I wanna know why are there so many girls in Chemical Engineering? Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about them being there at ALL! I just wanna know why chemical. Why not Electrical or Mechanical? What is it about Chemical that attracts girls so much? I would understand Biomedical but why Chemical?

[Edited on October 30, 2005 at 8:59 PM. Reason : missed a word]

10/30/2005 8:58:02 PM

there's plenty of hoes in CE too

10/30/2005 9:13:12 PM

I think it has to do with the fact that CHE is by large not as theoretical and mathematical as electrical/computer science.

10/30/2005 9:15:08 PM

not as theoretical and mathematical?!

ECE's don't take thermo

i know ECE's do more math and such

but a good number of ChemEs (girls included) take extra maths and CHE classes with more math related material

Quote :

"I would understand Biomedical but why Chemical? "

the department has started to gear more toward bio stuff as of late

The name of the department changed to Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering last year

to some its more appealing and attractive

but i don't think the petroleum industry is liking it too much

[Edited on October 30, 2005 at 9:22 PM. Reason : s]

10/30/2005 9:20:44 PM

Well I am not going for Engineering Showdown here. I respect all Engineering Majors and consider all of them to be hard. I just don't understand why are there so many girls in Chemical. I disagree with that the intensity of theoretical and mathematical knowledge isn't as challenging to that of Electrical or Computer Science.

10/30/2005 9:46:56 PM

Are you a freshman or sophomore? During those years you'll generally see a large amount of girls in your major classes (large in relation to the number of girls you'll see in your last few semesters, that is). I wouldn't be surprised if most of the girls in the early chem classes have an "I took a year of AP chem in high school and I got an A, so I'm a shoe-in for ChemE, plus I hear the jobs pay well" attitude. Reality tends to set in during junior year, and a large number of those girls "discover" that chemistry is really boring and not what they want to do with their lives. The ones that are determined to stay in engineering go to IE, and the rest go to sociology or psychology.

10/30/2005 9:50:27 PM

Quote :

"not as theoretical and mathematical?! ECE's don't take thermo "

well, I am an ECE, and I took a thermodynamics class my sophomore year.

but that said, I still believe that CHE isn't as theoretical as ECE. You study rates of reactions and stuff like that...but atleast you could still run an experiment and visualize it...as for electrical...you can't see electrons flowing in a copper wire.

10/30/2005 10:17:18 PM

Quote :

"The ones that are determined to stay in engineering go to IE, and the rest go to sociology or psychology."

QFT

10/30/2005 10:24:59 PM

Quote :

"I disagree with that the intensity of theoretical and mathematical knowledge isn't as challenging to that of Electrical or Computer Science."

Did you just equate Computer Science as being as "difficult" of a major as Electrical Engineering?

...........................

Please tell me you meant to say Computer Engineering...

And if you seriously meant Computer Science - I think the "mathematical knowledge" of a computer science major is no where near the "mathematical knowledge" of a ECE major.

10/30/2005 10:30:06 PM

If ifs and buts were bolts and nuts we'd all be in the hardware business.

10/30/2005 10:39:36 PM

Computer Science uses a lot of graph and queueing theory

I don't know why you would say it isn't mathematical.

10/30/2005 10:42:12 PM

Quote :

"And if you seriously meant Computer Science - I think the "mathematical knowledge" of a computer science major is no where near the "mathematical knowledge" of a ECE major."

Depends on your definition of "mathematical knowledge" since last I checked Computer Science is just Applied Mathematics.

10/30/2005 10:46:48 PM

Quote :

"the department has started to gear more toward bio stuff as of late The name of the department changed to Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering last year to some its more appealing and attractive but i don't think the petroleum industry is liking it too much"

WTF? This "Bio-" prefix is ever more pervasive. Everybody is trying to spin it. It's gaying up textiles, and several other majors as well, apparently. Aren't biology and biomedical engineering sufficient?

[Edited on October 30, 2005 at 11:16 PM. Reason : ]

10/30/2005 10:57:52 PM

Quote :

"Computer Science uses a lot of graph and queueing theory"

no it doesn't. CSC is a cakewalk, as far as the math goes. 333 was the only thing remotely math-intensive

[Edited on October 30, 2005 at 11:13 PM. Reason : at least not undergrad at state]

10/30/2005 11:12:18 PM

It shouldn't be like this.

I know my peers in CSC in college had a good time with graph theory.

10/30/2005 11:13:21 PM

Quote :

"The ones that are determined to stay in engineering go to IE, and the rest go to sociology or psychology. "

I'd say 20-30% of ChemE's in this year's senior class are girls

and "a thermo class" and second semester CHE thermo are not comparable by any means

Quote :

"Isn't biology and biomedical engineering sufficient? "

CHE is like the universal engineering

the opportunities are so broad and wide that it's ridiculous at times

10/30/2005 11:21:36 PM

I understand girls being in Industrial Engineering, but thats about it.

10/31/2005 1:46:26 AM

CSC can be applied or theoretical, depending on which courses you decide to take / "unofficial" track you go on. Whether or not its "mathematical" is a matter of definition and opinion.

Can't link this easily, but go http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/enrollmentdata/index.htm and click around a few times.

Quote :

" Undergraduate 320 114 206 (35.625% female undergrad) Graduate 105 28 77 (26.667% female grads) Total 425 142 283 (33.412% female overall) "

For the department overall, seems like a higher percentage of females. Not sure about ChE specifically, but seems like a higher pecentage than the college has overall (15.83%).

10/31/2005 5:38:14 AM

My cousin, who is a woman, not a hoe, switched from Aerospace To Chemical. (And this is after three years of spending her summers at various engineering space camps). She did so largely due to the adviser, Lisa Bullard. Lisa is passionate about chemical engineering and makes it sound fun and interesting to many. If women can see someone who is excited about engineering and making it in a traditionally male area, they just happen to think they can do it too. Lisa makes women (or any student for that matter) see what they can do with chemical. It becomes real.

10/31/2005 8:17:27 AM

better question would be

who fucking cares

10/31/2005 8:49:53 AM

haha, i like how wolfeee added the "not a hoe" part.

10/31/2005 9:13:14 AM

hahaha

10/31/2005 9:25:50 AM

^^^^Agreed, Dr. Bullard is the woman.

And Transport Phenomena is nothing but theoretical mathematics.

[Edited on October 31, 2005 at 11:56 AM. Reason : ]

10/31/2005 11:55:41 AM

Quote :

""the department has started to gear more toward bio stuff as of late The name of the department changed to Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering last year to some its more appealing and attractive but i don't think the petroleum industry is liking it too much""

no they don't. in fact a few companies are pulling off on campus recruiting. not saying this is the only reason but... meh. i concentrated in polymer science and i defintiely don't like the name change.

gargs i'll have to disagree with you on one count but then agree on another. i'd argue che thermodynamics (not mechanical engineering easy ass thermo) and transport phenom is pretty darn theoretical. same with reaction engineering. but to agree, if you look at the bell curve of women (note i am talking women in general) - women tend to be very good at multi-tasking and tend to be good in broad, long-range activities (i.e. projects, optimization of unit reactors, etc)versus intense detail. in many cases, chemical engineering promotes that kind of work whereas a typical electrical engineering assignment is more detailed. there are several good books on the topic.

a few reasons why i think women are drawn to chem. engineering.
- good recruiting from companies. a lot of companies are starting to want a few women about for various reasons (diversity, i.e.)
- chemical engineering covers a broad range of industries and offers a broad range of job choice - petro., base chemicals, household products, energy, semiconductor, pharma, aviation, medical, etc.
- salaries
- good recruiting campus-level - Dr. Bullard
- opportunities for management

10/31/2005 4:11:22 PM

Quote :

" a lot of companies are starting to want a few women about for various reasons (diversity, i.e.)"

off topic a bit, but companies hiring women or any other group for diversity is bullshit. You should hire the best person for the job whether the person is male, female, black, white, or asian. Why do companies talk about diversity. Diversity does not equal success or a good work environment.

10/31/2005 4:37:19 PM

i'll agree for the most part. i do think that companies should hire the best candiate for the job.

however, there is the arguement (and a good one too - seen it in my work place in practice) that having people from different backgrounds (cultures, gender, age, etc) promotes more creative thinking and thus sometimes a better solution. i.e. a room with men, women, indian, black, white, 20-somethings, 60 somethings, etc may come up with a more creative and better solution than a room full of 50-something white males who all think similarly.

10/31/2005 4:45:46 PM

^Someone needs to relay this tidbit of information to DuPont in Richmond.

10/31/2005 5:11:25 PM

doesnt matter all the girls are in ChE since the ones that were hot were either taken or wouldn't date inside their dept. (wtf?)

oh....2 semesters C.K. Hall/Spontak thermo or 2 semesters of transport would change anyone's opinion about ChE not being theoretical/mathematical.

[Edited on October 31, 2005 at 6:10 PM. Reason : .]

10/31/2005 6:09:20 PM

^^^ duh

because life experiences are so much more varied for a diverse group of people

10/31/2005 6:35:47 PM

if you have to ask...

10/31/2005 7:11:49 PM

Queti

Thermodynamics and Reaction kinetics are just about 2 of the theoretical components of a CHE degree...and then again it depends on your concentration/focus.

For electrical engineers, everything involves numbers from discrete math to control systems to ic technology to fiber optics.

10/31/2005 7:22:03 PM

I think it's somewhat of a self-perpetuating cycle. Many girls don't like to major in sausage fest fields. So they stick to the ones that other girls are already in.

10/31/2005 7:31:35 PM

I think it's somewhat of a self-perpetuating cycle.

Quote :

"Many girls don't like to major in sausage fest fields."

So they stick to the ones that other girls are already in. <font color=blue>

HAHA..INTERESTING COMMENT!

10/31/2005 7:59:09 PM

Quote :

"Thermodynamics and Reaction kinetics are just about 2 of the theoretical components of a CHE degree...and then again it depends on your concentration/focus. "

nope, these are required for all ChemEs, regardless of focus/concentration

10/31/2005 8:50:04 PM

Quote :

"i'll agree for the most part. i do think that companies should hire the best candiate for the job. however, there is the arguement (and a good one too - seen it in my work place in practice) that having people from different backgrounds (cultures, gender, age, etc) promotes more creative thinking and thus sometimes a better solution. i.e. a room with men, women, indian, black, white, 20-somethings, 60 somethings, etc may come up with a more creative and better solution than a room full of 50-something white males who all think similarly. "

I think nothing like most white males I know
what the fuck is this supposed to mean

11/1/2005 1:58:33 AM

AICHE put out a shirt a few years back in regards to women in the CHE dept.

"the odds are good, but the goods are odd"

discuss

11/1/2005 10:38:03 AM

i wish i did chemical engineering..

11/1/2005 10:51:22 AM

11/1/2005 10:54:34 AM

^^ nooooo
then 303 would be even more depressing

11/1/2005 11:32:09 AM

^ oh man ... all ECE courses are depresssin !

11/1/2005 11:35:54 AM

Well, in a way, I am kinda glad there aren't too many HOT girls in Engineering. It keeps you from getting disattracted.

11/1/2005 10:25:35 PM

Quote :

"i'll agree for the most part. i do think that companies should hire the best candiate for the job. however, there is the arguement (and a good one too - seen it in my work place in practice) that having people from different backgrounds (cultures, gender, age, etc) promotes more creative thinking and thus sometimes a better solution. i.e. a room with men, women, indian, black, white, 20-somethings, 60 somethings, etc may come up with a more creative and better solution than a room full of 50-something white males who all think similarly."

this may be true if the other candidate is on the same level as the white male. but i have seen a bunch of cases where the alternative candidate beats the white male and they don't know their ass from a hole in the groud.



[Edited on November 2, 2005 at 7:28 AM. Reason : ]

11/2/2005 7:28:19 AM

Quote :

"I would understand Biomedical but why Chemical?"

Why would you expect more women in BME?

11/2/2005 9:49:30 AM

girls like biology

11/2/2005 7:39:44 PM