Twenty Years of New Women in EECS

By Jane Halpern

May 27, 2025 | Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Leslie Kolodziejski (left) and Hope Dargan (right foreground) share a conversation over breakfast at the New Women in EECS seminar in 2023. Kolodziejski has now led the seminar, which brings together women early in their PhD for conversation and community-building, for twenty years. Photo credit: Gretchen Ertl

Every Friday morning, the sound of laughter and the smell of coffee greet the tenacious few who’ve risen early, bundled up, and braved the Boston cold to appear in Building 34 well before class. They’re here for the New Women in EECS Seminar, a weekly departmental tradition in which women PhD candidates gather over breakfast food to chat, socialize, and learn more about the skills and tools they’ll need in graduate school. 

The seminar is now entering its twentieth year–but, surprisingly, it owes its entire existence to one visionary member of the faculty, Leslie Kolodziejski, who is the Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley Professor in EE. In 2005, when Kolodziejski started the group, women were a small percentage of the faculty and student body of EECS, a percentage mirrored in the overall world of STEM at the time. Women composed only 24%  of the undergraduate population; 19% of the graduate student population; and 13% of the faculty in the department. Many felt alone and isolated, and struggled to find mentors who could understand their experience. Still more dealt with imposter syndrome, wondering if they truly had what it takes to succeed in the highly competitive MIT environment. The seminar was designed to change the students’ experience and narrative to one of mutual support and caring.

“I really appreciated the sense of community that Leslie established for us first-year students during that seminar,” says Rachel Owens, currently in the third year of her PhD. “It was actually my undergrad advisor Elizabeth Basha, who was an MIT alumna (and the first female science or engineering professor I ever had), who recommended the seminar to me. I understand her fond memories of the breakfasts better now, even though it’s still hard to put into words why they’re important.” 

Janet Fischer, a member of the Graduate Office who joined the seminars in 2011, shared the sense of wonder at the effects of the weekly gathering. “Being part of the seminar on autumn Friday mornings felt like sacred space, and I enjoyed every year that I was involved in it.”

Linlu Qiu, a third-year PhD who also attended the 2022 seminar with Rachel Owens, discovered many similarities with her fellow seminar attendees over the course of the year: “This is a safe space where people feel comfortable sharing their feelings. I learned that many of my fellow students and even the invited guests have had similar experiences to mine.” Those common experiences transcended research area–Qiu noted that many of the women she got to know during the seminar did not share the same major/interests as her (she is currently studying natural language processing), and rarely encountered each other in class, but still formed tight bonds. “[These commonalities] made me feel less alone, giving me the courage to pursue whatever I want to accomplish.”

By design, the seminar features regular visits from speakers across campus who can share resources and advice, but whose stories also offer models for out-of-the-box career choices. Over the years, the seminar has hosted visitors ranging from an MIT campus police sergeant, to the Head of MIT Health, to representatives of the MIT Libraries, to the heads of all three faculties within EECS, to a 50-year employee who experienced the tumultuous campus times in the 1970’s. Recently, Associate Director of the Teaching + Learning Lab Lourdes Alemán dropped by to share resources; TA Hope Dargan SB ’21 MEng ’23, a second-year PhD student, credits that particular visit with giving her the impetus to reach out and make contact with the Lab, which “improved my teaching and helped me find more teaching oriented people at MIT.” 

Seminar alum Margherita Firenze, now in the second year of her PhD, remembers, “One of my favorite sessions was the “Importance of Networking and Mentoring” session. Through funny cartoons and personal stories, Leslie explained the differences between networking and mentoring and gave us tips to identify a possible mentor. She encouraged us to reach out to people and know that both the mentor and mentee get something out of the relationship.  Her advice has helped me reach out to possible mentors and seek networking events at conferences.”

The success of the New Women in EECS seminar has been so marked that it has inspired a spin-off: the Networking T seminar. As the name implies, the T seminar features afternoon tea (and other goodies), and is also offered weekly for any interested PhD student within the department to attend. “I have also offered this seminar every year, even in the pandemic, and we are in the 13^th year,” explains Kolodziejski, who has scheduled both seminars in parallel to make sure every EECS first-year graduate student can reap the benefits of small group conversation and camaraderie. 

Another tradition to emerge from the seminar is the annual Erin M. Aylward Memorial Dinner, now in its twelfth year, which honors a late graduate student beloved by her peers. “I attended the dinner, and we filled the entire restaurant,” remembers Lizzy Ann Salata, who will be graduating with both her SM and MBA degrees in spring of this year. “I have never been in a STEM environment where the amount of women in the organization could fill an entire restaurant. It was an unreal experience and just goes to show how much dedication and intentionality MIT puts into diversifying their student body.” 

The seminar’s effects, after two decades, have been profound. Kolodziejski estimates that over 400 women have participated in the Friday seminar cumulatively, finding connection and companionship where they might otherwise have felt isolated–with many additional students dropping in for the Networking T seminars. “Leslie managed to foster a wonderful support network for female graduate students to share advice with through the seminar series,” says Michelle Sander, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boston University. “This built the foundation for friendships that lasted beyond the first-year seminar and provided support throughout the PhD study duration.”

The effects have not been confined solely to EECS, either, as Lizzie Ann Salata can testify. The frequent seminar attendee is currently in the Leaders for Global Operations Master’s Program at MIT, a dual degree held between the Sloan School of Business and the School of Engineering. “It is great to be at the intersection of business and technology, however, sometimes students feel as though they don’t truly belong at either school,” she says. “Attending these seminars helped me get over this imposter syndrome. The women EECS students were always so welcoming. In fact, during the last seminar, there was a ‘quiz’ to see how much we had learned about each other. I was included as one of the quiz questions, which made me feel so special!” 

Echoes of the seminar are also evident in the Department’s Thriving Stars initiative, a holistic effort aiming to improve gender representation at the graduate level within EECS. Combining community-building events like the seminar, annual Aylward dinner, and sunset cruise with mentorship / buddy programs, career panels and fireside chats with notable leaders in EECS, the program, developed by Kolodziesjki and Department Head Asu Ozdaglar, is now closing out its fourth year. Within those four years, graduate program applications from women have increased by 30%. Additionally, the percentage of women in the graduate program has grown sharply from when Kolodziejski founded the weekly seminar–from 134 women in 2005, to 252 (or 30% of the PhD student body) today.

For Kolodziejski, seeing the department’s transformation into a more welcoming community for women has been a profoundly rewarding experience. “It is so special to watch these women thrive and go on to do amazing things,” she says. “I remember them all so fondly. We really bonded!” Hope Dargan agrees, adding, “10/10 would recommend, and hope the seminar continues for 20+ more years!”