2015 Convention Speakers

2015 TBP Convention Presenters

Thursday's keynote speaker and presenters of professional development sessions are listed below with title of their session. Click here for the professional development schedule.

Professional Development

Ed D'Avignon (NY Beta '88) — What the Career Office Didn't Tell You Ed will discuss what he looks for when screening resumes and interviewing candidates as a team leader and principal engineer with Avago Technologies. He will give tips on how to avoid your resume being quickly rejected, what he looks for in a resume and during both phone and in person interviews. Many of the highlighted areas are not typically discussed by university career offices.

Scott L. Bilker (NJ Gamma '91) — Personal Finance 101 Scott shares what you wish they taught you about money in college. He is founder of DebtSmart.com and an author of many books and articles on personal finance. He will share his experience, advice, and strategies for beating debt and winning the money game.

Katy L. Colbry, Ph.D. (MI Alpha '99) — Presentation Pointers Katy is the director for graduate initiatives at the College of Engineering at Michigan State University. She was recently appointed as the Director of Engineering Futures and has been an EF Facilitator for 15 years. She has published more than two dozen peer-reviewed works related to engineering education.

Jarron P. Decker — Leveraging Your Undergraduate STEM Degree Are you an engineering major who wants to expand into new fields and interdisciplinary study? This workshop will explore the relationship between engineering and business, architecture, and the humanities. Jarron is the Associate Director of Graduate Admissions at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and has been working with prospective graduate students for eight years.

Scott E. Fable (CA Tau '96) — Nailing Your Job Interview Scott will share his experiences from both sides of the interview table, with tips on seeking and landing your next internship or full-time technical position.

Lt. Jason Frederick (TN Epsilon '07) — Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program See the latest in nuclear technology in our U.S. Navy submarine and carrier fleet. The most imposing vessels in America's Navy rely on small-scale nuclear reactors to provide everything from basic propulsion to power generation. The safe operation of these complex nuclear plants depends upon an essential human element-skilled nuclear technicians, power plant operators, instructors, and subsystems specialists.

Nancy F. Gray (MI Gamma '69) — Engineering Futures Medley With more than 15+ years as a Tau Beta Pi Engineering Futures Facilitator, Gray will present a sample of each current EF module to help you decide which session(s) to bring to your school.

Deborah L. Grubbe, P.E. (IN Alpha '77) — Engineering Ethics A licensed PE with 30+ years of industrial experience, Ms. Grubbe served 9 years on the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel and was a former chair of the Law Enforcement and Ethics Committee of the Delaware Engineer's Board. She will share her perspectives on the ethical underpinnings of a few disasters, and how to identify and to avoid these situations in your own career.

Christina M. Harrison (TN Alpha '93) — Move Up the Ladder This session will help you understand what it takes to get promoted and generate ideas about how to manage your career. Skills to leverage your performance, image, and exposure to climb the corporate ladder.

Ron M. Hickling (CA Epsilon '80) — Elevator Speech: Your 15 Seconds of Fame This session will examine all of the thinking that goes into mission statements and discover that being prepared to make an elevator speech is less about coming up with a clever tag line and more about a process of examination that will enable you to explain your ideas clearly and concisely.

Harry W. Lange (MI Zeta '75) — Managing Your Investments for Retirement Retirement may be 40 or 50 years away, but investing as soon as you start your career is critical. Learn tips from Harry's years of investing experience to help prepare yourself for a successful retirement as you move through the various stages of your career.

Bruce Lindvall, Ph.D. — Should I Go to Graduate School? After taking the GRE, learn the best ways to get into your top graduate schools from Bruce Lindvall, Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Northwestern University.

Mary Lou Wakimura (CO Beta '83) — Engineering & Intellectual Property Law The speaker is a law firm partner having a 30-year practice in IP law at Hamilton Brook Smith Reynolds, with offices in Massachusetts. Mary Lou serves inventors and clients from academia, research, and commercial sectors of the U.S. and abroad. Learn at this session how your engineering backgrounds are the perfect launching pad to combine with IP law for a career in a private, corporate, or university IP practice.
Joseph P. Wilson, Ph.D. (FL Alpha '07) — Engineering Your Career Identity Every engineer has a unique story. Learn how to tap into your life experiences to understand your identity, what is important to you, and how to articulate these strengths to employers.