UA Engineering Students Receive SWE National Awards

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Three University of Alabama engineering students will be presented with national collegiate awards by the Society of Women Engineers during the SWE National Conference Oct. 25-27.

Fewer than five SWE members were chosen nationally for each of these collegiate awards and an engineering student from UA was a recipient in each category.

Maria Accomando Edwards, a graduate student in chemical and biological engineering, will receive the SWE Graduate Award. Originally from Chalmette, La., Edwards received her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from UA in 2005, and she served as treasurer of SWE for two years.

Meredith Caldwell, a recent graduate in mechanical engineering, will be presented with the SWE Junior/Senior Award. A native of Montgomery, Caldwell served SWE as local collegiate president, and she was captain of UA’s Society of Automotive Engineers Mini-Baja Team.

Amanda Watchel, a sophomore in aerospace engineering, will receive the SWE Freshman/Sophomore Award. A native of Las Cruces, N.M., Watchel was also selected as a SWE Future Leader. She is secretary of SWE and served as the registration chair for the Southeast Region Conference held in Tuscaloosa.

The Society of Women Engineers, founded in 1950, is an educational and service organization that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career for women.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has about 1,900 students and nearly 100 faculty. In the last seven years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.

Contact

Allison Bridges, Engineering Student Writer, 205/348-3051, bridg028@bama.ua.edu
Mary Wymer, mwymer@eng.ua.edu