Norma Slepecky Memorial WISE Seminar to feature international engineering education expert

Norma Slepecky Memorial WISE Seminar to feature international engineering education expertApril 12, 2006Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Deborah Pearce will be the keynote speaker during the Norma Slepecky Memorial Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Seminar at Syracuse University on April 20. Pearce will speak on “Reflections from an Inflection Point” at 4 p.m. in the Kilian Room, Room 500 of the Hall of Languages. The seminar is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the University pay lots.

The annual seminar is held in memory of Norma Slepecky, a professor of bioengineering and neuroscience in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) and member of the Institute for Sensory Research. Slepecky, who died in 2001, was known as a passionate researcher and mentor for undergraduate students seeking research experience. To honor her memory, her family, friends and colleagues joined together to endow the Norma Slepecky Prize for Undergraduate Research. The $750 prize will be awarded at a reception following the lecture.

Pearce is the CEO of LeaJames Inc., a general management consulting firm. Her experience in industry includes key positions in many major companies. At United Technologies Corp., Otis Elevator Company, Pearce was the regional general manager for the eastern mountain region and held the position of director of innovation and technology planning. At General Electric, Pearce managed a technology leadership development initiative and was product manager of refrigeration marketing. She received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Virginia and a M.B.A. from Harvard University.

SU’s WISE chapter is sponsored and supported by Eric F. Spina, Douglas D. Danforth Dean of ECS, and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Cathryn R. Newton.