The Observer, February 25, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 19
E-Week emphasizes engineer's role in world
Dedicated to the importance and influence of engineering in the real world, Case celebrated National Engineers Week this week with a program of events. Students and faculty attended activities and lectures throughout the week to further their knowledge of the different aspects of engineering.
Though titled Engineers Week, all students from every major were encouraged to attend. "The theme this year is basically how engineering relates to the rest of the world so we planned for speakers and events that are relatable to everyone, not just engineers," said Greg Barendt, president of the Case Engineers Council (CEC).
The week kicked off Sunday with the Engineering Challenges Carnival, held in Adelbert Gym. The carnival was open to the public and mainly geared towards middle and high school students from the surrounding communities.
With booths featuring different science games and hands-on experiments created by various engineering organizations at Case, the carnival entertained and educated a few hundred participants throughout the day.
Among the organizations present was the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), whose members hosted a table that allowed participants to build bridges and different structures using toothpicks and gumdrops.
"This activity places emphasis on the geometry of the different structures that can be built. In general, the carnival is for children throughout the community and – through these experiments and activities – they can see that the things they learn in school can actually be fun and applied to the real world," SWE president senior Paula Nichter said.
In addition to SWE, other organizations present at the carnival were Tau Beta Pi, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronauts, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Attendees at the carnival were also able to sign up for lab tours. Participants were given tours of the wind tunnel within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, the biologically-inspired robotics laboratory, and the civil engineering department's earthquake simulation table.
The week continued with a seminar series that presented topics relating engineering to health, medicine, law, business, music, and art. Along with the seminars, Engineers Week also included an engineering career panel and luncheon sponsored by SWE in which Denise Nemchev, president of Stanley Industrial Tools, discussed "Learning and Leading in Global Business."
"We tried to pick speakers who represented all aspects of engineering and could touch upon all the different disciplines of engineering," Barendt said.
Two major events, the High School LEGO Robot Competition and the Engineers Week Banquet, were held yesterday. The robot competition was held in Thwing and attended by students from 22 different Northeast Ohio high schools. The contest featured a race between two robots at a time going "head-to-head" in an arena. The robots, with light sensors programmed by the students, raced as quickly as possible to reach the brighter of two randomly lighted sections of the arena wall.
Later in the day, students, promoters, and faculty attended the signature event, a reception and dinner at the Engineers Week Banquet, at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel in Tower City Center. The banquet also featured Richard N. Herring, executive director of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), as guest speaker.
"We thought that a speaker from EWB would fit in really well with our theme this year, which is about engineering and the world," banquet organizer David Pudwill said. "EWB shows how engineering can have an impact on the world and international relations. Also, EWB is relevant especially to Case because this is an organization that is active here on campus."
The founder of EWB, Dr. Bernard Amadei, was originally scheduled to speak at the banquet. However, the plans changed last week when Amadei could not make the banquet due to a time conflict.
A few events are still coming up in the next two days. The High School Model Bridge Building Competition and the Battery Powered Car Competition are being hosted starting at 12:30 p.m. today at Adelbert Gym.
Engineers Week will conclude tomorrow with the Northeast Ohio Regional Science Olympiad. Thirty-six teams representing 30 different middle and high schools will compete throughout the day in numerous science and engineering events. Winners of the Olympiad have the ultimate goal of qualifying for state and national competitions.
Activities and events throughout the week were hosted and sponsored by SWE, the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, the Department of Civil Engineering, the Career Center, and corporate sponsor Accenture.
