We Made a Difference. We Made it Together. WEMADEIT.

#shareABLE

Top 5 Engineer Podcasts

by

1. STEMinine: A Podcast About Science, Engineering, Technology, Math, and Women

The STEMinine podcast is hosted by Jessica Droujko (mechanical engineer), Victoria Morad (chemist) and Elisabeth Nilsson (chemical engineer). This podcast is a discussion around everything that affects women in STEM fields. It hosts interviews with women in STEM, the #AskAnEngineer show, and the #AskVika show (where you ask a question and we try to answer it).

https://soundcloud.com/steminine

 

2. STEMxm: The STEM Career Podcast

Hosted by @MelTheEngineer, STEMxm is a podcast about STEM careers. Most episodes feature a guest interview from a STEM field, and covers topics such as how to get into that career field, what that path’s education requirements are like, and the interviewees recommendations for being successful in that field or sector.

http://www.stemxm.com/ 

 

3. Femmes of STEM

Feminist. History. Podcast. The Femmes of STEM is a bi-monthly show focusing on the history of women in STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. From the Roman Empire to modern America, join lady scientist Michelle as she brings to light the femmes who have always been a part the past – but haven’t always been a part of history.

https://www.femmesofstem.com/episodes/

 

4. Witty: Women in Tech Talk to Yaz

Join Yasmin every week as she chats with female techies about their career, the challenges of the industry, tech news and more. Her guests range from young engineers to top execs; working at the largest tech goliaths to the smallest startups; hailing from North America to Asia.

https://wittypodcast.com/

 

 

5. Women in Tech Podcast, hosted by Espree Devora

The #womenintech Podcast is hosted by WeAreLATech’s Espree Devora and features inspiring Women in Tech from Engineers, Female Founders, Investors, UX and UI Designers, Journalists all sharing their story how they got to where they are today. The purpose of the show is for every listener to walk away feeling ‘If She Can Do It So Can I’. I call it “actionable empowerment”.

http://podcast.womenintechshow.com/

Top 6 Engineering Television Series

by

1. Westworld

Rated: 18+

Westworld is a series remake of an old film by the same title. It’s set in the future, where humans have perfected androids, called Hosts, that look and feel like humans, who reside in a theme park entirely designed by the engineers. However, the Hosts may not be as perfectly programmed as some have thought, and start to remember things that they were never meant to know. This show is high concept and rated 18+, so this is definitely for more mature audiences. However it is brilliant in every way, and not only makes you think about the future of engineering, but also what it means to be human.

 

2. Genius

Rated: 14+

Season 1 of this anthology period drama begins with Albert Einstein in his early years and follows him all the way through to his discovery of the theory of relativity. This is an informative and emotional look at the human behind the genius and uses the science to build a story of a man revered by the world. While season 2 is now focusing on artist Pablo Picasso, this is still a worthwhile binge-watch for engineers alike.

 

3. Mr Robot

Rated: 18+

Chilling and mysterious, Mr Robot is probably the most accurate fictional show on this list. The show’s first season follows Elliot, played by Rami Malek, a socially awkward and paranoid computer programmer who hacks the people he loves to dispose of the toxic people in their life. When E-Corp, the company that Elliot provides computer security forgets hacked, he finds a message in the code meant for only him. From there he embarks on a mission to find out who these people are, and how to get involved in potentially the biggest cyber-attack the world will ever know. This show is complicated and thrilling with twists that will blow your mind. The code shown on screen is all feasible code that actually works when put into practice, and the show has been praised for being hyper-real when it comes to the language and tactics used by the programmers and computer engineers.

 

4. Seven Wonders of the Industrial World

Rated: PG

This docudrama miniseries from the BBC is famous for showing dramatized versions of the construction of various well-known structures around the world. It features the Brooklyn Bridge, the Panama Canal, the Bellrock Lighthouse and other massive feats of engineering greatness. This is a fun way to learn some history and inspire yourself for your future of designing the next seven wonders of the industrial world.

 

5. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

Rated: G

This documentary series hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson is a modern follow-up to the 1980’s series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, originally on PBS and hosted by Carl Sagan. This show aims to bring STEM back to broadcast television and covers scientific concepts from space travel to advanced astrophysics in an easily digestible way. While this follow-up series has concluded, it was announced last January that they will continue with Comos: Possible Worlds in 2019.

 

6. Prison Break

Rated: 14+

Prison Break is a series about a man who gets wrongfully imprisoned and his structural engineer brother Michael who helps him escape. Action-packed, smart and exciting, this show proves that engineering isn’t just about sitting at a desk all day. Putting his engineering skills into practice, Michael successfully helps his brother escape prison, and they both have to deal with the aftermath in subsequent seasons.

Honorable Mention:

The 100

Rated: 14+

This show is not part of the original list because it is more concerned with drama than engineering, however, one character of this show is notable. Her name is Raven Reyes, a 20-something mechanic turned engineer, and the only one left in the universe. She is a strong and resourceful woman of colour who manages to work with her disability that she receives while trying to save her friends. She is a genius, often the only person up to the job regarding any mechanics, programming or explosives, and is instrumental to every character’s survival. Way to go Raven!

University of Waterloo Hydro One – Gr. 10/11 Conference

by

This is a conference designed for young women in grades 10/11 to explore engineering and gain a better understanding of the course pathway that is needed in high school. Engineering is an exciting field and too many women don’t realize they want to pursue this career path until after grade 12. Don’t wait this long to discover what engineering is all about, what courses you need to take, the different types of engineers there are, meet current female engineers from industry, and try out hands-on activities related to coding, tech, math, and physics. Find out how to attend the next conference!

By the end of this one-day conference, you will have a clear understanding of the engineering field, what engineers do, and how to pursue this career!

Top 5 Engineering Movies

by

These are my Top 5 Movies that can inspire the next generation of Engineers. To make this list, each selection had to pass the Bechdel Test, with exception to any documentaries. This means that each film has to have at least two women hold a conversation about something other than a man.

The Mars Generation

This Netflix documentary is about the future of space exploration, and the kids that are going to make it happen. Following a group of teenagers at space camp and featuring interviews with many famous engineers like Bill Nye, Elon Musk and Neil Degrasse Tyson, this doc gives a real look into the race to Mars. Just think: one day, that could be you

Hidden Figures

This Best Picture Oscar-nominated film is based on the true story of three female African American NASA engineers: Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. It is not only a fantastic film but it is an important and amazing story of resilience and intelligence in a time of major setbacks for civil and women’s rights. Starring Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Hensen and Janelle Monáe, this is one of the best films a future engineer could ever hope to see.

The Imitation Game

This is another Oscar-nominated LGBTQ+ film starring Kiera Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch, based on the true story of WWII mathematician Alan Turing, who cracked the German code that enabled the allies to win the war. Kiera Knightley plays Joan Clarke, a Cambridge grad who helps Turing in secret against her parent’s wishes, and who sacrifices a future to marry Alan and aide in hiding his sexuality from a world who wouldn’t accept him. This is a heart wrenching, but brave story of real innovators.

WALL-E

This is an animated movie about a robot named WALL-E who’s the last robot left functioning on futuristic planet Earth, which has been vacated by all humans due to pollution. He stumbles upon a seed growing one day and decides to try to save it from dying by bringing it into space with his new companion EVE, where all the humans live on massive spaceships. This is an adorable movie about the risks of human consumption, fighting for your future, and above all: love. If you want a movie that isn’t too heavy in math or science for the younger ones but might peak their interest in building things, this is the perfect pick. This is also a special exception to the Bechdel Test rule, since neither of the two robot main characters has a sex or gender, and mostly communicate in only body language.

The Martian

Based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, The Martian stars Matt Damon as Mark Watney, an astronaut accidentally left on Mars and features the following rescue mission that ensues. As Mark tries to survive alone, his counterparts down on Earth and in the space station have to problem solve and work with their international relations to bring him home. This film is hilarious, diverse, and packed with engineering concepts.