No area of modern life is untouched by science and engineering. A quick search of types of engineering reveals 18 specialties in which moderate to significant growth is expected. In this rapidly expanding field, women constitute only 9 percent of practicing engineering professionals.

In 1999, in keeping with a commitment to provide the highest-quality undergraduate education for women, the college established the Picker Engineering Program, the first such program at a women’s college and one of only a handful at a liberal arts college. By its presence at Smith, the Picker program promotes college-wide quantitative literacy, offers important learning opportunities to nonengineering students and faculty, and has a positive impact on Smith’s applicant pool.

Already, the integration of liberal arts and engineering is having an impact on Smith students and the ways they tackle challenges. Other institutions are also watching the way Smith educates engineers and are working with our faculty to develop a curriculum that emphasizes collaboration and design excellence.

In addition to chaired professorships and merit-based scholarships, program needs include funds to support state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratory and design facilities; visiting practicing engineers; postdoctoral fellowships in engineering education; internships in industry and government; distinguished visiting lecturers; continuing education workshops; integration of engineering and liberal arts coursework; and K–12 outreach activities to advance the participation of women in engineering.

Visit the Picker Engineering website