One of the few women studying computer engineering at her university, Jenn Blankenship felt frustrated and alone as she struggled with calculus. But she wouldn't ask for help, she said, ``because the guys expected me to know everything.''

Sung-Ju Lee, a researcher with HP Labs who came to study at the University of California-Los Angeles from Korea, knew what it was like to feel that you don't fit in. In school, he said, his women engineering friends ``told me how difficult it is to be in a small group, how they needed to be encouraged.'' He wanted to help by sharing his experiences.

This fall, Blankenship and Lee found each other -- and all it took was a bi-directional algorithm to match them and a program based at San Jose State University.

Blankenship, who studies in St. Louis, and Lee, who works in the Stanford Research Park, were one of 2,816 pairs matched this year via the Internet. Their ``e-mentoring'' relationship was arranged and supported by MentorNet, a program that connects students with experienced scientists and engineers.

MentorNet's goal is to advance women's progress in science and engineering. While women make up about half the nation's workforce, they account for only about one-quarter of its scientists and engineers.

The national non-profit organization has matched nearly 20,000 people since Carol B. Muller, a veteran educator, began the program in 1997. About 10 percent of the students and 35 percent of the mentors are men.

While demand for MentorNet's services continues to grow, the program is suffering financially as colleges and corporations tighten their belts in a poor economy. As their budgets have shrunk, so has MentorNet's, to about half what it was in 2001-02.

Someone to talk to

Blankenship, who is happier this year at Washington University, said the program has helped her keep going.

`It gives you someone to talk to who already has been through everything you are going through,'' said the 20-year-old. ``You do learn from their experience.''

During the past year, Blankenship said Lee has helped her with tips on interviewing and creating a résumé, proofed papers for a technical writing class and shared information about preparing documents for presentations. He also bucks her up when she gets discouraged, often prompted by her struggles with advanced math.

``S.J. has been a great friend, and he's also been a really great teacher,'' Blankenship said.

Lee, 29, who is in his second year as a volunteer mentor, said he enjoys the role.

```Even though I am not that old,'' he said, ``I get to meet younger people and try to learn from them.''

MentorNet grew out of something Muller worked on while she was an associate engineering dean at Dartmouth -- a pilot effort to address the fact that women who entered school with an interest in science and engineering left those fields of study at a rate twice as high as men. ``It couldn't be explained by grades, test-taking or preparation,'' said Muller, who went on to become MentorNet's president and CEO.

E-mail mentoring may sound impersonal, but it has advantages. The biggest are that it overcomes the limits of time and geography. Having the programs match students with mentors also helps break barriers based on status, prestige and wealth, Muller said.

When Amy Dalal first heard about MentorNet, the former HP researcher thought it might be strange to coach someone via e-mail, but it turned out just the opposite. ``I communicate better in writing and it's asynchronous, so you don't have to drop what you are doing,'' she said. ``And I can take time to think about my answer.''

Dalal, 31, who just got a job teaching computer science at Carleton College, said she gets as much as she gives.

``It has made me re-evaluate my own accomplishments,'' she said. ``Your experience is worth something. Sometimes you lose sight of that.''

For students such as Nicole Roberson, 18, who grew up with the Internet, using e-mail just seems right.

``It's how we communicate with each other,'' she said. ``And it broadens your horizons about who you can talk with. Sometimes people will change how they respond to you knowing your age, gender and race.''

Roberson, a freshman at San Jose State University who works part time at MentorNet, was matched with a 26-year-old mentor who works for 3M in Minnesota.

``I love math,'' she said, and her mentor helped her see that ``I could do much more than be a school teacher with a math degree.''

Rates high with users

MentorNet evaluates its program regularly and has found that more than 90 percent of the participants would recommend it to a friend, and that more than 50 percent of students said it had affirmed their desire to pursue a job in their field.

The program received a Presidential Award for Excellence in 2001.

The biggest hurdle facing MentorNet now is funding, Muller said. Two years ago, the program decided it could not afford to serve students at colleges that didn't pay a fee, resulting in a drop to 80 from 116 participating institutions. She said she is working with her board to come up with a sustainable financial model that works in a down economy.

Like MentorNet's matching technology, Muller said, ``it's always a work in progress.''