Vitality and diversity move front and center for National Engineers Week 2003 with the launch of The New Faces of Engineering, a new program spotlighting the outstanding contributions of America's youngest engineers. For the past several years, National Engineers Week activities have targeted students in an effort to expand the potential ranks of "the engineers of tomorrow." The New Faces of Engineering program extends those efforts by showcasing the exciting new talents that epitomize the dynamic innovations and advancements that are engineering.

Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers and sponsored by more than 100 engineering, scientific, and education societies and major corporations, National Engineers Week is dedicated to increasing public awareness and appreciation of engineers and to encouraging precollege interest in science, technology, and engineering. National Engineers Week is celebrated annually by thousands of engineers, engineering students, teachers, and leaders in government and business. Co-chairs for National Engineers Week 2003 are the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and Lockheed Martin.

"We want to provide stimulation and incentive for college students," explains Donald Colliver, Ph.D., P.E., president of ASHRAE. "The New Faces will reflect the broad spectrum of engineering today, including women and underrepresented minorities, and let the next generation of engineers 'see' where their degrees might take them."

Nominations were received for engineers in industry and academia through engineering societies on the National Engineers Week Committee. 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. Sixteen outstanding individuals will be featured in USA Today during National Engineers Week and in a poster distributed to young students. All nominees will be included on the EWeek website at www.eweek.org.

Along with New Faces, ZOOM™ into Engineering, an educational program aimed at 6- to 11-year-olds and designed in conjunction with the popular PBS television show "ZOOM," returns for National Engineers Week 2003. Engineers use the program at schools, libraries, technology museums, and other public venues with the help of a ZOOM into Engineering toolkit containing an activity guide, CD-ROM, and video. The program offers intriguing glimpses into the world of engineering with simple and fun experiments, insights on teaching, and tips on how to organize workshops and events. 

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, now in its third year, also returns. So far, an estimated two million girls have participated. Supported by more than 100 organizations, who hope to mobilize at least 10,000 women engineers, along with their male colleagues, the goal for 2003 is to reach another one million girls. Planned for February 20, 2003, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is led by the National Engineers Week co-chairs, along with Agilent Technologies, Inc., the Elizabeth and Stephen Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, CH2M HILL, Girl Scouts USA, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network (WEPAN). SWE plans to send out more than 1,000 volunteers in the program. 
Other important National Engineers Week activities include:

• The National Engineers Week Future City Competition™, now in its 11th year, expands to 31 regions across America: Albany (New York), Buffalo, Northern California, Southern California, Chicago, Colorado, South Florida, Hampton Roads (Virginia), Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Las Vegas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New York City, North Carolina, Northern Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Omaha, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Texas-Fort Worth/Dallas, Texas-Houston, Washington, D.C., and Washington State. The competition asks middle school students, working under the guidance of teachers and volunteer engineers, to build computer and three-dimensional scale models of cities of tomorrow. They must also defend their designs to a panel of engineer judges at the competition and research and write essays. Students begin in the fall and compete in regional competitions in January. Winners then go to national finals in Washington on February 17-19. For more information, visit www.futurecity.org.
• National Engineers Week also supports the "Sightseers Guide to Engineering" at www.engineeringsights.org, which debuted February 2001. The site, created by the National Society of Professional Engineers, celebrates engineering in all 50 states and encourages public recognition of engineering achievements and understanding of their importance in everyday life. It also welcomes additional entries.
• The National Academy of Engineering will present the annual $500,000 Charles Stark Draper Prize, the profession's highest honor for engineering achievement and innovation, and the biennial Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize, also worth $500,000, at a black-tie dinner on Tuesday, February 18. For more information on these prizes, visit www.nae.edu/awards.
• Engineering and the emergency room will be the focus of a special National Engineers Week event to be held Saturday, February 8, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The event, titled "Visioneering: Designing the Future" will be broadcast nationwide to up to eight million students on February 21 on Cable ChannelOne in conjunction with National Engineers Week. The event is sponsored by the SMU School of Engineering and The Institute for Engineering Education at SMU and co-sponsored by Accenture and Texas Instruments. Other sponsors include Tyco Electronics, Austin Industries, EDS, EXE Technologies, Esoftsolutions, HKS Architects, Methodist Hospitals, National Engineers Week, Cable ChannelOne and The Science Place. For more information, visit www.theinstitute.smu/visioneering.html.
• The NSPE Federal Engineer of the Year Award will be announced at a banquet luncheon on February 20 at the National Press Club.
• The Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE/USA), which joined National Engineers Week as a sponsor in 2002, will announce the Asian American Engineer of the Year at an award banquet in Dallas on Saturday, February 22. Dr. Leo Esaki of IBM and Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien of the University of California-Berkeley shared the award in 2002.
• www.discoverengineering.org, a Web site developed, sponsored, and launched during National Engineers Week 1999 by that year's co-chair, Eastman Chemical Company, educates middle school students with information about what engineers do and how to become one. The site, praised by the Los Angeles Times and Newsday, among others, offers comprehensive information on the engineering of nine "cool things" -- including CD players, roller coasters, high performance sporting goods, and cars -- background on careers in engineering, games, downloadables, and hundreds of links to corporations, engineering societies, and other resources. The site received additional support this year from Tokyo Electron (TEL).
• A Drive-Time Radio Tour will highlight the New Faces in Engineering program, ZOOM into Engineering, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, and the Future City Competition in dozens of cities across the country.
• Discover "E," a nationwide program of 40,000 engineers helping more than five million elementary, junior and senior high school students discover practical applications of math, science and technology with hands-on activities through school and extracurricular programs.
• Engineering Goes Public where hundreds of libraries, science/technology centers, engineering project sites, and local malls -- in conjunction with the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the Junior Engineering Technical Society -- host Engineering Day to educate the public during National Engineers Week.