COLUMN: A look back on Engineering Week
The College of Engineering has many great opportunities for students studying within the various engineering majors. There are many opportunities for undergraduate students to engage in research in conjunction with graduate research. We also have many student clubs that are chapters of professional societies.
This last week, concurrently with elections, was National Engineers Week 2011 and there were several events engaging students and the local community in engineering-related activities. National Engineers Week is part of the National Engineers Week Foundation which – according to their website –”is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers among young students and by promoting pre-college literacy in math and science. Engineers Week also raises public understanding and appreciation of engineers’ contributions to society.”
Each year for Engineering Week at USU our student council, known as Engineering Council or E-Council, organizes and coordinates several activities and events for engineering students. This year’s council president is Emily Chipman, a senior majoring in civil engineering, and she was the primary organizer for the week’s activities. The activities that ensued last week included: ferrous liquid (magnetic liquid), free breakfast and ice cream, lunch provided by College of Engineering Dean Scott Hinton, club competitions, the engineering awards luncheon, Nerds vs. Zombies and a community night.
The club competitions were put on by engineering clubs on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Some of the competitions included:
• Edible Car Contest – similar to pinewood derby, only with vehicles made only of food. Have the fastest car and longest distance to win. Put on by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers student chapter.
• Paper Towers – build the tallest free-standing tower out of newspaper to win. Put on by the American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter.
• Beta Bowl – similar to jeopardy for engineers. Put on by Engineering Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi.
• Marker Madness – develop a catapult to throw and land a whiteboard marker in a classroom garbage can. Also put on by Tau Beta Pi.
• Calculator Quick Draw – be the first to solve math problems on your calculator, Put on by the Society of Women Engineers student chapter.
• Ms. Engineering Pageant and Nerdy Man Contest – girls participate to show their beauty, brains, and nerdiness while the men answer questions and share their talents. Also put on by the Society of Women Engineers student chapter.
With about 300 attendees, the first ever USU Engineering Community Night was a huge success. The goal of the community night was primarily to reach out to anyone in the community, particularly youth, to introduce them to different aspects of engineering. Student clubs and groups from our college showcased several projects and technologies relating to their majors including: concrete canoe, flight simulator, ECG monitoring, rockets, robotics, steel bridge, etc. We also had a speaker, lead EECOM Flight Controller for all NASA Apollo missions, Sy Liebergot, share his own experience with the Apollo 13 crisis.
Many youth do not know of the wide range of opportunities in engineering fields ranging from environment to aerospace, biological processes to computers, buildings and bridges to engineering teaching programs and professional piloting. Some do not choose the engineering career path, because they want a career that will help people when in reality engineers help people just as much, if not more than many other professions. Just take a look at what is around you and you will see that engineers have touched nearly everything from the house you live in to your laptop to the clean water your drink. Also, engineering is not just for nerds. Anyone who has an aptitude for math and science should definitely consider becoming an engineer.
Our college’s motto is “Creating Tomorrow Today,” and right now our students are doing just that by learning the skills and gaining the knowledge necessary to become good and ethical engineers. There is a bright future for engineering ahead.
Cami Lyman is the ASUSU engineering senator.