Collaborative Research: Connecting Women Faculty in Geotechnical Engineering - Thriving in a Networked World

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This project focuses on professional networking outcomes among faculty in the geotechnical engineering community which will lead to broader impacts for the nation by improving retention, advancement and scientific collaboration of especially female geotechnical engineering faculty. Networking improvements will be facilitated by developing a cohesive intellectual community that provides access to mentoring, novel information and new resources, as well as collaboration partners. Using an intervention into the existing - largely disconnected - scientific community, female faculty will participate in networking workshops, as well as pre- and post-intervention surveys to understand their current networking needs, improvement of their networking abilities over time, and the impact their network ties have on academic collaboration. The goal of the intervention process is to lower isolation of female faculty in geotechnical engineering by creating and sustaining a supportive national network that drives career success in academia.This project will apply social network analysis and professional development activities to improve networking and collaboration among geotechnical engineering faculty in order to bridge the geographical distance and connectivity gaps faced especially by female geotechnical engineering faculty. Building on past efforts of NSF and others, the project will create a network that fosters active tie creation and provides access to collaboration opportunities among geotechnical engineering faculty in the U.S. The intervention into the existing network combines face-to-face networking meetings and virtual networking practices to increase collaboration opportunities. The core challenges are: (a) how to sustain the attention network, (b) how to maintain strong connections among female faculty in their immediate professional environments and, (c) how to create weak ties that will help them in situations where their strong ties are unable to provide the social support, collaboration and information that they need. The outcomes of the research will improve the faculty's understanding of the importance of networking, provide opportunities for sustaining collaborative connections with colleagues across the nation, and equip participants with the knowledge and skills to collaborate in a networked world. The summative evaluation, including a before and after social network analysis, will evaluate the effectiveness of the purposeful interventions into the existing network of mostly weak ties among geotechnical women faculty and recommend promising practices for use in other disciplines where women face similar challenges.