National Engineers Week 2005 will be celebrated February 20-26. Feel free to forward this letter or contents to other interested parties.

Contents:
1. All Out for Girl Day 2006
2. Fast Facts
3. New DVD Now Available
4. Welcome New Partners

1.  All Out for Girl Day 2006
With a sharpened focus on diversifying the ranks of engineering, the sixth annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day will be an all-out effort for 2006.

"Girl Day," as it's known among engineers, is one of the most crucial components of EWeek outreach. Women engineers, with help from their male counterparts, are planning to reach as many as one million girls through workshops, tours, speaking engagements, on-line discussions and a host of other activities aimed at showing that engineering is an important career option for everyone.
Though billed as a one-day event on February 23, Girl Day actually kicks off a year of activities, including:

• The "Global Marathon For, By and About Women in Engineering" running continuously from Noon (EST) Thursday, March 23 through Noon (EST) Friday, March 24. Dozens of presentations and question and answer sessions originating from points around the globe will heighten awareness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics issues among pre-college, college, and young career women, and examine issues such as retaining women in college engineering programs and the workplace.

• The launch of a new book, "Women Engineers: Extraordinary Stories of How They Changed Our World," from the Extraordinary Women Engineers Project. More information on the book, how to get involved with EWEP, and the full EWEP report, can be found online..

• An advertising campaign to assist organizations sponsoring Girl Day programs to advertise their events in movie theaters. 

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2.  Fast Facts:

• Engineers, scientists and advance-degree technologists make up only five percent of America's 132-million-person workforce, yet more than half of America's sustained growth over the past 50 years has come from this sector.
• Less than 15 percent of U.S. high school students have the prerequisite courses to pursue a scientific or technical degree in college.
• Only 5.5 percent of high school seniors plan to pursue an engineering degree.
• Women account for 55 percent of all undergraduates, yet only 20 percent of engineering undergraduates.
• Women make up 46 percent of the total workforce, yet only 24 percent of the jobs in engineering, science and technology.
• Approximately ten percent of engineers nationwide are women.

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3.  New DVD now available
A fast-paced introduction to the wonders of modern engineering, “Ask an Engineer” follows several youngsters as they explore subway systems, an electric power plant, an aquarium, and more.  The visits include a diverse selection of engineers explaining how things work.  Produced by the Sciencenter in Ithaca, NY, the seven-minute program is recommended for grades 6-8. Each DVD is $5 and can be ordered through the Engineers Week catalog.

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4.  Welcome new partners
The National Engineers Week Foundation would like to acknowledge new corporate partners for the 2006 campaign. They are Symantec and General Dynamics.

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To submit content or comments, or to be added to our email distribution list, please e-mail eweek@nspe.org. All suggestions will be considered.

Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, Engineers Week ( February 19-25, 2006) 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.

Previous issues of the EWEEK ENEWS available here.

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