Technician
wednesday february
3
2010
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Engineering fair popular among job seekers Fair continues to grow, companies continue to seek N.C. State students
career fair quick facts •
Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m
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McKimmon Center 1101 Gorman Street
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Provides a chance to network and meet employers in the engineering fields
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Two-day, twice-a-year fair
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340 companies attend
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4,400 students
Joanna Banegas Staff Writer
The Engineering Career Fair will take place today at the McKimmon Center from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. According to the University Engineering Career Web site, the event is presented by the College of Engineering and the Engineer’s Council, is held twice a year and is one of the largest career fairs in the country held for engineering students. The event provides an opportunity for prospective employers from a wide range of industries to meet with engineering students interested in working for their companies. The Web site also stated that the Career Fair was first established in 1998. It was “originally held as a one-day, once-a-year event that attracted about 60 companies and 1,500 students, the fair has grown into a two-day, twice-ayear event that brought in more than 340 employers and 4,400 students in fall 2008.” Brian Koehler, the director of Engineering Career Fair, said the fair is a wonderful public service for the alumni, general public and especially all the N.C. State students. “They have one thing in common and that’s looking for jobs,” Koehler said. “They are job seekers and the companies are willing to hire them which is awesome.” Koehler said although the fair has
Source: Engineering Career Fair Web site
been affected by the economy, there are 159 companies registered for the career fair. “Despite the current job market, we’re still at a good capacity which is truly amazing,” Koehler said. “This is a real tribute to the high quality of emphasis on the University but it’s also a tribute to how our partners view our engineers and students in general.” In 2009 the Engineering Career Fair noticed a decline in the number of the companies participating at the fair, according to Koehler. “We noticed a whole lot more cancelations at the last minute last year. This year we had weak numbers once again but we noticed a lot more registration at the last minute, indicating that budgets are starting to turn around,” he said. Koehler also said each semester there is a lot of new companies.
Tim o’brien/Technician file photo
Shriram Veeramani, graduate student in industrial engineering, interviews with Procter & Gamble manufacturing representative Corey Johnson, 2001 graduate in chemical engineering, at the engineering career fair in the McKimmon Center Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009. The fair included 186 companies from across the US and thousands of students. “It’s bigger than the spring fair,” Johnson said. “We’re back in the swing of things– back with a bigger presence this year.”
“Companies hear about our high quality of students,” Koehler said. “That is what these companies are seeking. Because they realize that the futures of their company are right here.” Koehler said students travel as far
away from Texas, Florida and New York. “Students and job seekers follow these companies because the best of the best in the entire world are right here,” Koehler said. Jon Delgado, a sophomore in chemi-
cal engineering, said the economy for engineers is getting better. “Companies at these career fairs are recruiting students and people fresh out of college and graduate school,”
fair continued page 3
Physics Department, library team up to lower costs Collaboration saves students money, offers sustainable options for textbooks Arth Pandya Staff Writer
david mabe/Technician
Brian Myers, a first year student in agribusiness management, rides a triangle transit bus to his home in Morrisville. “I only have one stop between me and school,” Myers said. He also said that it would be helpful if the TTA buses came more frequently in the afternoon.
Transportation reroutes Wolfline buses, snow storm hinders travel Students face troubles riding Wolfline, detours canceled Mahmudul Islam Correspondent
The University has a policy to start busing at least one hour before classes begin, according to Christine Klein, public communications specialist. According to Klein, Transportation takes a proactive stance in keeping an eye on areas with icy road conditions. The Westgrove bus usually goes through the Pylon Drive and Beryl Road intersection from Blue Ridge, but on Monday, due to road conditions, the bus went straight through Blue Ridge and turned on Hillsborough. People taking the Westgrove bus, such as Chris Hock, a senior in me-
chanical engineering, didn’t seem to mind. Asem Rahman, a junior in biological sciences, was slightly disgruntled. “I was late for a class because of the buses,” he said. In regards to the detour being a major problem, Rahman said he was aware conditions were bad so it was easier to predict there might be problems. “They should have canceled school because a lot people were slipping on their way to class,” he said. Some of the changes Transportation has instituted include the Westgrove route and a shuffle of the Bell Tower stops. The Westgrove detour was cancelled on Monday, but the routes were reinstated to their original routes later that day. Bell Tower stops were reinstated. All Werewolf and Route Two
Reverse Shuttles scheduled to run after 10 p.m. on Monday were cancelled. Routes Three and Eight both had detours in the morning but by the afternoon the detours were canceled and the buses were back running to their normal routes. Peter Shin, a senior in aerospace engineering who was taking the Southeast Loop, knew of this but did not seem to mind. “I knew the day started late, but it wasn’t a big deal. My class started at 1:30,” he said. Shin said he thought the bus drivers must have had a hard time driving under the icy circumstance and the delay was understandable.
WOLFLINE continued page 3
A partnership between NCSU Libraries and the Department of Physics has made the required textbook for Physics 211 and 212, Physics Fundamentals by Dr. Vincent Coletta, openly available online to students according to a Jan. 22 press release by the library. The two units are collaborating to keep up to $250,000 in the pockets of students who take introductory physics courses at the school. According to the press release, the traditional physics textbook sells for $150-190. With 1300 students enrolled in the introductory physics courses each year, these savings add up. Dr. Michael Paesler, head of the Department of Physics, said rising textbook costs prompted the depart-
ment to look for a more sustainable and cost-effective way to provide quality, peer-reviewed textbooks to their students. “We’ve been talking about this for at least 5 years. This was the first time we felt there was a real option, and a quality option that would indeed save students money,” Dr. Paesler said. “Our belief was we could provide the same quality education that we have historically provided with the hard copy with [the electronic copy],” he said. NCSU Libraries was able to strike a deal to purchase a site license for the digital text, making it available to all students. The cost to purchase the site license from the publisher was $1300, according to Greg Raschke, associate director for collections and scholarly communication at the NCSU Libraries. Raschke said the publisher’s willingness to pursue new and innovative models was essential in obtaining the
physics continued page 3
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