IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2007 - 27

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for grayscale and color data compression
as well. From 1987-1994, Mitchell
worked with the Joint Photographic
Experts Group, or JPEG, to standardize
the color-image, data compression algorithm. These images that every gamer,
blogger, and Web surfer know, are a
direct result of IBM's marriage with
CCITT and the International Standards
Organization.
After the JPEG standard was secured,
Mitchell took a two-year leave of absence
from IBM during which she was a visiting professor at her graduate alma mater,
the University of Illinois, for six months.
Once again, the ugly specter of gender
discrimination made her rethink all the
award-winning work she had done. An
acquaintance at the university suggested
IBM had only hired her in the 1970s as
part of affirmative action and the femi-

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nist movement. "I was horrified,"
Mitchell says, "though it was probably
true. There was a hiring freeze on and
that year IBM only hired ten people, not
100 people."

The Magic's in the Mentoring
The antidote to discrimination, in part, is
mentoring, says Mitchell. In one capacity
or another, Mitchell has always spent a
significant part of her time mentoring
others-meaning hands-on work for her
students and hands-off work for Mitchell,
who since 2001 has been one of eight
women IBM has bestowed the distinction
of "Fellow." Now Mitchell acts as a mentor for about 20 different projects at a
time. "They're in charge, they have to do
the write-ups-all the work's on their
side," she says. "If they do nothing, nothing happens and that's OK." But when

her advisees buckle down and work,
Mitchell says, "they shine and they know
that they deserve the credit. I'm always
amazed. I just sit there and cheer."
Recently, Mitchell has published a
new book that is the culmination of
many e-mail ruminations with her
father. Dr. Joan's Mentoring Book is
chock-full of her accumulated wisdom as
a diligent worker, an inspirational
woman engineer, and a "high-bandwidth" thinker.
Mitchell says that in writing the book
and continuing her mentoring of others,
"I consciously said I want to be the giant
on whose shoulders you've stood. I've
made a difference to people-maybe not
a lot-but a few people, and that's very
satisfying."
-Julia C. Keller is a freelance science writer living in Boston.

Notice of Upcoming Call for Proposals
Real-World Engineering Projects: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering,
and Computer Science Curricula Development for First-Year Undergraduate Students
Discovery-Based Projects in IEEE Fields of Interest
The IEEE is continuing with a second year of funding for a program to develop curricula in the IEEE fields of
interest for use with first-year students studying electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science. The program seeks high quality, hands-on, team-based projects that focus on real-world problems whose solutions benefit society. The projects are expected to make electrical engineering, computer
engineering and computer science more relevant to first-year students and to illustrate how the work of
engineers and computer scientists directly impacts society. The ideal project will allow students to discover
the importance of a contemporary problem and excite their interest in creative solutions. It will demonstrate
how and why technical methods work, rather than simply providing a recipe for a solution. It will allow the
students to discover underlying complex engineering and science principles and provide motivation for further study and engagement.
Completed projects will be disseminated by the IEEE for use by faculty in the development of first-year
courses. Projects should be stand-alone modules requiring a combined 10-30 hours of lecture and laboratory instruction, and should be easily replicated at institutions worldwide with reasonable cost and effort.
Authors of completed projects will receive an honorarium from the IEEE. Please watch for the full call for
proposals in the Spring of 2008; information will also be posted at: http://www.ieee.org/web/education/
university/RealWorldEngineering

WINTER 2007/2008

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2007