Engineers Week 2010

Engineering students brought back with vigor Engineers Week this year in the true spirit of a tradition that once hallowed the halls of the College of Engineering.

There were no “Egg Drop Contests” held from the top of the engineering building roof, but the new activities such as “Faculty Appreciation Day” succeeded in invoking the camaraderie between teachers and students that pervaded the college in its earlier days.

Engineers, professional and aspiring, across the country recently celebrated the engineering profession during National Engineers Week, Feb. 14 through 20. The week-long celebration recognizes the accomplishments of engineers, increases public awareness and encourages the study of science, technology, engineering and math.

Engineers Week, or E-Week, is usually held during either the week of George Washington’s birthday (Feb. 22), or the week of President’s Day (Feb. 15) to honor the first president of the United States who is also considered to be the first U.S. engineer.

At Wayne State, E-Week began on Monday with Faculty Appreciation Day. Engineering faculty members were honored with letters and emails, thank you cards and cookies, and even visits from their students. Engineering Student and Faulty Board (ESFB) President Vanda Ametlli says it wasn’t easy trying to reach so many teachers, but it was worth it.

“My favorite part of E-week was the Faculty Appreciation Day,” she says. “While we were not able to find every faculty member in their office, we had a great response and welcoming attitude from faculty. It was exciting to see how surprised faculty members were and knowing that we made them feel appreciated even if it was for a day.”

Engineering students also showed their appreciation by voting for the “Most Influential Teacher,” who was announced on Wednesday at the Meet the College Luncheon. The award went to Carol Miller, department chair, civil engineering; and Abhilash Pandya, assistant professor, electrical and computer engineering.

Miller says it feels wonderful to be acknowledged by students. “I hope that I can be influential in a very positive ways — certainly teaching, research, and university activities are very important to me – but, I hope I can be influential in ways beyond those.”

Several other events were held throughout the week, including: the painting of the “Spirit Rock” on Gullen Mall, the 2nd Annual Engineers Mardi Gras Celebration (hosted by the Society of Hispanic and Professional Engineers and the Institute of Industrial Engineers), a General Motors Career Day, an icebreaker and various workshops and games.

Mumtaz Usman, interim dean of the College of Engineering, says Engineering Week at Wayne State was a great success, which is good for everyone. “Engineering is a profession which is not known well by the general public,” he says, “The work of engineers provides a quality of life for all of us. It is important that the engineering profession is made more visible through the activities conducted by the colleges and professional societies. Thus, the profession gets to be better understood and appreciated.”

Ametlli says last year’s Mardi Gras was the only event celebrated in honor of E-Week 2009. “It was great to see we had so many activities planned this year,” she says. “The Mardi Gras was celebrated with pizza, a fun crossword puzzle, music and of course Paczkis. The event had over 100 students participating.”

It has been a long time coming for Ametlli to see Engineers Week on campus. Ametlli says she wanted to celebrate the national event when she was president of the Institute of Industrial Engineers a year ago. When she ran for ESFB president, celebrating E-Week was one of the many goals on her agenda.

“I am glad to say that goal was achieved,” says Ametlli. “While National Engineers Week has its mission and vision, my mission and vision was to bring together student organizations and collaborate on events. In addition, not many students are part of organizations, so I wanted us to make an attempt through Engineers Week to reach out to the students who are not part of organizations. I hope that this will be a yearly tradition in the College of Engineering.”

Though time and resources were limited, several engineering groups and institutions came together to support E-Week 2010. Ametlli hopes to add an outreach program to next year’s E-Week in order to promote engineering for middle school and high school-aged students.