E-WEEK – Engineering students race against the clock to assemble and dissemble the DaVinci Bridge during the SAME Obstacle course. Chemical engineering won the SAME Obstacle course event during E-Week.
For the first time since 2010, chemical engineers won the “Best Darn Major” award as part of the annual Engineering Week, breaking mechanical engineering’s 3-year winning streak.
“It’s about time,” said chemical engineering major Erin Ekart.
E-Week is an annual, weeklong competition where the six engineering majors participate in events to collect the most points and win the “Best Darn Major” award. Sponsored by the Engineering Joint Council, E-Week occurs every year in the third week of February at universities nationwide.
This year, two new events, Eagle Ethics and Raspberry Pi, were added to the week of competitions that already includes tug-of-war, egg drop and cardboard canoe.
According to EJC President Molly Lydick, the Eagle Ethics event required students to submit “fun and creative” videos about academic integrity.
She further explained the Raspberry Pi event, stating that Raspberry Pi is a programmable mini computer.
Monday, Feb. 22, the Building Blitz was held in Prescott Hall; Tug-of-War took place at Tucker Stadium; Dodgeball took place in Memorial Gym, and Cardboard Canoe in the Fitness Center’s pool. Chemical Engineers took home wins for the Building Blitz, Tug-of-War and the Dodgeball competitions. Civil engineers secured their first win in the Cardboard Canoe event.
Tuesday, Feb. 23, mechanical engineers wont the Egg Drop competition, which was held at the west side of Tucker Stadium. Poker/Chili night took place in Clement Hall. Mechanical Engineers were victorious at the Chili event, but chemical engineers won their hand at Poker. The new Eagle Ethics event was held Tuesday in Johnson Hall; chemical engineers submitted the video that displayed their academic integrity most creatively.
Wednesday, Feb. 24, the SAME Obstacle course was held in Memorial Gym, and the Engineering Bowl took place in Clement Hall. Chemical Engineers won the Obstacle course, and mechanical engineers secured the win for the Engineering Bowl.
Electrical and computer engineers were victorious for the first time Wednesday night at the Raspberry Pi event, which took place in Prescott Hall.
“Students were given $50 to spend on any part they wanted and to create whatever they wanted,” said Lydick. “This year, Electrical Engineering created a scanner that if you had a picture of your eagle card on your phone, you could still use it— in case you lost your card.”
The Engineering Awards Banquet was held Thursday night at the Leslie Town Centre, concluding the week’s events.
Along with the “Best Darn Major” award, Mr. and Ms. Engineer were announced at the banquet. Each department nominates fellow classmates as candidates and competes in the Penny Wars competition throughout the week. Mechanical engineering students, Riley Collins and Allena Ward, were crowned Mr. and Ms. Engineer 2016.
Collins said, “I’ve worked really hard, and I’ve put in a lot of work. I competed in all of the E-Week events, and it’s a very humbling feeling to be Mr. Engineer.”
The money that is collected from the Penny Wars competition is used to fund the Engineering Joint Council scholarship for which all engineering majors can apply.
Awards were also given at the banquet to outstanding students, faculty and staff on behalf of their achievements. Awards for outstanding alumni included: Alumnus of the Year, Technologist of Distinction and the Young Alumnus Achievement award.
Carlos Carvajal, recipient of the Young Alumnus Achievement Award, said, “E-Week is about celebrating how engineers make a difference in the world. As we look at our professors, I want the students to look up to them, because I want [the students] to think about ‘how can I make a difference in the world when I graduate?’”
