About GradSWE
GradSWE is a part of the larger SWE organization. SWE, founded in 1950, is a not-for-profit educational and service organization that empowers women to succeed in engineering careers with an exciting array of training and development programs, networking opportunities, scholarships, outreach and advocacy activities, and much more.
Our mission is to provide graduate students the resources they need to excel and graduate with their advanced degrees in order to successfully transition into their desired career by:
- Providing infrastructure for graduate student involvement in SWE,
- Providing the opportunities to attend local and annual conference sessions tailored to the needs of graduate students
- Contributing and creating resources necessary for successfully navigating grad school
- Providing a safe space to discuss identities, workplace stereotypes, biases, and gender issues.
Chapter Co-Founders
Jenny Sun
Co-Founder
Ph.D Candidate, ECE
Hailing from the great state of South Dakota, Jenny is currently a PhD student in Biomicroscopy Lab. She graduated in 2016 from Princeton University with a BSE degree in Electrical Engineering and an appreciation for the beauty of optics, and is now developing a microscope to extract information, such as action potential characteristics, from engineered cardiac tissue. Beyond engineering, Jenny values bringing diverse groups of people together and building strong communities. Drawing inspiration from each person she has met in her life, she wants to help build a future with opportunity and understanding for all people. These values guide her in her roles at BU as GradSWE Co-Founder and President of the Student Association of Graduate Engineers, where she works towards these goals one small step at a time.
In her spare time, Jenny enjoys playing the violin, dabbling in visual arts, skiing, cooking and generally trying new things.
Evelyn Liu
Co-Founder
Masters of Engineering Candidate, BME
Motto: “Inspire the women. Impact the World.”
Evelyn is a native Californian who moved to Boston in 2018 to began a career transition from biological sciences to medical robotics engineering. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and in Communication. Hoping to get involved with the engineering community right after being accepted to the Late Entry Accelerated Program (LEAP), she jumped onto the executive board of the Student Association of Graduate Engineers and has quickly ascended to the Vice President position.
Her exposure to the 2019 WeLocal conference in Baltimore has led her to envision a world in which engineers of all genders are comfortable in their work environment, free of discrimination, biases, stereotypes, and in which women support other women. In order to meet the current needs of the graduate population at the Boston University College of Engineering, she has worked tirelessly to secure opportunities, resources, and grants for her peers and colleagues. Together with Jenny, and the support of all engineering departments at BU, they made it possible for 20 women engineers and student leaders to attend the national SWE conference in Anaheim for career and personal development. With graduation soon approaching, she hopes to leave a legacy in which graduate women engineers and incoming students are not afraid to take up space and pursue their purposes with confidence.
Evelyn is a classically trained violinist, pianist, harpist, and drummer. She enjoys playing tennis and rock-climbing with other M.Eng. BME students during her free time.
Michelle Sanders, Ph.D.
Faculty Advisor
Assistant Professor, ECE