2008 Engineers Week resources are online

The focus on Engineers Week 2008 is to call attention to the importance of engineering as a career and its impact on everyday life. As part of the programs scheduled for February 17-23, sponsors have created a number of online tools engineers and employers can use in their own community to reach out to prospective engineering students.

By Plant Engineering Staff January 11, 2008

The focus on Engineers Week 2008 is to call attention to the importance of engineering as a career and its impact on everyday life. As part of the programs scheduled for February 17-23, sponsors have created a number of online tools engineers and employers can use in their own community to reach out to prospective engineering students.

One focus is on diversity. The New Faces in Engineering program celebrates the diversity that already exists in engineering while encouraging others to consider engineering as a career choice.

Other Engineers Week programs have information available online, including:

The “Global Marathon For, By and About Women in Engineering,” a 24-hour Internet and teleconference event scheduled for March 20-21 at the Engineers Week web site — www.eweek.org . Created by the National Engineers Week Foundation in 2005, the Global Marathon is co-sponsored by Lenovo and Verizon Business.

The 16th annual National Engineers Week Future City Competition™. Each year, more than 30,000 middle school students at more than 1,100 schools across the country use hands-on applications and teamwork to create computer and large tabletop scale models that represent their visions of cities of tomorrow. For more information, go to www.futurecity.org .

The eighth annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, Thursday, Feb. 21. Thousands of women engineers — with support from their male colleagues — mentor and share firsthand experiences of engineering to more than one million girls and young women on “Girl Day” and throughout the year.

The National Academy of Engineering ( www.nae.edu ) presents its annual awards, including the $500,000 Draper Prize, and the 2008 Founders and Arthur M. Bueche Awards at a gala dinner in Washington on Tuesday, Feb. 19. The annual Asian American Engineer of the Year Awards, sponsored by the Chinese Institute of Engineers-USA ( www.cie-usa.org ) will recognize outstanding Asian American professionals in academe, public service and corporations.

Engineers Week-sponsored web sites include the Sightseers Guide to Engineering ( www.engineeringsights.org ), consistently updated with new information on engineering marvels in all 50 states, and www.discoverengineering.org , an engineering resource for middle school students.

Information on all Engineers Week programs and events can be found at www.eweek.org .