EAST LANSING — In honor of National Engineers Week in February, the Michigan State University College of Engineering is planning activities and events to emphasize the importance of the contributions made through engineering, science and technical skills. EWeek at MSU runs from Feb. 18-25.
National Engineers Week was started in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers and began in conjunction with President George Washington’s birthday, who is considered the country’s first engineer.
“All week the college will serve as host to professional, career and celebratory events to honor the disciplines and study of engineering,” said Garth Motschenbacher, director of employer relations in the College of Engineering. “It’s a good lineup of fun and professional development activities.
The schedule of events includes:
• Saturday, Feb. 18: annual Spartan Engineering Day at Impression 5 Science Center in Lansing, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Student engineering organizations provide hands-on demonstrations on engineering principles or problems. The project is sponsored by Ingersoll Rand.
• Sunday, Feb. 19: 2017 Michigan VEX Robotics State Championships, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Jenison Field House. Competitors from 48 high school and 28 middle school teams vie for a trip to VEX World Championships in Kentucky in April. This year’s game is called VEX Starstruck.
• Monday, Feb. 20: 2017 EWeek kicks off with pizza – the “official” food of engineers — in the Engineering Building lobby. More than 800 pizza slices from 100 pizzas will be served to engineering students until they are gone. The pizza party is sponsored by Con Agra.
• Monday, Feb. 20: New to EWeek this year is Spartan 500, a NASCAR-inspired Race with Hot Wheels on a 10-foot track run as a charity event for the college. Student organizations have “purchased” cars to run in the race. There will be a viewing party in the lobby, beginning at 6 p.m., with the actual racing/pit area in the Engineering Auditorium in Room 1345. General Motors is sponsoring the event, with proceeds to benefit Lansing’s Impression 5 Science Center.
• Wednesday, Feb. 22: The annual Evening with Industry banquet begins at 6 p.m. at the East Lansing Marriott at University Place, 300 MAC Avenue in East Lansing. Representatives from many companies will attend to honor student award winners. Around $15,000 in awards will be disbursed to students. TechSmith’s new CEO Wendy Hamilton will present the keynote address. An RSVP is required for this event, which is now sold out.
• Thursday, Feb. 23: The hallways will be filled with more than 120 organizations for the 2017 Career Networking Expo. Organizations representing business and industry focused on energy, food, automotive and manufacturing, electrical and high-tech, computing and IT, consulting and environmental, healthcare, and other industries will be in the Engineering Building from 2-6 p.m. The display tables will be in the 200 and 300 sections of the hallways on all three floors.