April 2014

NSPE TODAY
Engineering on Parade

Leading the way with its new name, DiscoverE (formerly the National Engineers Week Foundation) held another successful Engineers Week this year, receiving a Congressional resolution, bringing together 9,400 people at the annual Discover Engineering Family Day on February 22 in Washington, DC, and inspiring numerous other events around the country that celebrated the profession.

Old favorites returned to Discover Engineering Family Day at the National Building Museum, like NSPE’s Pop-Fly exhibit allowing kids to design catapults with cardboard and Ping-Pong balls, alongside exciting new attractions such as the Earthquake Shake Table, presented by Howard University and the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation. The exhibit let children construct small building models to see if different configurations could withstand the effects of an earthquake. All told, there were more than 40 exhibits on hand.

Another headlining event for EWeek is Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, which took place on February 20. Breaking assumptions that the field doesn’t embrace women engineers, events are held nationwide each year to engage and mentor as many as 1 million girls. Many companies and groups got involved with the 13th annual Girl Day, including:

• The Society of Women Engineers held a screening in Iowa of the film Top Secret Rosies, about women mathematicians recruited to the US Army during World War II;
• The American Engineering and Science Robotics Academy hosted a learning exercise in New Jersey for girls to get hands-on experience building hovercrafts, catapults, and a hydraulic crane; and
• ExxonMobil offered events at 16 locations, reaching over 2,500 students with activities highlighting oil and natural gas technology and water purification.

In conjunction with EWeek, TE Connectivity released the results of their Engineering Sentiment Survey, which found, among other details, that engineers are the profession most associated with innovation and inventions, according to 87% of respondents. This compares to other professionals like teachers (77%) and doctors (73%). Engineers’ leading position has improved in the last 20 years, rising from 73%. The survey was conducted during the beginning of 2014 from a sampling of a thousand US adults.

Following Engineers Week, DiscoverE hosted the Global Marathon for, by, and About Women in Engineering. A worldwide online forum connecting and engaging women in engineering and technology, the Global Marathon is designed to help those women form professional networks and share personal stories. On March 5, executives on a panel offered anecdotes and best practices; on March 6, younger women in engineering highlighted mentoring strategies and how to change careers; and on March 7, the spotlight was on women in humanitarian organizations and how to encourage the next generation.

(1) THE IDAHO SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS SOUTHWEST CHAPTER RECOGNIZED TOP STUDENTS AT BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY. (2) KIDS LET LOOSE THEIR CURIOSITY AT THIS YEAR’S DISCOVER ENGINEERING FAMILY DAY IN WASHINGTON, DC. AMONG THE ACTIVITIES, THEY COULD TEST OUT CATAPULTS AT NSPE’S POP-FLY EXHIBIT, OR (3) TEST BUILDINGS ON THE EARTHQUAKE SHAKE TABLE, FROM HOWARD UNIVERSITY AND THE NETWORK FOR EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING SIMULATION. (4) MINNESOTA SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS MEMBER CHRIS AVENT, P.E., HELPS A STUDENT AT THE FEBRUARY 18 ENGINEERING ENCOUNTER IN FARMINGTON. (5) THE 2014 GEORGIA ENGINEERS WEEK AWARDS GALA, HOSTED BY THE GEORGIA SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AT GEORGIA TECH.