Megan Parsons
Masters Expected 2021
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Boston University
We are excited to welcome Megan back to the GradSWE Leadership Team as our FY21 Diversity & Inclusion Team Lead. Megan has been an active member of SWE ever since she began her career transition from molecular and cellular neurobiology to neuroengineering. As soon as she was accepted to the Late Entry Accelerated Program (LEAP) at Boston University in electrical and computer engineering (ECE) in 2017, she sought ways to become more involved in GradSWE and make an impact on the engineering community. After attending WE Local San Jose, the resources, support, and camaraderie offered through SWE filled Megan with optimism for the future of women in technology. She was inspired to get involved to ensure that these opportunities and resources could be expanded to best serve the needs of current and future generations of women in engineering. After moving to Boston, Megan served as a member of the WE Local Providence Poster Sub-Committee in 2018 and also volunteered as a judge for the Collegiate Poster Competition. Last year, she was GradSWE Diversity & Inclusion Liaison, and she currently serves on the Executive Board of BU GradSWE.
After completing the ECE prerequisites through LEAP to enter the master’s program at Boston University, Megan was awarded the merit-based Engineering Graduate Scholarship on behalf of the College of Engineering. She was also selected to attend the Academic Leadership for Women Engineers (ALWE) program at the WE19 annual conference, a selective program to empower promising early-career scholars to successfully pursue positions of academic leadership in engineering.
Megan's Thesis Topic: Elucidating EEG Correlates of Brain States
In the laboratory of Dr. Xue Han, Megan is using EEG to research neural signatures involved in pain perception and attention. These neural signatures will be used to train machine learning algorithms to classify brain states. These models will allow her to quantify the effects of treatments or interventions in altering brain states associated with pain and cognitive performance. Megan’s ultimate goal is to have an academic career in neuroengineering at a research-intensive institution.
Outside of SWE, Megan is a classically trained ballet dancer, and she has also received training in tap, jazz, hip hop, and acrobatics. She enjoys playing classical and jazz piano, and she is currently focused on voice lessons and musical theatre. She is also active in science policy and advocacy, an interest that began in 2010 as a semester school student at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership (SEGL) in Washington, DC. In her spare time, Megan enjoys designing and building low-cost electronics projects for biomedical applications.
Fun fact: Megan’s award-winning astrophotography has been featured in exhibits and expos!
Find Megan on Twitter as @MeganMParsons
Masters Expected 2021
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Boston University
We are excited to welcome Megan back to the GradSWE Leadership Team as our FY21 Diversity & Inclusion Team Lead. Megan has been an active member of SWE ever since she began her career transition from molecular and cellular neurobiology to neuroengineering. As soon as she was accepted to the Late Entry Accelerated Program (LEAP) at Boston University in electrical and computer engineering (ECE) in 2017, she sought ways to become more involved in GradSWE and make an impact on the engineering community. After attending WE Local San Jose, the resources, support, and camaraderie offered through SWE filled Megan with optimism for the future of women in technology. She was inspired to get involved to ensure that these opportunities and resources could be expanded to best serve the needs of current and future generations of women in engineering. After moving to Boston, Megan served as a member of the WE Local Providence Poster Sub-Committee in 2018 and also volunteered as a judge for the Collegiate Poster Competition. Last year, she was GradSWE Diversity & Inclusion Liaison, and she currently serves on the Executive Board of BU GradSWE.
After completing the ECE prerequisites through LEAP to enter the master’s program at Boston University, Megan was awarded the merit-based Engineering Graduate Scholarship on behalf of the College of Engineering. She was also selected to attend the Academic Leadership for Women Engineers (ALWE) program at the WE19 annual conference, a selective program to empower promising early-career scholars to successfully pursue positions of academic leadership in engineering.
Megan's Thesis Topic: Elucidating EEG Correlates of Brain States
In the laboratory of Dr. Xue Han, Megan is using EEG to research neural signatures involved in pain perception and attention. These neural signatures will be used to train machine learning algorithms to classify brain states. These models will allow her to quantify the effects of treatments or interventions in altering brain states associated with pain and cognitive performance. Megan’s ultimate goal is to have an academic career in neuroengineering at a research-intensive institution.
Outside of SWE, Megan is a classically trained ballet dancer, and she has also received training in tap, jazz, hip hop, and acrobatics. She enjoys playing classical and jazz piano, and she is currently focused on voice lessons and musical theatre. She is also active in science policy and advocacy, an interest that began in 2010 as a semester school student at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership (SEGL) in Washington, DC. In her spare time, Megan enjoys designing and building low-cost electronics projects for biomedical applications.
Fun fact: Megan’s award-winning astrophotography has been featured in exhibits and expos!
Find Megan on Twitter as @MeganMParsons
