From bridges and roads to circuits and motors, the world we live in is largely the product of engineering. As a way of highlighting the contributions engineers make to society – and to encourage more young people to enter the field – the profession marks Engineers Week every year during the third week of February.
This year, the celebrations kicked off on February 16th. At Capitol College, student clubs are conducting a wide spectrum of activities, from rocket launches to paper plane throws to texting contests.
The week-long event has special significance at Capitol, which got its start as a radio and electronics institute in 1927. Although the college has grown and broadened since then, it retains a strong technology focus. Undergraduate degree programs include astronautical, computer, electrical, telecommunications and software engineering.
According to Melinda Bunnell-Rhyne, Dean of Student Life and Retention, the annual event provides an opportunity to showcase student organizations at Capitol. Even though the college is comparatively small, it is home to several active clubs and association chapters, including VelcroSat, oSTEM, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Women Engineers, and the recently relaunched Capitol Amateur Radio Club.
“Engineers Week is a great opportunity to celebrate the creativity of engineering with fun activities for students,” she said. “It is also an opportunity for our students to take leadership roles through student-charged activities. Students develop the ideas and plan the activities with support and guidance from faculty and staff.”
Amanda Shields is a senior completing a double degree in Electrical Engineering (EE) and Astronautical Engineering (AE), and a student organizer for Engineers Week.
“Engineers Week is important because it allows students to take engineering outside the classroom and see what real world applications it has. You can look at a project and say ‘wow, this is something I can do with the skills that I’ve learned’,” she said.
A member of the IEEE branch at Capitol, Shields helped put together activities such as Edible Engineering, held February 19th at the college’s Robotics Lab.
“We’re always told ‘don’t play with your food’,” Shields explained. “Well, at IEEE we like to build things, so we decided to say: go ahead and play with your food. Can you build a car with it? And can you make it stand on its own?”
Also linking food with engineering, oSTEM hosts a Pasta Bridge event on February 19th from 5 to 7pm at the Student Center. Participants are invited to test their skills and “build a bridge that not only covers an expanse of space, but is sturdy enough to drive across.”
VelcroSat members, meanwhile, will be busy creating a 'human satellite', with teams of students crossing a field to reach targets. The activity will take place on Thursday (February 20th) at the McGowan Center. All students, faculty and staff are invited to attend.
"Each person on the team has a specific task-- motion, sensing, acquiring, directing-- and no one person can do it all," explained Dr. Alex "Sandy" Antunes.
Engineers Week was launched in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), andscheduled to coincide with the birthday of George Washington – popularly considered the country’s first engineer due to his surveying work. Today it is observed by more than 70 engineering, education, and cultural societies, and more than 50 corporations and government agencies, according to the NSPE website.
Pictured: Kevin Byfield (left), Trinity Wallace (center), Anthony Lacilla. Photograph by Alexandra Davis.