Concept cars, concrete canoes, high-flying airplanes, and liquid nitrogen ice cream - it must be Engineers Week again, an exhibition running from April 14 to April 18. Admission is free and most events take place at Bruin Plaza and in the Court of Sciences on the UCLA campus.

SAE's 2002 Mini-Baja model

Engineers Week (E-Week) is a combination of the educational and the playful, an intriguing mix of science lesson and carnival attraction. Balloon launches and pie-eating contests are side-by-side with optical communication link demonstrations and a discussion panel on "Engineering Your Career." Visitors can play LaserTag, build gumdrop towers, or make a mysterious substance known as "gak."

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 to avoid Southern California's seasonal wet weather.

E-Week activities are created, organized and carried out by student members from a number of engineering societies, coordinated by the Engineering Society of the University of California (ESUC). All week engineering students will be applying the lessons learned in class with hands-on displays, games and exhibition-style demonstrations.

Some familiar student projects will be on view, including concrete canoes, human-powered vehicles, miniature robots and electronic racecars. New this year is a parody of the popular "American Idol" reality program. According to organizer Rex Lorenzo, "E-Week Idol is a live talent show just like American Idol, but without the insulting comments." An engineering-style game of Jeopardy is also planned.

Organizers hope to familiarize the campus with the engineering profession and its place in today's technological world. "Communication between the technical and non-technical portion of society is very important," said Lorenzo. "The public has to make informed decisions on technical issues like nuclear power, rapid transit, and space exploration and engineers can understand and explain these issues."

E-Week is also a chance to show that engineering is not just about algorithms and lab tests. "It's an educational event," said Lorenzo, "but it will also be a lot of fun."

Check out this year's E-Week event schedule.

For more information about E-Week, email esuc@seas.ucla.edu or visit ESUC's website at www.esuc.ucla.edu.

 

- Christopher Sutton 04/07/03