Engineering AmbassadorsAchieving Excellence in Presenting
Worcester Polytechnic Institute October 8 - 11, 2015
Sponsored by the NSF
Workshop Goals for Engineering Ambassadors
1. To learn the messages of Changing the Conversation2. To learn the skills needed to communicate those messages3. To apply those messages into a talk for middle school and high school students4. To develop the presentation so that it is classroom ready
Contents of Workbook
Learning Notes for New Ambassadors Content & Structure 1 Visual Aids 6 Delivery 14
Learning Notes for Senior Ambassadors 15
The TED Commandments 21
Assertion-‐Evidence Guidelines 22
Power Point Tips 23
Presentation Feedback Guidelines & Sheet 24
Resources & References 26
Instructor Bios 28
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 1
To excel in your presentations, you will need ___________, ______________, and _______________________________
[www.psyclops.com]
[ted.com]
[www.wildchimpanzees.org][CSP,pp. 3-‐4]
Some perceptions that middle and high school students have about engineering need to be reshaped
Our messages should be guided by the findings of the National Academy of Engineering
[NAE, 2008]
Engineering makes ____________________________
Engineering is essential to our __________________________
Engineering encourages____________________________
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 2
This workshop discusses strategies for how to be successful in three critical areas of your presentation
Content
Delivery
Visual Aids
Successfully structuring your presentation calls on you to lead your audience up your mountain of information
*
Entry point
Path
[Bauer, 2005; CSP,pp. 51-‐52]
SUCCESS
To have your ideas stick with your audience, your message should contain certain qualities
[Heath and Heath, 2008]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 3
Working against you is the __________________
A key step with the introduction is finding an entry point that __________________
[CSP,pp. 69-‐76]
Beginnings engage and prepare the audience
_______________ ______________
________________________________[CSP, pp. 69-‐71]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 4
Your talk should have _______________ to keep the organization clear for the audience
[CSP, pp. 50, 54]
A good way to keep the audience on the trail is to ________________________
[CSP, pp. 36-‐39]
In your speech, you have to decide which details to reveal and which to keep beneath the surface
[ralphclevenger.com]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 5
To keep the audience on the trail, you often needto _____________________
[Matthew Bates][CSP,pp. 39-‐41]
A CT/PET scan images like a weather map where the boundaries and activity are displayed simultaneously
________________ can be effective to gain the attention of an audience
Michael Pritchard
www.ted.com
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 6
Your talk should have a ________________
[Resonate, Duarte, 2010]
The ending of the talk is your final opportunity to influence the audience
Engineers and scientists often name the same problems with slides
1.
2.
3.
Corrosion and Hydriding
n Different alloys have different in-reactor corrosion rates andconsequently different degrees of hydriding and degradation ofmechanical properties
n => benefit of designing good alloy (e.g. M5 (Framatome) and ZIRLO(W) have better corrosion properties than Zircaloy)
Hydrides are brittle andcan severely degrade cladding ductility
Oxidation measured by weight gain
Sabol et al. Portland 1997
[CSP, p. 110]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 7
[Alley, 2013]
Slides influence the preparation, delivery, and understanding of a scientific presentation
[CSP, pp. 117-‐122]
PowerPoint’s original defaults were not based on ________and ________________________
1987
2003
2007
[Gomes 2007] [CSP, p. 108]
“Spoken Words” + Written Words
If audiences try to process too many words simultaneously,__________________________
[Sweller, 2005; CSP, p. 111]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 8
[Mayer, 2001]
People learn much more deeply from words and relevant images than from words alone
Words
Images
[Mayer, 2001; CSP, p. 112]
PowerPoint’s defaults run counter to how people learn
Does not filter noise
Leads to many written words
Consumes valuable space
[CSP, pp. 108-‐114]
[estevejobs .com]
A key assumption is that _________________________________________________________________________
[CSP, pp. 106-‐107]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 9
Another key assumption is that the slides projected are____________________________________________
≠
[CSP, p. 107]
≠
A data acquisition system changes the form of the dataA digital acquisition system has to sample at a ratefast enough to retain the shape of the analog signal
Analog-‐to-‐Digital Converter
MeasurementDevice
Also, the slides that we project are for our _____________,rather than for __________
[CSP, p. 107]
Build your talk on
_____________
[CSP, pp. 115, 184]
Green RoofsGreen RoofsGreen roofs mitigate the effectsof urban heat islands
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 10
Support your messages
with _______ evidence
[CSP, pp. 115, 184-‐187]
Chicago City Hall, EPA
Results prove that green roofs are extremely effective in diminishing the urban heat island effect
The assertion–evidence structure consists of a message headline supported by visual evidence
[Sawarynski, 2009] [CSP, pp. 130, 144]
[Bunoz]
In a scientific presentation, the sentence headline serves as a ___________________ for the audience
[CSP, p. 135]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 11
The first step is to write a sentence headline that statesthe main message of the slide
sentenceheadline
Trabeculae reduce a bone’s weight while giving it maximum strength against multiple forces
[www.travlang.com][http://www.answersingenesis.org]
Gustav Eiffel, 1889
[CSP,pp. 132-‐139]
The second step is to find or create visual evidence that supports the sentence headline
visualevidence
Trabeculae reduce a bone’s weight while giving it maximum strength against multiple forces
[www.travlang.com][http://www.answersingenesis.org]
Gustav Eiffel, 1889
[CSP, p. 140]
The basic forces of Felix’s free fall can be found using Newton’s Second Law
Σ F = ma
= mg
= ½ ρACv2
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 12
Felix achieved supersonic speeds by utilizing the elevation’s low air density
2=_____AC4mg
V ρ
2= AC4mg
V ρ_____
The third step is to avoid the weak defaults of PowerPoint
CSP, 2nd, pp. 154-‐159
¨ Introduction¨ Background¨ Theory for Hg Cycling¨ Measurements from Station
¡ Atmospheric Hg¡ Surface Snow Hg
¨ Environmental Implications¨ Conclusions¨ Acknwoledgments¨ Questions
A common error in the mapping of scientific talks is they exceed _____________________________
[CSP, pp. 176-‐178]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 13
Today, we will show you how engineers used creativity and innovation to advance technology through the space jump
Design of the components
Physics of free fall
Applications
Thank You
Questions?
A common error in the endings of scientific talks is to waste the last slide
[CSP, pp. 181-‐184]
By pushing the limits, engineers can improve the health, happiness, and safety of the world
Questions?
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 14
Engineers improve our—
health
happiness
safety
In summary, biomechanics is the science concerned with the internal and external forces acting on the human body
Questions?
The speaker’s use of their voice and body has a strong impact on the message
[WPI EA Program]
[UConn EA Program]
Your body language doesn’t just impact the audience, it also impacts you as a speaker
[Dr. Amy Cuddy, PopTech, Vimeo]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 15
Place in the talkEndStart
Level of Vocal Energy
Low
High
Good energy level
Varying your vocal energy level throughout your talk enables you to achieve emphasis of important ideas
Engineering Ambassador Presentations:Advanced Strategies
Other alternative slide structures Memory maps
In addition to the assertion-‐evidence structure, another alternative slide structure is the TED-‐style
[CSP, pp. 184-‐187]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 16
A talk that follows the TED-‐style begins with defining and arranging the message of each scene
[Duarte, 2007]
[www.TED.com][www. TED.com]
Eat only until80% full.
[Reynolds , 2008]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 17
50[Reynolds , 2008]
The more technical the assertion, the more thatTED style slides look like assertion-‐evidence slides
technicallevel
scentsource
The way a dog sniffs does not contaminate the vapor stream from the scent source
[Settles et al., 2002]
[Houston, 2002]
A dog’s sense of smell is at least 10,000 times keener than a human’s
[CSP, pp. 184-‐187]
In addition to using alternative slide designs, speakers are testing the sequencing of slides
Lawrence Lessig
Dick Hardt
Ron Galloway[CSP, pp. 194-‐196]
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 18
A challenge for using the assertion-‐evidence slide structure is that the structure is in the early adoption phase
[Rogers, 2003][Rogers 2005]
In introducing a colleague, your two main goals are to make the person ________________________
In a person’s introduction, the most important words are _________________________
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 19
You typically divide the speech into two or three divisions
Education Experience
Personal Interest
For each division then, an appropriate number of details would be 2 to 4
[Dr. Cheryl Hayashi, TED.com]
In scientific talks, you are expected to own the sequence of ideas and fashion sentences on the spot
©Engineering Ambassadors Network 2015www.engineeringambassadors.org 20
[Alley and Miraldi, 2014]
To help learn the sequence of ideas,you can use a memory map
Introduction of
Veronica DallasAs an
Educator Her Educationas an Engineer
WEPOHer Education
as an Artist
Memory Map:Michael Alley
B.S. in ME
Design
ME 340
21 www.TED.com
The�TED�Commandments�
These�are�the�guidelines�that�are�sent�to�speakers�invited�to�present�at�the�TED�conference.��Given�the�consistently�excellent�presentations�that�occur�at�TED,�these�guidelines�can�also�give�us�something�to�think�about�when�giving�our�own�presentations.��See�all�of�the�videos�of�the�TED�presentations�at�www.TED.com.��
1. Thou�Shalt�Not�Simply�Trot�Out�thy�Usual�Shtick.2. Thou�Shalt�Dream�a�Great�Dream,�or�Show�Forth�a�Wondrous�New�Thing,�Or�Share�SomethingThou�Hast�Never�Shared�Before.�3. Thou�Shalt�Reveal�thy�Curiosity�and�Thy�Passion.4. Thou�Shalt�Tell�a�Story.5. Thou�Shalt�Freely�Comment�on�the�Utterances�of�Other�Speakers�for�the�Sake�of�BlessedConnection�and�Exquisite�Controversy.�6. Thou�Shalt�Not�Flaunt�thine�Ego.�Be�Thou�Vulnerable.�Speak�of�thy�Failure�as�well�as�thy�Success.7. Thou�Shalt�Not�Sell�from�the�Stage:�Neither�thy�Company,�thy�Goods,�thy�Writings,�nor�thyDesperate�need�for�Funding;�Lest�Thou�be�Cast�Aside�into�Outer�Darkness.�8. Thou�Shalt�Remember�all�the�while:�Laughter�is�Good.9. Thou�Shalt�Not�Read�thy�Speech.10. Thou�Shalt�Not�Steal�the�Time�of�Them�that�Follow�Thee.
The Craft of Scientific Presentations 22 Michael Alley, Penn State
Guidelines for Assertion–Evidence Slides from The Craft of Scientific Presentations
Style
1. Begin each body slide with a sentence‐assertion headline that is left justifiedand no more than two lines
2. Support the assertion headline with visual evidence (photographs, drawings, graphs,films, or words and equations arranged visually)—avoid bullet lists
3. In the body of the slide, use words only when necessary—design your slidesso that the audience reads no more than 20 words per minute
Typography
1. Use a bold sans serif typeface such as Calibri
2. Use 28 point type for the headline, 18–24 point type for the body text, and12‐14 point type (not bold) for reference listings
3. Avoid setting text in all capital letters, in italics, or with underline
Layout
1. Keep blocks of text, especially the headlines, to no more than two lines
2. Keep lists to two, three, or four items
3. Use small margins on the sides, so that you can insert sufficient white space betweenelements—for instance, leave at least one half‐inch of white space below the headline
scentsource
Exhaling through the midlateral slits does not disturb the vapor stream from the scent source
[Settles et al., 2002]
PowerPoint Template: http://writing.engr.psu.edu/AE_template.ppt
Key Features in PowerPoint for Asser on−Evidence Slides
1. Blanking the screen: Press B button in slideshow mode. To unblank the screen, simplypress B again.
2. Jumping to a slide during a slideshow: Type in the slide number that you want to jumpto and then hit Enter. Tip: place a post‐it on your laptop with the numbers of keyslides in your presentation.
3. Grouping objects: To group objects such as a photograph and its reference listing sothat you can animate in both at the same time or so that you can simply move themaround as one unit, use the Group button, which is under the Format tab across thetop of the screen. See Figure 1.
4. Aligning and distributing objects: To position visual evidence and text blocks in thebody of a slide, use the Align button, which is under the Format tab across the top ofthe screen. This feature, shown in Figure 1, allows you to align objects on a left, top,right, or bottom edge. The feature also allows you to distribute three or more objectsvertically or horizontally.
5. Setting the order of images that are stacked on one another. For slides in which youhave images stacked on one another, such as in an animation sequence, you canestablish the order of which image is on top with the Bring to Front feature and theSend to Back feature, which is under the Format tab.
6. Cropping images: To remove unwanted details from illustrations, which is under theFormat tab across the top of the screen.
7. Keeping the format of a pasted slide: When you paste a slide into a file, PowerPointtries to change the format of the pasted slide format of the file. That can be aproblem. To keep the format of a pasted slide, you need to click on Keep SourceFormatting, which will be under a small tab beneath the slide that is pasted (seeFigure 2).
Figure 1. Features under the Format tab.
The Craft of Scientific Presentations
Figure 2. Tab to retain format of pasted slide.
Click here
Michael Alley, Penn State23
Developed by Engineering Ambassadors from Penn State, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and University of Connecticut
Engineering Ambassador Presentation Feedback Guidelines
Content
Do the assertions and visuals match the message?
Does the content support the messages of Changing the Conversation and inspire interest inSTEM fields?
Is the technical information tangible and understandable?
Is the content relevant and connectable to school curricula?
Have possibilities for demonstrations/hands-on activities been considered?
Is the presentation organized in a way that is easy to follow?
Slide design
Are the assertions consistently and appropriately formatted? (1 sentence, 2 lines max, 28 pt.Calibri bold font, left-justified assertions)
Are the text, animation, and color schemes consistent, readable, and non-distracting?
Are all images appropriately formatted and sized with proper citations and image quality?
Does the presentation rely on assertion-evidence style rather than default PowerPointsettings (i.e. Bullet points, backgrounds, headings, etc.)?
Are the slides visually appealing with effective and aesthetic use of positioning, evidence,and empty space?
Delivery
Does the presenter show passion, excitement, and confidence?
Do the presenters show partnership dynamic and divide the presentation responsibilitiesevenly?
Does the presenter appropriately use humor and/or personal experience to enrich thepresentation?
Does the presenter effectively use their body (including their facial expressions and eyecontact) and their space while avoiding distracting habits (i.e. playing with hair, pacing,wringing hands, etc.)?
Does the presenter enunciate and project keeping an appropriate pace while avoiding verbalfillers?
Does the presenter display preparation and sufficient knowledge of the content whilemaintaining a conversational and natural tone?
Does the presenter use smooth transitions and/or blank sides to enhance presentation flowand coherence?
Audience awareness
Are the scope, breadth, and depth of the topic appropriate for the audience?
Is the presenter relatable, personable, and engaging?
Were techniques, such as discussion, questions, or activities, used to engage audience?
Is the grade level (high school or middle school) of the audience evident?
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References & Resources
Articles Alley, Michael, & Kathryn A. Neeley (2005). Rethinking the design of presentation slides: A case for
sentence headlines and visual evidence. Technical Communication, 52 (4 ), 417-‐‑426. Alley, M., Schreiber, M. M., Ramsdell, K., & Muffo, J. (2006). How the design of headlines in
presentation slides affects audience retention. Technical Communication, 53 (2), 225–234. Garner, J., M. Alley, A. Gaudelli, & S. Zappe (2009). The common use of PowerPoint versus the
assertion–evidence structure: A cognitive psychology perspective. Technical Communication, 56 (4).
Garner, J. and M. Alley (2013). How the Design of Presentation Slides Affects Audience Comprehension: A Case for the Assertion-‐‑Evidence Approach. International Journal of Engineering Education. 29 (6), 1564-‐‑1579.
Gomes, Lee (2007, June 20). PowerPoint turns 20, as its creators ponder a dark side to success. www.wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal.
Pallotta, Dan (2011) I Don’t Understand What Anyone Is Saying Anymore. https://hbr.org. Harvard Business Review. Parker, Ian (2001). Absolute PowerPoint. www.newyorker.com. The New Yorker. Schwartz, John (2003, 28 September). The level of discourse continues to slide.
www.nytimes.com. The New York Times. Shaw, Gordon, Robert Brown & Philip Bromiley (1998). Strategic stories: How 3M is rewriting
business planning. Harvard Business Review, 41–50. Sweller, John (2005). Implications of cognitive load theory for multimedia learning. The
Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning, ed. by Richard A. Mayer. New York: Cambridge Press, pp. 19–30.
Books Alley, Michael (2012). The Craft of Scientific Presentations, 2nd ed. New York: Springer-‐‑Verlag. Atkinson, Cliff (2008). Beyond Bullet Points. Washington: Microsoft Press. Berkun, Scott (2009). Confessions of a Public Speaker. Cambridge: O’Reilly. Carey, Benedict. (2014). How We Learn. New York: Random House. Duarte, Nancy (2008). Slide:ology. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media. Duarte, Nancy (2010). Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences. Sebastopol,
CA: John Wiley and Sons. Gladwell, Malcolm (2008). Outliers. New York: Penguin Books. Gallo, Carmine (2014). Talk Like TED. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Godin, Seth (2010). Linchpin. New York: Portfolio. Heath, Chip, & Dan Heath (2007). Made to Stick. New York: Random House. Heath, Chip, & Dan Heath (2010). Switch. New York: Random House. Mayer, Richard E. (2001). Multimedia Learning. New York: Cambridge. Meyers, Peter and Nix, Shann (2012). As We Speak: How to Make Your Point and Have It Stick.
Atria Books.
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Pink, Daniel H. (2006). A Whole New Mind. New York: Penguin Group. Paivio, A. (1986). Mental Representations. New York: Oxford University Press, 53. Reynolds, Garr (2008). Presentation Zen. Berkeley, CA: New Riders. Tufte, Edward R. (2003). The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.
Talks Ballard, Robert (2008, February). Exploring the ocean’s hidden worlds. www.ted.com.
Monterey, CA. Doumont, Jean-‐‑luc (2007). Creating effective presentation slides.
ewh.ieee.org/soc/pcs/index.php?q=node/111, IEEE Professional Communication Society: audio file.
Gilbert, Dan (2004, February). The surprising science of happiness. www.ted.com. Monterey, CA.
Gilbert, Elizabeth (2009, February). Your elusive creative genius. Longbeach, CA. Hayashi, Cheryl (2010). The magnificence of spider silk. www.ted.com. Monterey, CA. Loftus, Elizabeth (2013, June). How reliable is your memory? www.ted.com. Edinburgh,
Scotland. Marshall, Melissa (2012, June). Talk Nerdy to Me. www.ted.com. Edinburgh, Scotland. Pollan, Michael. (2009). Poptech. http://poptech.org/michaelpollan/ Sinek, Simon (2009 Sept). How great leaders inspire action. www.ted.com. Puget Sound, WA. Stevenson, Bryan (2012, March). We need to talk about injustice. www.ted.com. Long Beach,
CA. Rosling, Hans (2006, February). Debunking third world myths with the best stats you’ve ever
seen. www.ted.com. Monterey, CA: TED Talk. Taylor, Jill Bolte (2008, February). My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey.
www.ted.com. Monterey, CA TED (2004). TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. www.TED.com. New York.
Slides Banegas, Elena (2013) Solid Lipid Nanoparticles: A new light in drug delivery. Engineering
Ambassadors: Worcester, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Brown, Genevieve Miller (2010). Engineering the human body: Bone repair and
reconstruction. Engineering Ambassadors: University Park, Penn State. Funke, Simon (2014) Resource Assessment and Tidal Farm Optimization: Based on PDE-‐‑
Constrained Optimization. International Conference on Ocean Energy: Nova Scotia, Canada.
Kirsch, Kathryn & Kim Harrison (2010). Space exploration: to infinity and beyond. Engineering Ambassadors: University Park, Penn State.
Midttun, Øystein (2013) Improved reliability of the H-‐‑ ion source or CERN’s new linear injector. Norway, University of Oslo.
Muñoz-‐‑Mateos, Juan Carlos (2014). Where old stars in galaxies come from (and why you should care). European Southern Observatory: Santiago, Chile.
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Workshop content was created by Michael Alley (Penn State University) and Melissa Marshall (Melissa Marshall Consulting, LLC).
About the Engineering Ambassadors Teaching Team 2015 Northeast Regional Workshop
Michael Alley holds a master of science in electrical engineering and a master of fine arts in writing, and is an associate professor of engineering communication at Penn State. He is the author three textbooks, including The Craft of Scientific Presentations (2nd edition, Springer, 2013), which has been translated to Japanese. Over the past twenty years, he has taught technical presentations to scientists and engineers across the United States and in Europe, Asia, and South America. Sites include Penn State, MIT, Harvard Medical School, the University of Illinois, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, United Technologies, the Army Corps of Engineers, Simula Research Laboratory (Norway), the Institute for Energy Technology (Norway), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Seoul National University, the University of Barcelona, the University of Oslo, and the University of Seville. Michael’s website on slide design is a top Google listing for the topic of presentation slides: http://writing.engr.psu.edu/slides.html.
Christine Haas brings over ten years of experience working in communications with a focus on the science and engineering fields. She’s held positions as the director of marketing for Drexel’s College of Engineering and director of operations for Worcester Polytechnic Institute-‐Engineering.Since founding Christine Haas Consulting, LLC (www.christinehaasconsulting.com) in 2012, Christine has traveled around the world teaching courses to scientists and engineers on presentations and writing. She’s taught clients across government, industry and higher education, including The North Face, Sandia National Laboratory, Simula Research Laboratory (Norway), and the University of Illinois-‐Urbana Champaign.
Christine directs the Engineering Ambassadors Network, a start-‐up organization at 25+ universities worldwide that teaches
presentation skills to undergraduate engineering students, particularly women and underrepresented groups in engineering. She received her MBA in marketing and international business from Drexel University, and her BA in English and Film from Dickinson College. Christine’s job has led to some amazing experiences, including tobogganing down the Great Wall of China, attending the launch of the final U.S. Space Shuttle, and meeting Bill Nye the Science Guy (Bill, Bill, Bill!).
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Elia D’Onofrio is a senior Electrical Engineering student at the University of Connecticut. Within the Engineering Ambassadors (EA) Program at UConn, Elia is a Co-‐Vice President of Quality where he is in charge of reviewing and monitoring all material created and used in UConn EA’s on and off-‐campus visits. Elia dedicates time every week to host coaching sessions where he and his fellow co-‐vice president critique the presentations of their fellow UConn EA members, assuring the highest quality experience their program can provide to the students they reach out to. Outside of EA, Elia is just a normal UConn student, born and raised in Derby CT, who loves to sing, volunteer, play paintball, watch anime, and spend long hours contemplating the mysteries of electricity.
Juli Flynn is a senior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute majoring in mechanical engineering. This is her third year being an Engineering Ambassador; she loves educating kids about STEM topics and inspiring them to enter the fields of science and engineering.
When not studying or teaching kids, Juli is part of the Panhellenic community and of the Student Alumni Society of WPI. She has spent her last two summers working for Sikorsky in CT on Blackhawk helicopters. When she takes an occasion break, she enjoys spending time on Long Island Sound or building legos.
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Michael Ishida is a senior mechanical/nuclear engineering dual major at RPI who will begin graduate work in robotics and control systems in the fall. He has been involved in STEM outreach since entering high school, and is passionate about bringing excitement for STEM to younger students.
Along with being an Engineering Ambassador, Michael is an officer in the RPI ASME Student Section, sits on the department Student Advisory Council, and does research on nuclear powered spaceflight. In his spare time, he enjoys many different sports, going to the beach or hiking, and instrumental music.
Kelli Lenze is a senior studying Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University. As a freshman, Kelli was unsure if engineering was the right fit for her. Through interactions with Engineering Ambassadors during her first year at Penn State, Kelli learned how engineers make a world of difference in the lives of others, and decided to pursue an engineering degree. Now, as a current Engineering Ambassador, Kelli enjoys helping others gain a more accurate perspective of engineering. Kelli is specifically passionate about STEM outreach in underprivileged middle and high schools.
A few of Kelli's non-‐engineering passions include reading exciting stories, cooking new foods, playing card games with her three sisters, and sitting around campfires. Upon graduation in May 2016, Kelli plans to move to upstate New York to pursue a career in her field of study.
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