MUs’ ASME student chapter at the Club Fair, including president Ashley Zegler.
@ASME.MU / INSTAGRAM
Maizy Swift, Production Editor/Asst. Social Media Editor
Parisa Saboori, Ph.D., a mechanical engineering professor at Manhattan University, was elected to the highest governing body of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers [ASME] last month.
ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that, “enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society,” according to their website.
After being chosen from general membership and going through multiple interviews, Saboori will take on a three-year term with the board of governors. Saboori discussed with The Quadrangle what her role within ASME involves, specifically as a female engineer, as well as the organization’s long-term goals.
“When you become a governor, you oversee the entire community; the strategic planning, the future of the mechanical engineers, and the plans and programs that are needed,” Saboori said. “As a woman in this field, one of my goals is definitely to smooth the path for the next generation of the engineers, but more specifically, for the women, and that’s one of the reasons that I joined the Women’s Leadership Collective.”
Last year marked the first time there was an equal number of men and women on the board.
“Starting last year, it was the first time that we had six men and six women, which is huge for mechanical engineering, because worldwide, even when you’re looking at the class of mechanical engineers, women are about 10 to 12 percent at the best case scenario,” Saboori said. “So this was a huge milestone.”
Saboori continued on to speak about how taking on this new role will impact how she aids her students.
“As a professor, you’re advising your students to see what the future is in mechanical engineering, in addition to the techniques that you have to take to be part of this society moving forward,” Saboori said. “You also let them know about all the resources that this community will offer them.”
Ashley Zegler, a junior mechanical engineering major and president of the MU student chapter of ASME, explained the importance of the club for mechanical engineering students.
“There are student chapters all over the world,” Zegler said. “We’re part of the New York metropolitan region and we host a lot of networking events, whether it’s after the career fair or career fair prep workshops to help students. As a student section member, you can get a student section membership to the national organization, where you can get access to scholarships or other membership-specific benefits, such as industry updates on what’s innovative tech, or even research that other ASME fellows are conducting. You also get access to some academic resources as well.”
For mechanical engineering students at MU, Saboori has not only been a role model, but a professor that students can rely on to help them grow within their education.
“I think me and a lot of other mechanical engineers at Manhattan all feel inspired by Dr. Saboori,” Zegler said. “She’s very attentive to her students and challenges us, but also helps with guiding us and figuring out what we want. Seeing her in a very high leadership role within the ASME body, it’s pretty cool.”
Zegler said that Saboori’s recent election will also aid the student chapter of the ASME greatly.
“We’ve been recognized two or three years in a row now as a student section awardee by the national global organization for ASME, so it’s something that we are definitely trying to keep going with,” Zegler said. “I think her and her continuous strive for excellence will also help us as we try to complete everything that we set out to accomplish.”
Kelly Roff, a junior mechanical engineer and social media manager of the MU student chapter of ASME, also felt that Saboori’s election was helpful as someone hoping to grow within the industry.
“I had Dr. Saboori as my professor for one of my classes, so I know that she’s a really great person, and she’s a very good teacher,” Roff said. “I think it’s really cool to see somebody that you see every day walking in the hallways, or you send an email to, now being in charge of the larger body of ASME.”
Like Saboori and Zegler, Roff felt that ASME is a helpful resource for student mechanical engineers.
“I think it’s also very helpful, because we also are now the first people to know about any new events, whether it’s the scholarships or events that they always put on [or] job postings,” Roff said.
Saboori has received three awards during her time with ASME, including the Fellowship Award, the Faculty Advisor Award and the Dedicated Award. While she takes her next steps with ASME, she is excited to continue to help MU students succeed.