How will you celebrate Engineers Week?

This week happens to be Engineers Week, a week dedicated to promoting engineering across the US. The National Society of Professional Engineers started EW in 1951 and this year is the 56th anniversary. The NSPE run the EW program with help from engineers, education and cultural societies, corporations, and government agencies, this year co-chaired by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and Tyco Electronics.

All across the US you can find programs happening in your state that are designed for all age groups and levels. Sample programs include:
• The launch of PBS’ new show Design Squad (see my previous blog post about the show).
• Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, held this Thursday, February 22. Engineers (both women and men) will hold workshops, speeches, on-line chats, as well as other activities aimed towards introducing girls from grades K-12 to engineering.
• The Global Marathon for, by, and about Women in Engineering live web cast will be held next month on March 22nd-23rd, running continuously throughout the day. This event will include presentations and Q & A sessions with engineers around the world. This event will focus on issues such as retaining women in college engineering programs and the workplace.
• New Faces of Engineering will highlight young engineers who at age 30 or younger have accomplished great things in the area of engineering.

EW accomplishes giving engineering mass media exposure. Lockheed Martin, a sponsor of EW, placed a large ad in The Washington Post and other nationwide newspapers with a reminder that this is EW and a link to the webpage. A simple Google news search turns up thousands of stories pertaining to this week’s events. EW also has several events designed with families in mind. If parents accompany their children to these events and aid in designing a simple circuit, for example, a connection with engineering will be made. The involved parents can present engineering as a career option to their child farther down the line. EW also sponsors several programs designed to draw women to engineering, including the two I mentioned above. A whole week dedicated to engineering and involving the public can only spread engineering’s popularity and worldwide importance.