On-Demand Speakers 2021

The Making of: Mitzy Makes It

Compelling video animation and story telling is no longer the sole province of the big television and movie studios. This video demonstrates how we all can use a mobile phone and a personal computer to produce, direct and perform in our own animated stories. A great way to reach out and connect with people through their imagination! Speaker: Shazzy Angulo is the Unreal Development Supervisor at WildBrain and is the creator of Mitzy Makes It. She has her Master’s in Computer Science and has been working in the innovative technology space for 4 years. (Shazzy will be at the Feb 26th Society & Speaker Reception and is the Feb 24th Student Night Keynote.)

The Star of India - A Metallurgical Study

This talk is an archeo-metallurgical examination of the San Diego Maritime Museum's 1863 "Star of India" that reveals the make up of the Iron Hulled Ship and provides insights about the steel making process at the dawn of the industrial revolution.  The chemical analysis also suggests some reasons for the "Star of India" longevity as a one of a kind, most complete Iron Hulled Ship. Speaker Dr. Bob Klug, a Metallurgical and Materials Engineer and member of ASM, has over 40 years in the field. He continues to study how tools and materials have influenced the growth of civilizations.

Network Expansion through Partnerships

Several San Diego government agencies operate transit projects that use fiber optic networks to perform essential functions such as real time video surveillance or fare collection. This talk explains how partnering to share fiber optic resources enabled these agencies to expand their networks to meet new requirements.  Speaker: Dinara Ussenova, born and raised in Kazakhstan, Dinara is an engineer working at SANDAG.   She is the designer and project manager for fiber optic communication system projects and has designed fiber optic design exhibits for MTS, UCSD, NCTD, Caltrans, and SANDAG. 

Fighting Global Climate Change with Renewable Energy and Nuclear Power

To meet the world demand for energy by 2050 and fight global climate change, we need a balanced and realistic portfolio of ALL energy sources that minimizes the use of fossil fuels. Discover the roles nuclear power and renewable energy play in reducing consumption of fossil fuels in terms of the carbon foot prints of all energy sources, their capacity factors and levelized energy cost for generating the same amount of energy.  Dr. Mehdi Sarram is a Nuclear Engineer and member of ANS. He has over 50 years nuclear experience, including 30 years in climate change, and has worked for the UN International Atomic Energy Agency, Department of Safeguards in Vienna, Austria

Be an Articulate Engineer: Delivering Effective Presentations

Engineers have a lot to say, but HOW they say it matters!  There is tremendous payoff in being more articulate and engaging in presenting subject matter involving engineering.  This video introduces techniques that engineers can use to create and capture the interest of audiences of all types and backgrounds. Speaker: Charles "Muggs" Stoll, an executive manager in transportation planning and project development for nearly 20 years, Muggs has participated in dozens of media events and interviews in all formats and has coached many on how to communicate the importance of their work.

Becoming a STEM Entrepreneur 

After investing years and a lot of money into your education, you received your STEM degree. Now what? Becoming an entrepreneur has always been on the top of your lexicon of things to accomplish in life. I will discuss six critical steps that will help guide participants in becoming entrepreneurs. Speaker: Dr. Douglas Fenner is the founder of Fenner Consulting Group that delivers 360 degree assessments, coaching and human development training in the areas of emotional intelligence, social intelligence, diversity and inclusions, succession development planning and humanistic leadership.

Effective Leadership: 3 Keys to Becoming a Better Leader

Being an effective leader is vital to an organization's success. In this session you will learn three keys to becoming a better leader. Speaker: Candace Gray is a mechanical engineer and organizational leader with over 16 years experience. She is an active member of the local San Diego National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and Society of Women Engineers (SWE) chapters. 

Career Management

From this Aztec Mentor Program (AMP) college presentation, learn the key ingredients for career management and career growth as you navigate your college degree and into your professional ladder on your way to career success.  Speaker: Michelle Davis Vargas, Regional Director for the American Society for Quality (ASQ), Vargas is a quality and compliance leader with over 20 years experience in the medical device and aerospace manufacturing industries.  

Navigating Between Academia and Industry!!!

In this episode of SUCCESS INNOVATON, we meet Skye Edwards, The Society of Hispanic Engineers (SHPE) UC San Diego President, about her journey into engineering. Speaker: Skye Edwards is a Bioengineering student focusing on the electrical aspect.  Speaker: Lazaro Herrera is the founder of Success Innovation and was the 2020 SDCEC Service Award Winner. Lazaro has many more interviews of local #SanDiegoEngineers who are making a difference in this world on his channel.

Being Pretty, STEM, and an Engineer: You Can BE all of these and still win in STEM!

This innovative session will give women in engineering the opportunity to call out the stereotypes, microagressions, and other work transgressions that might be holding them back within engineering and STEM.   Speaker: Dr. Natoshia Anderson, an Awarding winning Educator, Author, and  Speaker, Dr. Natoshia Anderson, is on a mission to empower minority women and girls, at all levels of the STEM pipeline, to become the leaders that they were always meant to be. 

Product Safety and Regulatory Compliance

With expertise and a global network of accredited product safety testing labs, TÜV SÜD can test and certify to nearly any product safety certification standard and help prepare you for entry into local and international markets, including CE Marking for Europe. Speaker: Justina Sanchez has 15 years of experience in product safety. From the administrative side to running the laboratory to project handling. She has experience in multiple aspects of the industry and valuable insight for manufacturers and future safety engineers

Partnering with Communities: Engineering for Social Justice

Who decides what is engineered and why? In this talk, we present our model for the USD’s Engineering Exchange for Social Justice (ExSJ). The ExSJ is a hub which facilitates the formation of stakeholder teams that engages in an exchange of expertise that leads towards the co-creation of just solutions to the socio-technical challenges identified by the community partner(s). Speaker: Dr. Odesma Dalrymple is an Associate Professor in Industrial and Systems Engineering; and Speaker: Dr. Marissa Forbes is a Research Associate in the University of San Diego Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering. They serve on the Leadership Team of USD's Engineering Exchange for Social Justice. 

Transition to Teaching with EnCorps 

Meet former industry STEM professionals who have successfully transitioned into K-12 teaching through the EnCorps STEM Teachers program. These teaching fellows inspire students everyday by teaching in high needs schools. Speaker: Krisztina Hagey, the San Diego SDCEC 2020 Outstanding K-12 Engineering Educator Winner, is a teacher at Hoover High School and an EnCorps STEM Teacher Fellow. (Tanja Schroeder will be at the Feb 26th Society & Speaker Reception representing the EnCorps program.)

Teach the Geek: The San Diego Code School

The San Diego "Teach the Geek" interviews the founder of the "San Diego Code School", Mike Roberts. They discuss Code School as a way of getting into software coding, either while they are still in school or wanting to learn a new skill as an adult.  Speaker: Neil Thompson is a local engineer turned entrepreneur and is the founder behind the "Teach the Geek" podcasts. Speaker: Mike Roberts is an entrepreneur who is breaking barriers and unleashing potential. 

Latinas in Engineering: Life as a Minority in Engineering

In this episode of Latina Engineer, two ingenieras (Latina engineers) talk about the benefits of being a Latina in STEM. Make sure to check out their other videos.  Speaker: Diana Iracheta is a mechanical engineer and founder of "Latina Engineer". Make sure to subscribe to her channels. Speaker: Kat Echazarretta, an electrical engineer currently working on the Europa clipper Mission, has always wanted to be in space exploration. Born in Mexico, Kat is an alumni of UCLA and San Diego City College. Visit her blog for more on her journey as a woman in STEM.

Black Women in Aerospace: Trials & Triumphs     

To commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day,  a panel of eight accomplished Black University of Michigan Aerospace alumnae share their unique career journeys along with the roadblocks they conquered along the way.  In addition to educating on how to strengthen the pipeline for Black girls to enter the field of Aerospace Engineering, the panelists discussed obstacles including having co-workers question their accomplishments and being “the only one.”  Speakers: Jasmine Sadler, Jasmine LeFlore are both San Diego Engineers.

Black Canvas

Black Canvas is an open and honest discussion about the human race from the perspective of a Black man in America. This journey of self-discovery goes back over 400 years to take a deep look at Blacks in America. This conversation discusses inequality and systemic racism. It's time to learn from the past so we can influence the present and change the future.  Speaker: Claude Jones is the founder of the San Diego Tech Hub (SDTH).

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Engineering

The National Society of Professional Engineers - California (NSPE-CA) presents an open a conversation to champion diversity and inclusion as they strive to achieve their strategic goals: to ensure the engineering profession is a reflection of society. Three members of NSPE's Advisory DEI Committee present challenges people of color and other underrepresented communities face when trying to break through the known and unknown barriers in the engineering field. Speaker: Ken Discenza is the moderator of this event.