The Iowa State Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) will host the 1995 Region H Student and Professional Conference this weekend

It will be the first regional SWE conference ever at ISU.

More than 200 student and professional SWE members are expected to attend the conference. The theme is “Coming Together to Make a Difference: Engineering and the Environment.”

“I feel a lot of engineering students are unaware of environmental problems,” said Beth Hunter, a senior in civil engineering and SWE Conference co-coordinator. “I want to convey to them that they can be environmentally concerned even if their majors are not directly associated with environmental areas or problems.”

Planning for the conference has been in the works for over a year. It will begin with a kickoff carnival today at 6 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. All ISU students are welcome to stop by the carnival, which will feature Amplexus, an Ames band.

Conference sessions on Saturday will involve career and professional development as well as environmental awareness. Topics such as “Ethics in Engineering” and “Dealing With Diversity” will be discussed. There will also be tours of the city of Ames Water Pollution Control Facility and the Saylorville Lake emergency spill way in Des Moines.

“The exciting part about this conference is the environmental theme,” said Erin Aten, senior industrial engineering student and SWE Conference transportation chair. “Women and men of all engineering disciplines can make a difference environmentally.”

Of the 200 participants expected this weekend for the women’s conference, 10 are male.

“Although SWE is for the advancement of women in engineering, SWE is not just for women,” said Keith Hammelman, SWE treasurer. “SWE activities benefit both women and men.”