SEAS Center for Women in Engineering
The mission of the SEAS Center for Women in Engineering (WiE) is to empower GW faculty, staff, students and alumni to become the best engineers they can be. We work to build confidence and knowledge about technology, expand leadership and tech skills, and fully leverage technology in support of academic and professional excellence.
Learn more about our Office of Inclusive Excellence here.
THE STATE OF
ENGINEERING for women
GW Engineering beats the national average for women pursuing engineering degrees.
24.5%
National Average,
undergraduate women
in engineering
( source: ASEE 2020
Engineering By
The Numbers )
47%
Women in the GW Engineering
Undergraduate class
of 2026
(source: GW Engineering)
28%
National Average, graduate women in engineering,
( source: ASEE 2020 Engineering By The Numbers)
34%
Women enrolled as GW Engineering On-Campus graduate students (source: GW Engineering Data)
Our Stories
The Women of SEAS are extremely active in research, education and outreach to the community. WiE is proud to highlight these stars in GW SEAS and the engineering profession.
History of Women in GW Engineering
The George Washington University (GW) was established in 1821, when President James Monroe approved the congressional charter creating the Columbian University, the initial name of the George Washington University. In 1884, the Corcoran Scientific School opened its doors at the university, after the philanthropist William Corcoran provided a gift to establish the school. The Corcoran Scientific School, which eventually would be renamed the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), was intended to be a polytechnic school designed after the Boston Institute of Technology.
- SEAS Center for WiE Founding Director
Dr. Shelly Heller
Founding Director, SEAS Center for Women in Engineering
Professor Emerita, Computer ScienceDr. Shelly Heller has spent her career breaking barriers and opening doors for women in STEM. She began her professional journey in the 1960s in the field of computer science, eventually earning her Ph.D and joined the faculty of the George Washington University in 1985. Over nearly four decades, Dr. Heller has served in numerous leadership roles at GW, including Associate Dean for Academic Affairs on the Mount Vernon Campus and Professor of Engineering and Applied Science.
As the founding director of the SEAS Center for Women in Engineering, Dr. Heller envisioned a community that not only welcomed women into engineering, but ensured they could thrive. Her leadership helped establish the Center’s commitment to fostering belonging, amplifying women’s voices, and creating pathways to success for the next generation of engineers.
Beyond her work at GW, Dr. Heller’s impact includes national research initiatives and programs focused on broadening participation in STEM, including efforts supported by the National Science Foundation. She also played a critical role in shaping GW’s Women’s Leadership Program and has mentored countless students and faculty members throughout her tenure.
A proud alumna of Stony Brook University, where she met her husband and began her STEM career, Dr. Heller continues to teach, advocate, and mentor. Her legacy is reflected in the thousands of women in engineering she has inspired to believe, boldly, that they belong.
- First Women SEAS Graduates
Elizabeth Preston Brown and Louise Connolly
The first graduating class comprised six students. Two of them were women: Elizabeth Preston Brown and Louise Connolly. Mrs. Brown was a noted mathematician, and Ms. Connolly a noted geologist.
Mrs. Brown, a high school teacher, reserved part of her salary to “improve herself” and entered The Corcoran Scientific School, where she studied with mathematics professor James Howard Gore, verifying his calculations, a job classified as ‘computer’. According to an 1892 article from The Daily Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), she was encouraged to enter a contest for a position at the Nautical Almanac. The newspaper notes “Within three hours after the examination began every man left the room vanquished by the astronomical and mathematics problems”. Miss Brown answered every question and solved every problem in less than five hours.
Ms. Connolly, also a high school teacher, received two degrees from the school. She was regarded as one of the city’s most progressive teachers and often spoke at meetings of the National Education Association and the Geographic Society.
- First Woman Engineering Graduate
Marjorie Rhodes Townsend
Marjorie Rhodes Townsend was the first woman to graduate from GW with an engineering degree. Born in 1930, she enrolled in college at 15 and received her degree in 1951. In 1957 she told The Washington Post, “The thought seems to lurk in people’s minds that women go into a man’s field to catch a husband. In fact, there was a wager on the line when I went to school that I would get married and never graduate. That gentleman had to pay” up. In 1959, Mrs. Townsend became one of the first female engineers to join NASA, and in the next decade, she was named the first female spacecraft project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.
- First Woman Appointed to SEAS Faculty
Dr. Mona Zaghloul
Dr. Mona Zaghloul, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has achieved many firsts in her career. In 1975, she earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo (Canada), the first woman to earn a doctorate in engineering from Waterloo. She joined the GW faculty in 1980 as an assistant professor and as the first female appointed to the SEAS faculty.
- Hidden Figure
Christine Mann Darden
Dr. Christine Mann Darden, who rose from data analyst at NASA's Langley Research Center to become leader of the agency's Sonic Boom Team, earned her doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from GW in 1983. Now a retired NASA director and aerospace engineer, Dr. Darden is an internationally recognized authority in the field of sonic-boom minimization. Known as one of NASA’s “human computers” in the 60s and 70s, Dr. Darden’s story features in the 2016 bestseller, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. Bipartisan legislation would bestow the Congressional Gold Medal on Darden, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, “and all the women computers, mathematicians, and engineers at NASA, and its precursor organization the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).”
Resources
- WiE Report: Broadening Participation Funding Statement (PDF)
- WiE Report: Establishing an Inclusive Community (PDF)
- WiE Report: Best Practices for Diversity & Inclusion in Engineering Education - resources (PDF)
- WiE Report: Best Practices for Diversity & Inclusion in Engineering - Curriculum (PDF)
We also invite you to visit the GW Office for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement for additional GW resources.
This program/center is open to all students/members of the GW community. Participation is not limited based on any individual’s personal identity, characteristics, or viewpoint, including but not limited to: race, color, national origin, shared ancestry, religion, political affiliation, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status.
Reporting a Title IX Related Incident
It is our hope that all members of our community feel responsible for the well-being of each and every student. We strongly encourage students, faculty, and staff to report possible Title IX incidents. The Title IX team will evaluate your report and determine the best way to respond.
Contact Us
We are interested in hearing from you. Please contact us with questions, suggestions, or ideas related to women in engineering.
Email: scwie
email [dot] gwu [dot] edu (scwie[at]email[dot]gwu[dot]edu)