The Low Down

     Minah Kim '17SEAS                        Erin Vaughn '19CC                    Rebecca Murray '18SEAS                 Colette McCullagh '17SEAS

In this episode of The Future Is..., we hear from some young Columbians—a group of students (and some now young alumni) who together lead the Columbia chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

Minah Kim '17SEAS, Colette McCullagh '17SEAS, Rebecca Murray '18SEAS, and Erin Vaughn '18CC talk about their work on campus, what engineers watch on Netflix, and the head start they have on mentorship.

The secret to their success? Even their free time is useful: these girls' idea of a fun time is taking free classes on iTunes U!

SWE is an international organization with professional and collegiate chapters around the world. The student chapter at Columbia provides professional development opportunities, serves as a support group for women engineers on campus, and conducts community outreach to introduce local high school and middle students to engineering. Learn more about SWE on their website and Facebook page.

GSAS Alumna Dr. Marina A. Rustow and Columbia associate professor Kartik Chandran are in excellent company. They are two of the 24 recipients of this year's "genius grant" awards from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The "genius" nickname stems from the unparalleled freedom attached to it. The grant comes with $625,000 over the next five years.