National Engineers Week at Oregon State

Story Posted: Tue, Feb 18, 2003

Oregon State University is celebrating National Engineers Week (Feb. 16-22) with speakers and banquets in Corvallis and Portland, a balsa wood bridge building contest on campus, and a special event celebrating NASA astronauts Donald Pettit and William Oefelein, both alumni from the OSU College of Engineering.

Planners had originally scheduled a live video link to Pettit aboard the international space station to coincide with a campus visit by Oefelein, a Space Shuttle pilot previously scheduled to fly the Shuttle in July.

The recent Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy caused NASA to postpone the video link as well as Oefelein's visit, but OSU planners will proceed with a slightly modified event on Friday that will highlight OSU's unique connections to NASA and celebrate both Pettit and Oefelein's contributions to engineering and space exploration.

"We are all deeply saddened by the Columbia tragedy," said College of Engineering associate dean of research, Chris Bell. "And are also very proud of our engineers including Don and Bill who, like engineers everywhere, innovate ways to make the world better. The college has a close connection to NASA, and we are celebrating that and more during National Engineers Week."

The NASA event will be held on Friday, February 21st from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Construction Engineering Hall of LaSells Stewart Center on campus. The free event is open to the public and will include a research showcase, presentations by faculty who have worked closely with Pettit and Oefelein, and demonstrations by engineering students who have flown in NASA's KC-135, an airplane fondly known as the "Vomit Comet" because of its ability to simulate moments of zero gravity conditions by doing mid-air plunges.

Other events planned during National Engineers Week include:

FEBRUARY 19, Professional Engineers of Oregon (PEO) National Engineers Week Annual Student Banquet in Portland. "The World Trade Center Structural Design," a presentation by John Magnusson, Chair/CEO of Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire, Inc., Seattle. Event brings together professional engineers, high school students, and engineering students from Oregon's engineering schools. Dean Ron Adams will speak and Assistant Dean Roy Rathja will be in attendance. Double Tree Hotel, Lloyd Center, Portland, 5:00 p.m. (Displays and Exhibits), 6:30 (Dinner & Program).

FEBRUARY 20, "Engineers ROCK" Concert featuring several bands at the Escape nightclub on campus. Thurs., February 20, 7 p.m.
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day ? see: http://www.eweek.org/site/News/Eweek/girlsday.shtml

FEBRUARY 21, CANCELLED OSU Engineering NASA Connections, Lasells Center 1:30 to 3:20pm.

FEBRUARY 21, Oregon Stater Awards honoring outstanding OSU engineers (by invitation only) http://engr.oregonstate.edu/oregonstater/

FEBRUARY 22, 34th Holly Cornell Model Bridge Contest sponsored by OSU, the Professional Engineers of Oregon and CH2M HILL, 8:30am, Owen Hall.

FEBRUARY 24, National Engineers Week SWE (Society of Women Engineers) Banquet for engineers and engineering students from the Willamette Valley. Sponsored by the Willamette Valley Section of SWE. Keynote speaker: Skip Rung, retired Hewlett-Packard R&D manager, member of the Oregon Engineering & Technology Industry Council, and co-founder of the Oregon New Economy Coalition. Mon., February 24, 6 p.m., CH2M HILL Alumni Center, OSU Campus.

FEBRUARY 26, OSU Engineering Career Fair, where companies that employ engineers meet OSU engineering students about to enter the job market. Wed., February 26, CH2M HILL Alumni Center, OSU Campus. The career fair website is: http://oregonstate.edu/career/Connections/Engineer.htm

For more information about National Engineers Week-related events, call the College of Engineering 541-737-3101 and visit the website for National Engineers Week at: http://www.eweek.org.