One of engineering’s toughest challenges comes into focus at Clemson University

CLEMSON, SC – A team of students, faculty members and professionals will fan out across Clemson University on Saturday to tackle one of the toughest challenges in engineering.

Its mission will be to encourage smart, talented girls to consider taking an educational path long dominated by males.

Girl Scouts Day, now in its 15th year, introduces girls to the career possibilities they could unlock by focusing on science, technology, engineering and math.

It comes amid a growing effort at Clemson and nationwide to fight back against some troubling statistics that have raised concerns women are falling behind in some of the fastest growing and highest paying careers.

The idea behind Girl Scouts Day is to give girls a chance to try their hand at engineering while matching them with female role models working in the field, said Serita Acker, director of Clemson University’s Women In Science and Engineering (WISE).

“We know that women do very well academically in science, technology, engineering and math, but many are choosing other careers,” she said. “We think a lack of exposure is part of the problem. Exposing pre-teens and teens to female role models helps the girls picture themselves in the fields that need them most.”

Some of the role models will come from Lockheed Martin, a long-time partner in Girl Scouts Day, said Leslie Farmer, a spokeswoman in the Greenville office.

“We know firsthand the importance of educating our young people in math and science,” she said. “Our future success — and our nation’s technological advantage — depend on a constant supply of highly trained, highly capable technical talent.”

Several dozen Girl Scouts are expected to attend. Most are in middle school, a time when many girls begin to lose interest in engineering and science.

“We recognize the disparities between males and females,” said Meika Samuel, STEM manager for Girl Scouts of South Carolina– Mountains to Midlands.

“We’re involving our Girl Scouts in this program for the 15th year because we want to make sure girls have the opportunity to explore education and career opportunities in STEM fields.”

The girls will learn about chemical engineering by comparing two types of laundry detergent, one with enzymes and the other without. They will also build a water purification system with sand, gravel, cotton balls, coffee filters, rice and plastic water bottles.

To learn about mechanical engineering, they will operate remote control cars with various wheel types and on different surfaces. As part of a civil engineering lesson, girls will use K’Nex toys to build and test replicas of some of the nation’s most iconic truss bridges.

They will also have lunch with some of Clemson’s female engineering and science students, who serve as WISE mentors.

Girl Scouts Day is one of several programs organized by WISE to support females in engineering and science from elementary school to the university level. The group also puts together recruitment days for high school juniors and seniors and summer camps for middle school students.

A new program that WISE is launching will used webinars to connect Clemson students with local and national female industrial leaders. “Run the World, A Series” is aimed at discrediting common biases against women as professionals and leaders in the workplace.

The webinars come in the wake of a study by the American Association of University Women  that found women make up less than 18 percent of engineering majors. One year after graduation, women with bachelor’s degrees in engineering and technology fields earn an average of $6,649 less than their male peers.

The webinars are funded through a $5,000 grant made possible by the American Association of University Women and Pantene.

“Employers understand that diversity makes for a more creative, competitive and innovative workforce,” Acker said. “To ensure the next-generation workforce includes all voices, we need to recruit and retain underrepresented groups. Programs like Girl Scouts Day and Run the World, A Series will help us send more females into the talent pipeline and to rewarding careers in engineering and science.”