Two dozen young women from area high schools will visit the University of Rochester next week and mingle with students and faculty to learn more about engineering. The event, organized by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), is part of the celebration of National Engineers Week February 19-25 at the University; all events are free and open to the public.
For one day during the week the girls will stay overnight at the University. The next day they'll visit engineering classes, view demonstrations in chemical, electrical, mechanical and optical engineering, and talk to students at the University about their experiences.
"Most students don't hear too much about engineering in high school," says Nora Meegan, a chemical engineering major and president of the student chapter of SWE. "Since it's a field that's been dominated by men in the past, we want to offer support and encouragement for women interested in pursuing careers in the field."
Another highlight of the week will be an egg smash contest, where students build electrically powered devices to see who can smash an egg most ingeniously and most completely. The winner will take home $100. The event at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24 in Wilson Commons is being organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Other highlights of the week include engineering displays in Wilson Commons, a volleyball tournament, a trivia contest, a scavenger hunt, and a lecture by Princeton Professor David Billington on "The Engineering Transformation of America - from Steamships to Computer Chips." Billington will speak at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22 in Hoyt Auditorium.
The week's events are sponsored by Tau Beta Pi, a national engineering honors fraternity, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and student chapters of SWE, IEEE, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers, Optical Society of America, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
tr Note to editors: Coverage of the week's events is invited. A schedule of events is enclosed.