EWeek

EWeek 2009 ENews #3 – January 9, 2009

Engineers Week 2008 will be celebrated February 17 – 23, and is co-chaired by the Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE)–USA and IBM Corporation. Feel free to forward this letter or contents to other interested parties.

Contents:
1. One Million Hours
2. Engineer Your Life
3. Get Your Materials
4. January, Month of Future City 'Madness'
5. Girl Day
6. In Local News

1. One Million Hours

Help show the world the power of engineer volunteers! Visit http://www.eweek.org/ and learn about the One Million Hours Initiative. Every day engineers and engineering students volunteer their time to help inspire and inform students, educators, and others in their communities. Through eweek.org you'll find the million hours portal to record your service. Our goal is to reach one million hours in calendar year 2009. Each time you volunteer to inspire, inform, or assist in science, technology, engineering, or math education, come back and add to the site.

2. Engineer Your Life

Engineer Your Life (EYL) – the movement to interest college-bound high school girls in engineering – will participate in two dozen college outreach fairs starting February 5 in Pittsburgh. The fairs feature college admissions and resource experts for high school students, counselors and parents. The National Engineers Week Foundation serves as the EYL Secretariat and is seeking volunteers to host the EYL tables at these fairs. All materials and exhibit fees are sponsored by EYL. There are even handouts that can be branded by your organization! See the full schedule of fairs here and if you can volunteer in your area, contact us at engineeringwomen@eweek.org. Below are comments from engineer volunteers who have participated in fairs already.

From Washington, D.C. – "Even though the EYL message is specifically targeted to young women, we spoke to plenty of young men who were also seeking information about engineering studies and careers. And many adults were interested in contacting you about having a presence at their career days and college days."

From Minneapolis –"I had a great time at the college fair. I met a lot of interested high school students and even more interested parents."

From Springfield, Massachusetts – "The Engineer Your Life program is, simply put, an amazing thing."

3. Get Your Materials

Volunteer planning kits are in stock and they are free! Visit the Engineers Week Online Store at www.eweek.org. The kits include a new poster, ideas for organizing community events, and information about what's happening nationally and even globally for Engineers Week 2009 and beyond. Check out the NEW Engineers Make It Work shirts.

4. January, Month of Future City 'Madness'

You don't have to wait for March for the Madness to begin. The National Engineers Week Future City™ Competition regional play-offs begin January 10th with the North Carolina and (central) Pennsylvania contests, followed by Michigan on the 14th. Engineers, educators, and students also compete on January 17 in Alabama, Florida (Miami), Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, New England, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. Check out all sites and find coordinators on the Future City web site.

5. Girl Day

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day™ 2009 is February 19th . A planning kit with an all-new graphic is available free!! Girl Day is a great way to draw attention to engineering as an interesting and rewarding career for young women. Sign the Pledge Roster and check out all the 'Engineering Women' projects at http://www.eweek.org/EngineersWeek/EngineeringWomen.aspx

6. In Local News

In Garland, Texas, Raytheon hosts multiple EWeek activities, including guest speakers on campus, MathMovesU events, Visioneering, Introduce a Girl to Engineering, Wii competitions, engineering awards luncheons, and much more.

One popular program is the Engineering Shadow Program. Middle or high school students "shadow" engineers and scientists to answer the proverbial question "what do you do all day?" The professionals talk about engineering disciplines, how he or she chose their own discipline, and what skills are needed to be successful. Volunteers and their shadows sometimes exchange information and stay in contact. The engineers often check up on the students to see how they are doing in school, offer encouragement, etc. Students are selected via a school or group of students recently recognized in the community (i.e. local newspaper or other) for a significant achievement. Often, teachers decide who participates.

At this Raytheon site employees have also adopted middle and high schools throughout the year and established a group of engineers to regularly tutor students in math and science. The tutoring is ongoing, but Engineers Week kicks off the activity. Contact is Merridith Simpson at mdsimpson@raytheon.com

Joe Carson in Knox County, Tennessee, will use the One Million Hours Initiative to promote and reinforce Vols4STEM, a tool for STEM employers, educators, and others in the greater Knoxville area. Carson reports that Dr. Thom Mason, the Lab Director at Oak Ridge National Lab as well as Chair of Innovation Valley and of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Educational Foundation, plans to facilitate 5000 hours of volunteer time in 2009.

IBM at Epcot in Florida is expanding outreach and inviting 600 inner- city school children to their site for hands-on Engineers Week fun. These children would otherwise never have a chance to participate in such a program, let alone visit Epcot. The program on February 17th and 19th will include engineering-oriented activities/experiments presented by professionals and senior engineering students. Contact is Michelle Hallemeier at MichellH@us.ibm.com.

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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 .