A while back, I was honored to do a webinar for IEEE USA about how to make engineering presentations better. If you are interested in accessing that free information, use this link. You will need to use a WebEx player to see it, but the site provides that for you as a link/download. http://www.ieeeusa.org/careers/webinars/2014/webinar-12-4-14.html
Category Archives: engineering
A nice way to be recognized
These past few months, Wiley Publishing has been promoting a “Women in Engineering” site that highlights how women are contributing to the many facets of engineering work. When I was first approached, I wasn’t sure if I was a good fit, as I’m not an engineer, per se. Rather, I support the communication work that engineers do. But the sponsors of the project would not be deterred, and they wanted me on their list.
So, I’m very happy to share that wonderful effort here. The specific piece with my story can be downloaded from that page or here. nathans-kelly_wiley-WiEpage 2
New year, new opportunities in Engineering Communication
As January 2014 closes out, I find myself with many new exciting opportunities on my plate. I began working with Cornell’s GameDesign Initiative this week, working with undergrads as they conceptualize, build, test, and deploy original games. I’ll be with the first class in the offerings:
I’ve also committed to working with Cornell’s ASCE teams, specifically with the Mead writing competition and with Concrete Canoe (CC). It’s nice to get back to CC, after leaving the teams at U of Wisconsin-Madison. There’s a strong CC tradition at Madison and I have missed being a small part of that. So, go Cornell!
http://www.asce.org/concretecanoe/
UW online engineering, at the top again!
Once again, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s online Masters of Engineering has earned a top three ranking in the US News listings! I couldn’t be more proud to teach in such a great program!
MEPP interactive booklet is available!
The new interactive online booklet for the Masters of Engineering in Professional Practice degree, offered by the U of Wisconsin-Madison, is now available. It came out beautifully! http://
nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/uwm/mepp2012
A working life divided is…divine
As of this fall, I have accepted a position at Cornell University in its Engineering Communications Program. We have made the move to Ithaca, and I am settling in quite well. The teaching approach here is a great fit for me, as I have made moves in the recent years to teach engineering/technical writing using teams in the communication classroom. At Cornell, this approach is par for the course, and so I feel a great deal of collegiality in this regard.
I also have the great fortune to stay on with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, too, in my capacity as faculty member teaching in the Masters of Engineering of Professional Practice and Masters of Engineering in Engine Systems programs. Both of these programs are online programs, and we meet once a summer F2F for residency. My director, Wayne Pferdehirt, has been incredibly supportive as I make this professional adjustment. As well, the unending support of my colleague Christine Nicometo has been the source of great inspiration during my transition.
And, if that’s not enough, Christine Nicometo and I continue our work with Iron Range Engineering, a new engineering degree currently going through its first ABET visit. We wish them the best of luck, but we know they won’t need it. The program is strong as is their documentation. Our job is to bring the elements of engineering communication to the program, and we do this with campus visits and distance teaching.
Well…that’s enough, isn’t it?
U of Wisconsin-Madison’s Online Masters of Engineering programs earn top ratings!
The online graduate programs at the U of Wisconsin-Madison offer targeted, work-related, applicable learning for rising engineers, especially those going into engineering management.
Yesterday, US News and World Report released its rankings for the top online graduate engineering program. University of Wisconsin’s Online Masters of Engineering programs placed first in two categories and fifth in another!
In the Masters of Engineering of Professional Practice (which is often called an “engineering management” degree, I teach Communicating Technical Information with my colleague Christine Nicometo. In the Masters of Engineering in Engine Systems, I alternate years teaching presentations skills within that degree with Nicometo.
Rankings:
#1: Student Engagement and Accreditation
#1: Student Services and Technology
#5: Faculty Credential and Training
The Art of Airline Safety Brochures
When I started teaching in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Technical Communication program, my then-Director, Gisela Kutzbach, gave me her stash of airline safety brochures. She passed them on to me when I began teaching the User Manuals class (which I *love* to teach!), and I have used them ever since as a way to start discussions about visual noise, instructions without words, representations of people, and other issues. I think I have a fascination about this simply because my dear uncle passed away in an awful plane crash, and the brochures resonate with me in an odd way now.
Today, my colleague Christine Nicometo passed on a link to a story that takes on these issues, too. Recently published in the Paris Review, I read this article with rapt attention. The article is entitled “In the Unlikely Event” and is written by Avi Steinberg.
See what you think.
Image borrowed from article "In the Unlikely Event"
Link: http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2011/11/28/the-art-of-not-drowning/
Traci Nathans-Kelly 
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