Society of Women Engineers Honors Nancy Wheeler-Nelson with 2006 Distinguished Service Award.

Wheeler-Nelson receives Fellow Grade Award at SWE national conference in recognition for her continuing service to SWE and its members and her contributions to the field of engineering

CHICAGO -- The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) today announced Nancy Wheeler-Nelson the recipient of SWE's 2006 Distinguished Service Award. Nancy Wheeler-Nelson is being recognized for dedication to the Society of Women Engineers' mission through leadership, through increasing public awareness of engineering careers, and championing programs to increase diversity.

Nancy Wheeler-Nelson is a general manager in the Engineering and Construction group at Trimble. As general manager Nelson is responsible for coordinating cross-functional, cross- division programs. Nelson began her career at Hewlett-Packard working in the Santa Clara Research and Development group. She was a founding member of the HP Women's Technical group and secured two patents before she moved to Trimble a company founded by some of her colleagues at HP. Trimble was a startup at the forefront of developing applications for the emerging field of GPS technology. Nelson secured her third patent for work in GPS applications.

"Nancy has devoted nearly 30 years to mentoring young aspiring women engineers while serving herself as a role model through her successful career," says Jude Garzolini, president of the Society of Women Engineers. "Her service and commitment to the SWE mission and her drive to consistently promoted engineering as an excellent career choice for women is commendable."

Nelson began her involvement in SWE in 1976 as a co founding member and officer of San Jose State University (SJSU) new student section. After graduation, Nelson joined SWE's Santa Clara Valley (SCV) section. During her membership in the SCV Section, Nelson has taken on some very significant and effective programs. Nelson began her outreach involvement by working with Tinker Toys Technology (T3)Coa career exploration event for Girl Scouts in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. Seventy Girl Scouts from across the United States and internationally participated in the event.

Following T3, Nelson worked with the Santa Clara Girl Scout Council and led numerous workshops through the Council. She is the founder of the outreach program GetSET a follow on to SWE and NASA's HEOP program, the program encourages high school girls from groups underrepresented in engineering, to consider and pursue technology careers. GetSET in its 14th year provides yearlong group mentoring and intense Summer Week components, which offer hands-on workshops, aimed at teaching creative, team focused approaches to engineering problem solving.

"Nancy takes complex challenges and consistently provides innovative engineering solutions," said Steven W. Berglund, president and CEO of Trimble. "Her professionalism, commitment and exceptional skills are an asset to Trimble and we congratulate her on this well deserved honor."

Nelson has been very involved with the creation of SWE's Program Grants Committee, which evaluates requests to utilize funds from generous donors. Nelson took an active role in developing the procedures and criteria to met SWE BOD approval and served as chair for several years. Many sections and entities within have benefited immensely from funds donated to SWE. Additionally, Nelson has served on the SWE Board of Directors as Golden West Region (A) Director from 2001-2003.

Nelson also worked closely with the Santa Clara Valley section's scholarship fund development, which doubled within four years. She served on the SCV Fund Development Committee raising funds for GetSET, Scholarships and other SCV programs. She supported and mentored new committee members and shared her experience on fund development with other sections. Nelson is also a Fellow Member of SWE.

Nelson received her B.S. degree in psychology and chemistry from the University of New Mexico, a B.S. degree in electrical engineering with honors from San Jose., and she completed post graduate work in applied math from Santa Clara University. She was recognized by SJSU School of Engineering with the Award of Distinction in recognition of outstanding professional achievement.

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a SWE member, affiliate or associate who has made a significant contribution to the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), especially at the local and regional levels, or on national SWE committees. The award recognizes committed services, leadership and devotion to SWE, with focus on efforts that have enabled the Society to successfully fulfill its mission.

The 2006 Distinguished Service Award will be formally recognized Saturday night, October 14 at the Society of Women Engineers' National Conference Celebrate SWE! Banquet in Kansas City, Mo. The National Conference, "Women Blazing Technology Trails," is being held at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Mo. October 12-14. The more than 4,000 attendees include professionals from every discipline of the engineering profession and a large number of engineering students and educators. The 2007 Conference is scheduled for October 25-27 in Nashville, Tenn.

About SWE

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), founded in 1950, is a not-for-profit educational and service organization. SWE is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women. SWE empowers women to succeed and advance in those aspirations and be recognized for their life-changing contributions and achievements as engineers and leaders. For more information about the Society please visit www.swe.org or call [phone].