Women are underrepresented in engineering education and practice, which limits the quality of both the engineering workforce and the solutions produced. One way to increase the participation of women in engineering is to emphasize connections to subjects that appeal to women. A subject that may fit this description is sustainability, which highlights opportunities to make positive change in the world through an emphasis on quality of life for current and future generations. This presentation begins with a brief background on sustainability and the link to women in engineering. Then, completed and ongoing research in this area is covered. The presentation concludes with a discussion to highlight and identify open research questions related to sustainability topics as a route to female participation in engineering. Research in this area will help devise practical methods to attract more women to engineering. It will also help increase the number and diversity of engineers working on sustainability issues.

Location:	1030 Torgersen Hall
Sponsor:	Engineering Education Department
Contact:	Marie Paretti mparetti@vt.edu
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