She was interested in physics and couldn't believe the difference. Watching closely as Smith's new project gets under way is the National Academy of Engineering in Washington, a branch of the National Research Council, a nonprofit organization that advises government on policy. Women today are switching out of engineering at higher rates than men even though their grades are higher. So they're not flunking out - they're not dumb. That will be different in the Smith program.
Engineering education is also traditionally oriented toward male patterns of learning.
Ms. Friedensen cites studies that show women learn better in team or network environments. Also, women are not typically as aggressively competitive, she says. Alice Cassidy could not agree more on both points. As a 1985 physics graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., a women's college and nearby Smith rival, she had to attend a university to earn a B.S. in engineering. She's since worked at United Technologies, General Electric, and Motorola.