EWeek

EWeek 2009 ENews #7 – February 13, 2009

"While we all recognize the week of February 15–21 as the official Engineers Week, it's important to remember that spreading the word about how "engineers make a world of difference" can, and should, be a year-long effort. Together we can make a difference; we can improve the public image of engineers, and encourage future generations of engineers along the way." Kathryn A. Gray, P.E., F.NSPE, Chair EWeek 2009

"This coalition is dedicated to working collaboratively to sustaining and growing a dynamic engineering profession by ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce." Craig R. Barrett, Intel Chairman and 2009 Engineers Week Honorary Chair.

Feel free to forward this letter or contents to other interested parties.

Contents:
1. U.S. House of Representatives Affirms Support for Engineers
2. Mini-Page Features Engineers Week
3. You Tube and Girl Day
4. Million Hours Campaign Makes Gains
5. Washington DC is Venue for Future City Finals
6. Federal Engineer of the Year
7. In Local News

1. U.S. House of Representatives Affirms Support for Engineers
On February 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Res. 117, which supports the goals and ideals of National Engineers Week, by a vote of 422 to 0. The resolution was introduced by the Research and Science Education Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), who holds engineering degrees from Northwestern University and Stanford University. Read the full resolution.

2. Mini-Page Features Engineers Week
Check your local paper February 14-20! Appearing in over 500 newspapers weekly, THE MINI PAGE has devoted its current issue to a celebration of Engineers Week and Engineers: Making Our Lives Better, and even includes an interview with one of the New Faces of Engineering. THE MINI PAGE is a syndicated, 4-page feature for children, teachers, and parents – and anyone who wants to learn a little while having a lot of fun – and is published by the Universal Press Syndicate.

3. You Tube and Girl Day
Those participating in Girl Day events should post their blogs, videos and images at:
www.youtube.com/eweekgirlday
You can also go to Facebook and find Eweek pages there.

4. Million Hours Campaign Makes Gains
As Engineers Week approaches, we are already able to report 10,000 hours of volunteer service recorded through the 'One Million Hours Initiative.' Thank you to those volunteers who have added their time to our count. We hope that this coming week and through this year you will report your time and help us show the world how much engineers do! Working with Boy Scouts? Tell us! Judging a science fair? Tell us. Have a student shadowing you on the job? Tell us. You can tell us at www.eweek.org.

5. Washington DC is Venue for Future City Finals
Starting tomorrow, February 14, 38 National Engineers Week Future City Competition teams, including students, teachers and mentors, come to Washington to compete for the national champion title. The 38 are the winners of regional contests. The finals are sponsored by Bentley Systems. Washington, D.C. seems an especially appropriate venue for the nationals. "In his Inaugural Address, President Obama called on the nation to apply science and technology for the betterment of the nation and the world," said Gameward C. Quan, Southern California Future City Regional Coordinator. "The President's vision of our future begins in places and programs like this, where young minds and spirits are encouraged to dream of the things that will transform the lives of all the inhabitants of this planet."

6. Federal Engineer of the Year
Of the 91,000 federally employed engineers identified by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, a select 23 were nominated to win a Federal Engineer of the Year Award (FEYA) and on February 19 one of 10 finalists will be selected for the award. Presented by the National Society of Professional Engineers and now in its 30th year, this award is the only one of its kind to solely recognize outstanding engineers employed in the federal government. The FEYA winner will be announced during a ceremony on February 19 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. To see the list of finalists , click here

7. In Local News
Tell us what you're doing. Post news of your events at http://www.eweek.org/site/forums/forums.asp?ForumSection=1 and you may find yourself in an upcoming enews.

Thank you Pittsburgh! Recently engineer volunteers represented 'Engineer Your Life,' the campaign to interest college-bound high school girls in engineering, at a college fair there. The fair was sponsored by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Volunteers' employers included Carnegie Mellon University, CH2M HILL, Michael Baker Corporation, US Army Corps of Engineers and GAI Consultants. You don't have to be in a city hosting a fair to take advantage of EYL materials. See www.engineeryourlife.org.

The San Francisco Unified School District has notified its advisory board about Engineers Week and the resources available at www.eweek.org.

Fluor engineers will visit various schools around the South California Offices (Irvine, Aliso Viejo and Long Beach) to educate middle school students in engineering! This will hopefully create an interest in the engineering world!

University of Florida in Gainesville has a solid week of EWeek events, activities, contests for all ages. Includes socials, a dance, golf tournament, science fair, soccer tournament. See the EWeek forum for details.

Engineers' Council at the School of Engineering and Applied Science of The George Washington University, Washington, DC, celebrates with week-long events, including a blood drive, penny wars, mini-baja vehicles, paper airplanes and penny boats, egg drops and many other contests, demonstrations and competitions. See the EWeek forum for details.

Discover Engineering - Family Fun Day at The Clay Center in Charleston, West Virginia, on Saturday, February 21, 2009, 11:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m., opens early just for registered Girl Scouts at 9 a.m.! Theme this year is Go Green!

melissa.thompson@mail.wvu.edu or lferguson@theclaycenter.org

Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, has a full week of events planned, February 16 19 For more information, http://www.dess.eng.fau.edu/pdf/ads/eweek09.pdf .

Seven engineering societies are combining their members and resources to host EWEEK 2009 activities during 15-21 FEB in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The societies are SAME, SWE, ASCE. ASME, IEEE, ANS, and MES. The SAME-Vicksburg Post is the lead society in 2009.

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The National Engineers Week Foundation coalition comprises more than 75 engineering, professional, and technical societies and more than 50 corporations and government agencies. The coalition is dedicated to sustaining and growing a dynamic engineering profession by ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce, increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers among young students, and promoting pre-college literacy in math and science. Among the oldest of America's professional outreach efforts, the coalition also raises public understanding and appreciation of engineering contributions to society through year-round innovative programming and celebration.

Previous issues of the EWEEK ENEWS available here .