April 2013 Branch Speaker Dr. Noel Schulz

A Dual Career Academic Couple, IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine, December 2012

Dr. Noel Schulz, Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Engineering Experiment Station and Paslay Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Kansas State University was the speaker for the April 2013 branch program. She also serves as Director of the University’s Electrical Power Affiliates Program and is the President (2012-2013) of IEEE Power Affiliates Program, which is an international technical society with more than 27,000 members worldwide. Above all, Dr. Schulz is K-State’s First Lady, the wife of President Kirk Schulz.

In addressing the topic, “Balancing Professional and Personal Activities as a Woman Engineer,” Dr. Schulz spoke of the importance of balance in your life as a parent, a professional and a spouse. If you are to succeed, you need a strong support system. She said her husband, Kirk, has always supported her in her goals. It is important to be able to turn over some responsibilities to others. For instance, she is content to have the professional team available at KSU be the organizers and planners of events held at the President’s home and is glad to simply show up and enjoy the result.

She spoke of the importance of planning, to schedule your professional and personal appointments on the same calendar. Schedule planning time with your spouse and balance your schedule to include family time and together time. She noted there is no optimal time to have children. But be sure they have cell phones so you can keep in contact when they are old enough to use them.

Dr. Schulz emphasized the importance of having also an informal support system of friends through networking, organizations, and extended family. She enjoys exercising with other women at the sports complex. Exercise helps her relax and gain perspective. Dr. Schulz is a strong supporter of women helping women and has initiated efforts at K-State to build and encourage that support.

Branch President Nancy Bolsen thanked Dr. Schulz for sharing with the group and presented her with a certificate of membership in AAUW, at both branch and national levels.

March 2013 Branch Speaker Dr. Laurie Curtis

Dr. Laurie Curtis, Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at K-State’s College of Education, was the speaker for the March 2013 branch program. In July 2010 she co-led a Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad to Ethiopia with Jacqueline Spears, director of K-State’s Center for Science and Education. Dr. Curtis received the Outstanding Local Adviser award from the Kansas National Education Association in 2010 and 2011. In 2012 she was recognized with the Commerce Bank Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award. She spoke about the intersection of science and the arts: music, literacy and the brain.

She spoke of advancements in science that help us understand the effect music can have on the brain. Singing enhances literacy. People recall songs they repeatedly sang as children throughout their lifetimes, for repetition enhances learning. Staying hydrated is important to our brains for they process up to eight gallons of blood per hour. Learning is encoded while we sleep. Test scores increase when students engage in exercise, such as running. Our brains develop 80% of their capacity after birth. Music can change our state of mind by stimulating us or calming us down. When the center of emotion in the brain, the amygdala, floods us with emotion, it becomes difficult to focus.

January 2013 Branch Speaker Angela Miller

Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching