UA Engineering Students Focus on Tucson Community During E-Week
University of Arizona Engineers Week, aka E-Week, is organized by the Engineering Student Council and takes place from Thursday, Feb. 16, through Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012.
In celebration of E-Week 2012, a weeklong series of competitive events run and organized by various engineering clubs, organizations, and societies within the UA College of Engineering will take place on and around campus and throughout the Tucson community. The UA event runs in parallel with National Engineers Week.
These events are part of the College's dedication to ensuring a diverse and well-educated engineering workforce by increasing the awareness of engineering and technology careers among all university students.
Engineering student clubs will be awarded points based on their participation and performance in each event, including community service and the many activities scheduled. At the end of the week, the top three teams will be awarded prizes of $500, $300 and $200, which will go towards funding initiatives in outreach, professional development, and increased membership.
"The competitions are a lot of fun, but our main focus this year is community outreach," said Jose Estrada, president of the Engineering Student Council. "We are urging clubs to get out into the community to demonstrate the benefits of an engineering education, and show how engineers improve society." The more community outreach the clubs do, added Estrada, the more points they are awarded toward their final tally.
Events include a regional Rube Goldberg competition in which student teams will design an elaborate contraption to perform a simple task. Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a Pulitzer-Prize-winning cartoonist, inventor and engineer whose comical inventions still influence popular culture. Movies such as Delicatessen, Back to the Future and Brazil feature Rube Goldberg machines, and Goldberg's inventions also inspired games such as Mousetrap.
"E-Week is a chance for students to have some fun while learning about engineering," said Jeff Goldberg, dean of the UA College of Engineering. He added that these student clubs show what engineers do on a daily basis and highlight the skills needed to study engineering. "The bottom line is that if your goal is to help people live better lives, then engineering is the perfect educational path to achieve that goal," Goldberg said.
E-Week also includes i-Expo, an industry career fair featuring about 40 local and national engineering and technology companies, and recruiters from the armed forces. They want to hire the best graduates in science, technology and engineering, and all UA students are encouraged to practice their elevator speeches and take their résumés.
Engineers Week 2012 Event Schedule
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 16-17
Fun Fest
The 9th annual Math-Science-Technology Fun Fest is a three-day math and science extravaganza held at the Tucson Convention Center. The Engineering Student Council and engineering organizations in the UA College of Engineering will be assisting and volunteering at this event.
Presented by: Engineering Student Council
Location: Tucson Convention Center
Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 17
Opening Ceremony
This opening ceremony will kick-off E-Week. UA College of Engineering Dean Jeff Goldberg will speak at this event.
Presented by: Engineering Student Council
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Old Engineering Building, 1127 E. North Campus, Tucson, AZ 85721
Saturday, February 18
Volleyball Tournament – To Kill a Blocking Nerd
Volleyball competition with a minimum of 6 people per team competing in a single-elimination tournament.
Presented by: Women in Science and Engineering
Time: noon - 3 p.m.
Location: Arizona-Sonora Volleyball Courts, 910 E. 5th Street, Tucson, AZ 85719
Sunday, February 19
Explore Tucson Scavenger Hunt
Organizations competing in this event will be given a list of items from around Tucson. Each team will have four hours to collect as many items as they can and bring them back to campus. Each item has a designated point value. When teams return, points will be tallied to determine the top three teams. Team size is capped at 6 people. There is no limit to the number of teams that can participate.
Presented by: Tau Beta Pi
Location: Old Engineering Building, 1127 E. North Campus, Tucson, AZ 85721
Time: noon - 4 p.m.
Monday, February 20
Engineering Got Talent Show
UA Engineers will compete with their classmates too find out which club has the most unique and awesome talent! All types of performers are welcome. Clubs will nominate a representative or a group to show the judges and the audience their talent, and the judges will score the performance based on originality, audience response, and overall talent.
Presented by: National Society of Black Engineers/Rube Goldberg Team
Time: 1 - 3 p.m.
Location: Old Engineering Building, 1127 E. North Campus, Tucson, AZ 85721, Room 214
Engineering Jeopardy
This is regular Jeopardy with a group twist, where teams of four players ask the questions to the answers provided. Points will be won or lost throughout the game based on the value of the question, the game ending in a final jeopardy question where all points may be wagered.
Presented by: American Institute of Chemical Engineers/Omega Chi Epsilon
Time: 4 - 6 p.m.
Location: Harshbarger Building Room 10, 1133 E. North Campus. Tucson, AZ 85721
Mr. & Mrs. Engineering Pageant
One male and one female student from each engineering student club will compete for prizes in a night of nerdy glamour! Judges from faculty and industry will make their decisions based on costumes, answers to questions, and poise.
Presented by: Society of Women Engineers
Time: 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Location: Gallagher Theater, Student Union Memorial Center
Tuesday, February 21
UA College of Engineering's 20th Annual iExpo
The University of Arizona's largest student-run career fair, the UA College of Engineering's 20th Annual iExpo is February 21, 2012 in the North Ballroom of the UA Student Union. iExpo 2012 provides industry and the government an opportunity to directly interact with UA students. This event provides the perfect opportunity for employers to speak personally with the best and brightest students the University of Arizona has to offer. Consistently drawing hundreds of engineering students, it is the largest engineering-specific recruiting event on campus.
Presented by: Engineering Student Council
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: North Ballroom, Student Union Memorial Center
Women in Engineering Dinner
This dinner is open to any women in the College of Engineering. It is a great opportunity for students to meet fellow women engineers.
Presented by: Society of Women Engineers
Time: 5 – 8 p.m.
Location: Old Main Multi-Purpose Room, 1200 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721
Wednesday, February 22
Parachute Drop Competition
Student teams will be provided with a variety of materials to construct a parachute system to deliver supplies from the AME bridge to a location in the courtyard below. Teams will be given a limited amount of time and will be judged based on the amount of material delivered and the distance the materials land from the specified target.
Presented by: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Time: 3 – 4 p.m.
Location: Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Courtyard, 1130 N. Mountain Ave., Tucson AZ 85721
Operation Water Supply Chain
Student teams of 3-4 members must move as much water as possible from one bucket to another in 10 minutes.
Presented by: IIE/INCOSE/EWB
Time: 4 - 5 p.m.
Location: Old Engineering Courtyard, 1127 E. North Campus, Tucson, AZ 85721
Pict-Charade-Tionary
It's students versus teachers in this competition, which involves picking an engineering term from a hat, then using Pictionary or charades to try to guess the term.
Presented by: Society of Automotive Engineers/American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Time: 6 - 7 p.m.
Location: TBA
Thursday, February 23
Da Vinci Tower
Teams experiment with different structures to determine which can handle the greatest load. Experiments help teams to further understand how compression and tension forces affect the strength of structures. Spaghetti cannot hold much tension or compression; therefore, it breaks very easily. The requirements for this competition is that the bridge must be a minimum of 10 inches, and the tower that holds the most weight wins.
Presented by: Society of Civil Engineers
Time: 10 - 11 a.m.
Location: Civil Engineering Courtyard, 1209 E. 2nd Street
Mini-Lean Workshop
The American Society of Engineering Management hosts a mini-lean workshop challenge to create the most efficient production line.
Presented by: American Society of Engineering Management
Time: 1 - 2 p.m.
Location: Mining Engineering Building, 1235 E. James E. Rogers Way, Room 15
Relays-in-SHPE
Teams compete in three initial events: a card tower, saltine whistle, and a toothpick puzzle. The fourth event will be a relay race.
Presented by: Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
Time: 5 - 6 p.m.
Location: Old Engineering Courtyard, 1127 E. North Campus, Tucson, AZ 85721
Friday, February 24
Design Challenge
Teams of 3-4 will be given supplies and in a set time asked to design a solution for a given problem. Judging will determine whose design performs the best.
Presented by: Engineering Student Council
Time: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: UA Mall
Food Drive for Casa Maria
Engineering student clubs contribute to the Casa Maria Food Drive 2012. The winning club is determined by food weight.
Presented by: Engineering Student Council
Time: noon - 4 p.m.
Location: UA Mall
Saturday, February 25
Western Regional Rube Goldberg Competition 2012
The annual Rube Goldberg machine contest brings the ideas of Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Rube Goldberg's invention cartoons to life. This "Olympics of Complexity" pulls students away from conventional problem solving and pushes them into the endless chaos of imagination and intuitive thought. The challenge is to pop a balloon.
Presented by: Theta Tau
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: Crowder Hall, 1017 E Olive Rd., Tucson, AZ 85719
E-Week 2012 Closing Ceremony
The official closing ceremonies of E-Week 2012, at which top-performing student engineering clubs are awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes. Best Website, Best Event and Best Outreach Event club award winners are also announced. Former Raytheon Vice President of Engineering Robert Lepore will be the keynote speaker at this closing ceremony.
Presented by: Engineering Student Council
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Crowder Hall, 1017 E Olive Rd., Tucson, AZ 85719