Tech students participate in '07 Engineering Expo engages students on Skiles

Last Friday, Sept.7, the first annual Engineering Expo was held on Skiles Walkway. The Expo was not a typical career or job fair like the name may imply. Rather, the Engineering Expo is a showcase of the engineering honor and professional societies on campus.

Although Tech is best known for its engineering programs, many engineering students are unaware of the organizational opportunities that exist for them. Kyle Schwing, the Executive Vice President of Tau Beta Pi (an engineering honor society) was one of the planners involved with the Engineering Expo.

"The Engineering Expo was established to exhibit engineering honor and professional societies on campus and to raise morale by celebrating engineers and the work that they do," Schwing said.

According to Tau Beta Pi, at least 800 Tech students were able to participate in the day's festivities.

The Expo was organized by the Engineering Council, a body founded last spring to encourage collaboration and communication among the many engineering honor and professional societies on campus. The Engineering Council itself arranged to have the space and resources available. For this event, the ROTC branches of all three services joined the Engineering Council to promote opportunities for engineers within the military.

Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society, sponsored free snow cones and cotton candy. Thirteen student organizations participated in the Expo; about 25 organizations sits on the Engineering Council.

Each organization was responsible for hosting a booth, both to represent itself and to provide a fun activity where students could play a quick engineering-related game to win freebies like a t-shirt, gift certificate or other prizes.

"Essentially, the idea was to put a little bit of that 'wow' factor back in your approach to science and engineering that you felt while watching something like The Magic School Bus as a kid," Schwing said.

Activities included problem-solving methods that required students to think out of the box. For instance, one challenge involved using a box of spaghetti and some marshmallows to build a tower that could stand a certain height.

The Expo was a fun diversion for Tech students, but the activities did indeed serve another purpose.

"The Expo increases awareness of the many support organizations that exist for engineering students. This promotion encourages students to join their respective honor and professional societies, whether it for job opportunities, a chance to network within their discipline and department, fellowship and camaraderie, or just to be a Hell of an Engineer," Schwing said.

This year marked the inaugural year of the Engineering Expo. However, the hope is to expand the Expo over the next few years, as well as to allow other categories of students and people to attend.

"This was the first Expo, and we would like to make the event an annual occurrence. In the future we will have local high school and middle school students visit in order to promote a career or education in engineering, science, technology or mathematics," Schwing said.