as deaf or Deaf (yep, deaf with a capital d is a thing - and by thing, I mean a really well developed culture, look it up: http://www.deafculture.com). 

At first these questions frustrated me, but as I worked on my philosophy paper, I began to answer these questions and then my answers began to provide context for the engineering project. I don't believe disability is purely a social problem (i.e. something caused by unjustified social attitudes and a world full of design flaws), but I think that governments, of course, have responsibilities to technically-disabled persons to raise awareness about their condition, promote their participation in the work force and invest in adapting the way things function so that normal tasks become easier for them. I realised that these things are exactly what the group project is doing. We're levelling the playing field by allowing someone to more efficiently participate in their workplace. This allows them to demonstrate their ability and not their disability to their co-workers. 


Design requirements and optimisation aside, it became clear that the project's goals tap in to a large social movement beyond this one client. The overall motivation for projects like this is to create something that enhances someone's ability to do a desired activity in a way that has the power, however small, to address the unjustified social attitudes surrounding disability and make the world more usable for everybody.


Here's me looking pensive. Please don't take me too seriously.




While it's hard to say whether thinking about these things had a measured impact on the project, I think it was really important to remember why we were doing it (beyond "because our lecturer/boss told us to"). I think it's so easy to forget about what motivates a project. Projects revolve around people, and so often there's a bigger picture to look at.


Every time I start a project, I'm going to ask myself why I'm doing it. I'll look at not only why the client wants me to do it or why it benefits us directly, but why the project is valuable to some bigger idea.


Love from, 

Philosophical Emily

Tuesday 28 April 2015

#IAmAnEngineerBecause ...



What happened when Engineer's Australia challenged professionals to say why they chose to be an Engineer in 140 characters or less?


Students like me get inspired. We also laugh, because apparently engineers can be funny just like everyone else. Especially Chomical Engineers (hehe, see @ChomicalEng for more giggles).


The most common responses to the hashtag? Because... "I love solving problems", "I love knowing how things work" and "I want to improve the world".


They're some pretty big but unsurprising ideas coming from engineers.


For some, it's a problem.


"#IAmAnEngineerBecause I get to be creative with physics. And I love to build things. Seriously, I can't stop...Help!" @labjg

For others, it's a fashion statement.


"#IAmAnEngineerBecause I prefer overalls to a lab coat" @EngineerMinions
(Picture included...hehe)


"although I'm still a dirty overalls rather than clean white lab coat kinda guy" @ChomicalEngineer


For Bukayo, it's because she was given the opportunity to be whatever she could be.


"#IAmAnEngineerBecause nobody in my sphere of influence ever limited my potential or told me I couldn't. (Or, at least I will be very soon )" @HeyBukayomi

And Kristy just makes it sound damn cool.


"#IAmAnEngineerBecause an artificial heart isn't just going to grow itself. Or is it... :o" @KristyGarrick

If I had to adhere to 140 characters, I'd say:


"#IAmAnEngineer(ingStudent)Because... Engineering is unlimited. It gives you the skills to approach any problem that seems important to you. It empowers"

(That's 150, but lucky for me, this isn't twitter. I get to have a whole blog about it.)


I have friends working on projects in physics, mental health, sports, government efficiency, energy usage, water storage...and lots more. It's endless!


And now (thanks to the hashtag) we all have something to come back to if we need to be reminded about why we're working so hard. Oh, and also some funny people to follow on twitter (my favourites: @ChomicalEng and @EngineerMinions).


Love,

Emily

P.S. While we're talking social media, my dog Frank recently launched his own Instagram account. Find @frank_lets_cavoodle for insight into the life of a 2 year old cavoodle!




Friday 10 April 2015

Emily's DIY

"Hey, you do Engineering! Can you fix this for me?"
- Everyone, ever.

I'm here to eliminate any preconceptions you might have about me and my ability to fix things.

This is mainly directed at my mum.

"Emily can you make the internet go faster!?"

"Emily, can you fix the barracuda?"

"Emily, can you clean the pool while you're at it?"

They always morph into questions about household chores. Apparently I'm more qualified for those too!

The truth is, I'm no more able to fix the barracuda than my older brothers. My mechanics lecturers have never taken a barracuda apart in front of the class. Perhaps I could understand the theory behind a few of the mechanisms better than most people, but really the only thing that separates me from my brothers is curiosity.

I chose to study Engineering because I'm curious about how systems work. Systems like barracudas, buildings and power plants of course, but also systems made up of humans. I like learning about new systems and I'm definitely more willing than my brothers to start taking something apart and investigating. I just can't guarantee that I can actually make it start working again...

So mum, next time you have something you want me to fix for you, please don't expect me to have some sort of special knowledge. I'll probably be able to figure it out for you, just don't look at me like I have super powers.

I'll leave you with a picture of a fix my housemates and I have inflicted on our house. Our fixes generally consist of hair ribbons holding things together because we're resourceful and fashionable like that!

Here is a ribbon helping our washing machine drain water.



See, Engineering can be pretty!

Love, 
Em

Friday 3 April 2015

Touch Football and Electron Density.

Have you ever missed out on selection in a sports team you think you deserved? Have you ever wondered how someone could possibly have made the cut? How many times have you thought the whole process was biased, unfair or vague?

Bec Beath is a touch football superstar and Systems Engineering student at ANU. This year she's out to create a better system for the selection of wingers on a touch football team. Yep, that's engineering. She's using technical tools like a House of Quality, Functional Block Diagrams & Evaluation Matrices, and she'll analyse the requirements, generate TPMs and examine the whole life-cycle of the system.


At this stage, it's hard to tell if she's concerned about the integrity of sports team selection or ensuring that she's the most obvious candidate for the winger position (I'm on to her), but either way it's an awesome example of how applicable Systems Eng is to everything we do and everything we love.

On the other end of the spectrum, my friend Alex is a physics nerd. We all know them. Sometimes I wish I was one, just because geeking out about physics things looks super impressive to everyone else. However, reading his project description reminded me why I don't study physics...

"I'll be measuring the electron density in the ionosphere to calibrate radio astronomical measurements against Faraday rotation by sending radio waves of known polarisation from a 1U cubist through the ionosphere to the MWF in Western Australia".

Hopefully you're all as lost as I am.

When I asked for simple terms, he said: "measuring stuff in the atmosphere from space".

I still don't understand, but hey at least he seems interested in it.

Another friend is looking at ways to solve common engineering problems on a phone or tablet. (I'm definitely annoyed he didn't make an app for this before I started first year). Other projects include the efficiencies of a video store, home water systems, keyboards or an online tutoring system...

Nothing is off limits for us and it will be really cool to see what comes out of all these projects!

Love, 
Emily



Thursday 2 April 2015

Choosing a Project

Do a project on anything. Literally anything! Just make sure you apply what you've learnt. Oh and it's worth 40% of your grade. Good luck!
- ANU Lecturer

It may not be exactly what my Systems Engineering Lecturer said, but it's a pretty great summary of how it sounded. My first response went something along the lines of: "OMG how can I possibly choose something when my options are everything in the world!?" 

It completely changed the way I looked at everything for a week. I walked around finding all the things that could be improved, processes in my life that were inefficient and technologies that didn't suit their purpose. My friend and I got as far as creating a logical flow diagram describing the process by which my dog Frank could successfully eat his dinner (my other dog always steals it). By the end of the week, I was extremely dissatisfied with the quality of everything in my life, but I had a project idea! (No, it wasn't designing a more efficient dinner process for Frank). 

I've worked in a medical practice for 3 years, and for anyone that has experience in the profession, you'll know that the connections between medical providers and services around Australia is a complex web of incompatible processes, competing interests and outdated systems. You could pick just about any process or system used in patient care and it would make an awesome assignment because there's such a need for new streamlined systems. I'm going to be looking at referral methods for GPs to specialists over the next few months and assessing their suitability in Australia.

To be able to work on a project that's relevant to your job or your personal life is really exciting. After I selected my topic, I was really disappointed that I wouldn't then be able to investigate all these other things around me that seemed to be falling apart!

Here's a photo of Frank having his dinner stolen by my other dog, Mini. Just in case someone else would like to do a project on preventing that. Thanks!



Love, 
Emily

Monday 30 March 2015

Thinking Outside the Box

Last weekend I celebrated 21 years on earth, but also 21 years in my hometown, Canberra. In those years I’ve seen Canberra develop from somewhat of a large country town into a vibrant city. We’ve even got a snazzy new catch phrase! (CBR. Confident. Bold. Ready). And we totally are!
On one of my rides around Lake Burley Griffin, I noticed a new construction site. It looked like it was in its really early phases because everything was still packed up in shipping containers. Six months down the track, I learnt from a friend that the shipping containers weren’t part of the construction phase, they were the actual structure! These containers make up Westside Acton Park, one of Canberra’s solutions to the perennial problem of getting more people to the Canberra lakeside.

They wanted an events centre, so they created this as a place for a rooftop bar, a pop up cafe, drive through coffee shop, some restaurants, a gym and even a BMX bike shop. This kind of out of the box (pun intended) thinking is super exciting to me from management, manufacturing and materials engineering perspectives. 
From a manufacturing and materials angle, it’s a really creative challenge and I’m definitely attracted to projects as special and uncommon as this one. A large steel structure is part of the design and they tried to use ready-made or recycled materials. What’s more, it will be demountable so in the end they can just pop it all on a semi-trailer or two! 
In terms of project management, this was a collaboration between government, architects, engineers, city planners, construction workers, retail and hospitality outlets. As a systems engineering student, my degree is preparing me to work in diverse teams like these and also work on projects that live in uncharted territory.

#NotJustANUtherEngineer
Love,
Emily

(Originally published on the ANU CECS Student Blog Page: https://cecs.anu.edu.au/studentblogs 12/03/15)

E is for....

Emily.
That's me! My name's Emily Campbell and welcome to All Things E! Here is me in my natural state: surrounded by males. However, they don't usually treat me like a princess, these ones just have to because we're genetically related.

Engineering.
I'm currently a third year Engineering student at ANU, however I wouldn't really classify myself as a typical engineer. Don't get me wrong, I love maths, taking things apart and breaking down complex problems, but I also do an Arts degree where I major in Philosophy and I enjoy girly activities like straightening my hair, going shopping with friends and painting my nails horrible shades of pink.

Elements.
To be more precise, I study Systems Engineering. For those who aren't familiar with it, it basically means we look at every element in a system. We work on projects over their whole lifecycle and get to learn about a huge variety of engineering disciplines.

Exploration.
This is the place where I want to share cool engineering projects and experiences of my own, from Canberra and around the world. I want to make everyone look at the world from a Systems Engineering approach!

Each Week.
Yep. And more than once! What a special treat! I hope you don't get sick of me.

Everyone!!
While I do hope that younger students will take some valuable insights away from the blog, I really want this to be something that everyone can enjoy and contribute to. We all have something to learn, a cool new project to hear about or a person to be inspired by and I'm going to find all these things for you.

Wish me luck!

Love always,
Emily

P.S. Here's my name on a breadboard in case that helps you remember it :)




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