Aiming To Connect With A Key Constituency, Engineers Week 2006 Launches Outreach To America ’s Middle School Teachers

Diligence, says an ancient proverb, is a great teacher. The engineering community will put that maxim to the test during Engineers Week 2006 with an extensive outreach to middle school teachers.

The new program,“Connecting Educators to Engineering,” will target up to 10,000 middle school teachers with a coordinated push to train engineers to directly interact with educators, provide needed learning materials, and create an online forum for educator and engineer interaction.

The Engineers Week 2006 co-chairs, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and Northrop Grumman Corporation, aim to build on the extensive record of other EWeek programs to connect with students from kindergarten through high school. The middle school years are a particularly prime time to reach students with math and science education so they are prepared for the high school courses necessary to pursue engineering in college.

The program’s agenda includes training sessions for engineers and engineering students on how best to work with teachers and others in middle school environments.

"The importance of reaching young people in seventh and eighth grades shouldn’t be underestimated," said Patricia Welesko Garland, Chair of Engineers Week 2006 activities, and a chemical engineer who is currently Combined Heat and Power Program Manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory based in Washington, D.C. "Students introduced to the potential and promise of engineering at this age have a much greater inclination to pursue it as a career in later years."

Engineers Week, a consortium of more than 100 professional and technical societies and major U.S. corporations, is slated for February 19-25, 2006 . The program aims to ensure 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. Now in its 56 th year, Engineers Week also raises public understanding and appreciation of engineers’ contributions to society and is among the oldest of America ’s professional outreach efforts.

Returning after a hiatus of a few years is Executive All Stars, in which corporate leaders across the country champion engineering and increased participation in Engineers Week in their respective states. The All Stars program will mobilize some of the profession’s most visible and media-friendly executives through public appearances, classroom visits, corporate lectures, and other Engineers Week initiatives.

The second annual Global Marathon For, By and About Women in Engineering is a 24-hour, around-the-clock Internet and teleconference event featuring up to 48 presentations and question and answer sessions from points originating around the globe. The Global Marathon, to be held in March at the Engineers Week web site – www.eweek.org – will heighten awareness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) issues among pre-college, college, and young career women, and address issues of concern such as retaining women in college engineering programs and the workplace.

Other popular EWeek programs returning in 2006 further underscore the profession's commitment to the world and the future.

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, in its sixth year, is targeted for Thursday, February 23, 2006 . "Girl Day" mobilizes thousands of women engineers – with support from their male counterparts – to mentor and share firsthand experiences of engineering to more than one million girls and young women each year. Engineers Week is also sponsoring a movie advertising campaign to assist local organizations sponsoring Girl Day programs to advertise their events in local theaters.

Girl Day 2006 will also mark the launch of a new book, Women Engineers: Extraordinary Stories of How They Changed Our World, the first project from the Extraordinary Women Engineers Project, a collaborative effort of more than 50 engineering organizations. More information on the program and how to get involved can be found at www.engineeringwomen.org.

New Faces of Engineering, in its fourth year, showcases rising young stars in the profession and includes engineers from around the world. By promoting contributions of young engineers and their benefits to people worldwide, New Faces provides stimulation and incentive for college-level students and encourages younger students to consider engineering careers. EWeek sponsoring societies nominate candidates age 30 and under from industry and academia – nominees must hold an engineering degree, be employed as an engineer from two to five years, and have been involved in projects that significantly impact public welfare or further professional development and growth. All New Faces are featured on www.eweek.org.

The National Engineers Week Future City Competition TM returns for its 14 th year, operating in 37 regional sites with 30,000 middle school students from more than 1,100 schools participating annually. The program provides insights into potential careers in engineering, math and science through hands-on applications and teamwork. Students build computer and 3-D scale models of cities of tomorrow under the guidance of teachers and volunteer engineer mentors, and present their designs before engineer judges at regional competitions in January. First place regional teams win a trip to Washington , D.C. for the National Finals, February 20-22, 2006 . Visit www.futurecity.org for more information.

The Engineers Week partnership with Engineers Without Borders - USA, spearheaded by 2005 EWeek co-chair ASME, continues with tsunami relief projects planned for India and Sri Lanka. Information on Engineers Without Borders can be found at www.ewb-usa.org.

The DiscoverE program provides educational materials to more than 45,000 engineers who work with five and a half million students and teachers in elementary through secondary schools each year through classroom visits and extracurricular programs. An addition to DiscoverE's 2006 program materials will be a multi-media activity guide developed from "Cyberchase," the PBS television program and web site. The guide, entitled “Cyberchase: Math in Science and Engineering,” includes activities for kids, a CD-ROM with handouts and graphics, and a DVD with the Cyberchase episodes on which the activities are based.

Foreign language translations of educational program materials are also available at www.eweek.org. The site currently includes materials in Spanish, with French, German, Mandarin, and Portuguese to be added in late 2005.

The National Academy of Engineering (www.nae.edu) presents its annual awards, including the $500,000 Draper Prize, on Tuesday, February 21 in Washington. The Chinese Institute of Engineers - USA (www.cie-usa.org) will announce the fifth annual Asian American Engineer of the Year Award, recognizing outstanding Asian American professionals in academe, public service, and corporations, on Saturday, February 25 in Seattle.

Engineers Week-sponsored Internet sites include the Sightseers Guide to Engineering (www.engineeringsights.org), with information on engineering marvels in all 50 states, and www.discoverengineering.org, an engineering resource for middle school students with links to educational, professional, and corporate sites. Information on all Engineers Week programs and events can be found at www.eweek.org.

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