JoAnne Stubbe's Radical Path: A Story of Passion, Curiosity, and Persistence.

Aim/Purpose: This article presents an analysis of female faculty representation on dissertation committees in comparison to the percentage of women faculty in departments of engineering in 2013 and 2014. Background: Collaboration is an indication of a robust research program, and the consequences of collaboration may benefit one’s academic career in numerous ways. Gender bias, however, may impede the development of intra-university collaborations, thereby inhibiting professional success. Methodology: Nine universities were examined (Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Cornell University, Duke University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Rice University, University of Pittsburgh, and Vanderbilt University) across six different engineering departments (civil, chemical, mechanical, materials, biomedical, and electrical). Contribution: This paper reveals how an analysis of gender balance of faculty representation on doctoral committees can help advance an institution's understanding of the level to which collaboration with female colleagues may be occurring, thereby providing insight to the climate for women. Findings: A potential gender imbalance does exist in select cases. In aggregate, the percentage of female engineering faculty on dissertation committees compared to within each university revealed a disparity of less than 6% points. Recommendations for Practitioners: Examining how well represented female engineering faculty are on dissertation committees can be an important measure of levels of collaboration within an institution and of how well women are being integrated into the existing culture. Recommendation for Researchers: More in-depth research, including a study of correlation with other relevant indicators, may reveal additional insight to why gender bias exists on doctoral committees and how to lessen its occurrence. Impact on Society: The results of this study may increase awareness of gender bias and encourage faculty to be more inclusive and collaborative, particularly with their female colleagues, and as a result may help improve the climate for women faculty in engineering. Future Research: This study opens a discussion about the potential for gender imbalance and bias within an institution, particularly with respect to collaboration and inclusion. Future work may explore other indicators beyond doctoral committee representation.

Bullying on Campus: How to Identify, Prevent, Resolve It

Martin Weitzman: A Gift That Keeps on Giving

Purpose – The following article is a special, new “Q&A interview” conducted by Industrial Robot Journal as a unique way to pass along information from a prominent, robotic industry engineer-turned entrepreneur regarding the evolution, commercialization, and challenges of bringing a technological invention to market. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This first interview was with Dr William Townsend, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Barrett Technology. Before founding Barrett, he created the world's first haptic manipulator, dubbed Whole-Arm Manipulator (WAM™) and designed to be user-centric, during his PhD 1988 completed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He completed his PhD minor at Harvard Business School and Sloan School of Management on Managing Technical Innovation. He has won more than a dozen awards, including the Joseph F. Engelberger Award, for his technical leadership in robotics and has authored many papers and patents on the foundational technologies of robotics. Findings – Initially perceived in 1985 as controversial, PhD candidate William Townsend convinces the MIT thesis committee that his groundbreaking concept of a safer robot with backdrivable cables would lead to new markets of human/robot interaction. Three patents resulted from this PhD effort, as well as the start-up company, Barrett Technology, to develop and sell the company's flagship robot product, the WAM. One of the first uses of this cable-driven arm technology was effectively deployed in surgical robots. Other innovations were developed over several decades and to date Barrett Technology has cumulative sales of about $40 million with an accelerating pace and net profitability. Originality/value – In a unique situation at the time, a robot PhD inventor turns his originations into a profitable business that catapults new applications and markets in the robotic industry. The details, challenges, and successes of his 25-year experiences are highlighted as a valuable contribution for other engineers contemplating a robot start-up.