Inaugural Reception for Women hosted by the department

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering held its first Reception for Women on September 5. Attended by faculty, staff, graduate students and undergraduate students, the event included networking and opportunity for students to meet department leadership.

Welcoming the group, Department Chair Vish Subramaniam expressed his commitment to supporting women in mechanical, aerospace and nuclear engineering.

“Enhancing diversity and improving inclusion in engineering is paramount for addressing the issues facing today’s society,” he said later. “The department aims to support women in their academic and professional endeavors to make the world a better place, whether that’s through advancing nuclear safety, designing components for spacecraft or discovering new ways of treating cancer.”

“We want women to not only leave here with a degree, but enable them to achieve excellence and graduate ready to be future leaders in their fields by breaking barriers that prevent their full participation.”

It was announced at the event that 20 percent of incoming undergraduate students in the mechanical engineering major are women, according to the Undergraduate Advising Office.

“This is the first time our mechanical engineering major has reached such a high rate of enrollment by women,” said Blaine Lilly, associate chair for undergraduate studies. “It’s certainly an achievement and we hope to continue making the department a welcoming place for not only women, but all students.”

After this successful inaugural gathering (photos may be viewed here), future events are being planned. Questions may be directed to the department’s Undergraduate Advising Office at maeadvisor@osu.edu.