By M. Abraham
Join the engineering students of UCLA to sample liquid nitrogen ice cream, view a robotics demo, check out model steel bridges capable of supporting the weight of a full-grown adult, and cheer during a tug-of-war between faculty, staff and students, as well as a wide variety of other educational and fun demonstrations during Engineers Week, or E-Week, to be held on campus from April 10-14.
Coordinated by the Engineering Society of the University of California (ESUC), E-Week showcases the value of engineering in an accessible way, with activities open to everyone on campus. Egg dropping contests share space with water filtration systems that can be set up in remote locations, and robots are contrasted with a pie-eating contest and a scavenger hunt. Some familiar student projects also will be on view, including concrete canoes and electronic racecars.
Activities are created, organized and carried out by student members from a number of engineering organizations in collaboration with the Engineering Society. Throughout the week, engineering students will be applying the lessons learned in the classroom through hands-on displays, games and exhibition-style demonstrations. Organizers hope to familiarize the campus with the engineering profession and its place in today’s technological world.
E-Week events will be held in UCLA’s Court of Sciences daily from 11 am until 2 p.m.
E-Week began as a national event in 1951, becoming a regular event at UCLA in the early 1960s. While National E-Week is held every February to celebrate George Washington’s birthday (America’s first president had a background in engineering and land surveying), UCLA traditionally holds its E-Week in the Spring Quarter.
For more information about E-Week, visit ESUC’s website at www.esuc.ucla.edu.