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Engineering and Science Week
This spring, Clemson’s student chapter of Tau Beta Pi, in
conjunction with the College Relations Office, and the Office of
Recruitment, put together a week of activities to celebrate the
contributions made by engineers and scientists. Tau Beta Pi is the
national engineering honor society, which has collegiate chapters
at 226 institutions, 16 chartered alumnus chapters in 59 cities,
and a total initiated membership of 454,000.
Festivities began with the Eighth Annual ACES (Alumni of Clemson
Engineering and Science) Cup Golf Tournament. For the first time,
physics and astronomy became home to the Cup, which carries with
it a year’s worth of bragging rights! The tournament is held
in conjunction with the College of Engineering and Science award
banquet. College alumni, faculty, staff, students, and guests tee
it up at the Walker Course for a day of fun, food and prizes.
Clemson’s engineering and science student organizations put
together a full week of outreach activities designed to foster an
interest in exploring scientific and technical disciplines. For
example, university students hosted an expo for 8th grade Algebra
I students, and sponsored a high school design competition. Current
engineering and science undergraduates were able to compete for
scholarship funds in a “MacGyver” contest that challenged
their creativity and ingenuity.
Tau Beta Pi faculty advisor, Matt Ohland, explains “TBP members
believe it is important to share our enthusiasm with young people
to encourage them to go into engineering and science disciplines.
Our members got fired up and went all-out for this week, which we
hope to be the first of many. The expo and high-school design competition
gave the visiting students a chance to learn about organizations
and activities that make Clemson engineering and science a success.”
Physics’
fantastic foursome included (from left to right) team captain, Professor
Terry Tritt, Professor Mark Leising, Travis McIntyre, and Patrick
Drupp. For the first time in the history of the ACES Tournament,
the Cup belongs to physics and astronomy.
Clemson’s 2006 Engineering and Science Week
was more than fun and games. Student groups sponsored a canned food
drive that brought in over 5,000 cans of food, four-fifths of which
came from the chemistry department! Luis Echegoyen, chemistry department
chair, loads cans as Wanda Reeves (right), administrative assistant
in mechanical engineering, and a volunteer with Our Daily Bread
Soup Kitchen in Seneca, supervises.
The high school design competition was an “Impromptu
Egg Drop.” Students were provided an assortment of materials
and had one hour to construct a mechanism to protect an egg during
a fall from the third-story balcony in the Fluor Daniel Engineering
Innovation Building - a height of over 30 feet! Designs were evaluated
on weight, egg “survival,” and creativity
In the MacGyver competition contestants were given
an identical set of construction materials and an objective. The
one who best met the objective was declared the winner. First prize,
which meant $500.00, went to senior Brendan Hanrahan (center), ceramic
and materials engineering. Kiki Jecen (right), a senior physics
major, took second. Rounding out the top three was Dakota Bull,
a freshman in general engineering.
Eighth grade Algebra I students were invited to
an engineering and science exposition were they discovered the “magic”
inherent in the world of science and technology.
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