EWeek

Febuary 19, 2004

National Engineers Week 2004 will be celebrated February 22-28. The 2004 program is chaired by IEEE/IEEE-USA and Fluor Corporation. This is the tenth in a series of e-newsletters that will inform you of products and programs. But, the best way to keep current is to periodically visit http://www.eweek.org.

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Contents:
1. Connecting the World
2. Engineers Week Hits the Radio Waves
3. From Earth to Mars: Students Engineer Future Cities that Might Actually Work
4. Slime and Smashed Bananas on the Menu
5. We Couldn’t Do it Without You

1. Connecting the World
On February 23, the world’s first truly international web-based dialogue among engineering students, young professionals, and business leaders – “Connecting the World to Engineering” – will launch at www.eweek.org as part of Engineers Week 2004. “Connecting” is spearheaded by the Fluor Corporation, co-chair of 2004 National Engineers Week along with The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)/ IEEE-USA.

Designed specifically to encourage and maintain career interest for engineering undergraduates, “Connecting” underscores two powerful trends in the profession: the expanding global marketplace of ideas and the Internet as the preferred vehicle for sharing those ideas. While many engineering societies already host professional and technical forums, “Connecting” is the first to link business, academia, and engineering disciplines from around the globe.

“Connecting” offers two main components: Web-based forums and live teleconferences. The forums launch on February 23 and continue through the year, addressing a variety of engineering disciplines and issues, each moderated by a leading professional in that specialty. Forums will range from broad technical topics – for example, systems engineering and HVAC & R engineering -- to professional topics like licensure and ethics and women in engineering to specialized topics like engineering for sustainability, naval engineering and architecture, and future careers in manufacturing engineering.

Part Two of "Connecting" involves a series of teleconferences hosted by prominent corporate leaders that delve into the latest issues and developments. The corporations will partner with engineering societies and their student sections and with engineering schools throughout the world. The first teleconference, on February 24, features Alan Boeckmann, chairman and CEO of Fluor, addressing "Engineering in the 21st Century." Joseph V. Lillie, of IEEE-USA and National Engineers Week 2204 Chairman, will serve as moderator. The teleconference will engage students from the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; University of Pretoria, South Africa; Texas A&M University, USA; and University of Surrey, Great Britain.

Boeckmann will cover the emergence of a globalized engineering workforce from the integration of systems, its implications for tomorrow's engineering professionals, and the skill sets required to be a successful engineer in the 21st Century. Boeckmann will also offer personal perspective on how he grew from an electrical engineer to become the leader of one of the industry's most prestigious companies. Following his presentation, students will be able to ask questions and participate in a discussion. A transcript will be available at www.eweek.org approximately one week later.

2. Engineers Week Hits the Radio Waves
Joe Lillie of IEEE and National Engineers Week 2004 Chairman, will be interviewed by more than a dozen radio stations across the U.S. for Engineers Week. Stations in Boston, Detroit, Miami, Seattle, Phoenix, West Palm Beach, Albany, Brownsville, Toledo, Gainesville, and Colorado Springs plan to air live interviews. A number of stations will tape interviews for later broadcast, including a National Public Radio affiliate in Albany. WAMC-FM will tape an interview with Lillie and representatives of the Society of Women Engineers and Engineers Week’s Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day program for a program called “The Best of Our Knowledge.” For a more detailed list of radio interviews, see www.eweek.org.

3. From Earth to Mars: Students Engineer Future Cities that Might Actually Work
As NASA's six-wheeled rovers prowl the Martian surface and America considers sending manned missions to Mars, some students in the 2004 National Engineers Week Future City Competition are one step ahead. They've planned for the planet's first colony. And, if their computer-generated and three-dimensional model is any indication, it just might work. "There's a lot going on with Mars right now, what with the Rover and all," says 14-year-old Robert Caruso from St. Barnabas Catholic School in Chicago. His team placed first in that city's recent regional competition and won a trip to the Future City National Finals, February 23-25, in Washington, D.C.

Winning teams from 33 regional competitions will meet at the finals, hosted by Bentley Systems, Incorporated, where students present and defend their cities before a panel of judges. More than 1,100 middle schools and 30,000 students - who work with a teacher and a volunteer engineer mentor - participated in the not-for-profit educational program this year. Teaching students to hone the skills that solve real-world problems is at the core of Future City. In addition to their computer design, model, oral presentation, and abstract, the students must also research and write an essay on an engineering challenge. For 2004, the topic is using plastics to help senior citizens live a better life in the future. This year's essay challenge is sponsored by the American Plastics Council. For more information, visit www.futurecity.org.

4. Slime and Smashed Bananas on the Menu
On February 28, DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware, will sponsor "Engineering Your Tomorrow." The program will introduce approximately 150 Girl Scouts in middle school, to engineering and science careers through a fun, hands-on day of activities relating to science and engineering. Approximately 60 DuPont women engineers and scientists will host the event, tying fun activities (making slime, smashing LN2 frozen bananas, egg bungee jumping, etc.) to "real" science and engineering (making polymers, properties of materials, etc.). On February 25 a woman engineer from Dupont will speak to University of Delaware women in engineering.

The local Society of Women Engineers and American Society of Mechanical Engineers will run a Girl Scout Badge workshop for 150 Junior Girl Scouts February 21 at the Discovery Center for Science and Technology in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The engineers will also demonstrate and create “Mysterious Mechanisms.” Contact Kathy Kinsey, kinseyko@airproducts.com

The Society of Women Engineers at the Rochester, New York, Institute of Technology holds an overnight shadow program. High school juniors stay overnight in the dorms, attend a class, and participate in several hands-on lab activities. The final activity is a competitive team design project where the participants solve an open-ended problem. This year, through a grant from ASME's Partners in Mechanical Engineering, SWE will include an introduction to mentoring. Area professional women engineers have been invited to join the group at a luncheon during which topics about the importance of mentoring will be addressed.

5.We Couldn’t do it Without You
Sponsors make it happen. We appreciate the support of Amgen, DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund, and Motorola.

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Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, National Engineers Week (February 22-28, 2004) is celebrated annually by thousands of engineers, engineering students, teachers, and leaders in government and business. In 1988, the National Engineers Week consortium expanded its scope and now includes more than 100 engineering, scientific, and education societies and major corporations dedicated to enhancing the public understanding of the engineering profession and to promoting pre-college interest in math, science, and engineering as a career option.

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