ENGINEERS WEEK 2016 NIKHILESH DE, MADHURI BHUPATHIRAJU AND SAMANTHA CASIMIR STAFF WRITERS
Students designing canoes out of cardboard need to think about buoyancy, the boat’s structure and the material’s integrity, said Kaustubh Deshpande, a School of Engineering senior and president of the Engineering Governing Council. They should consider how tape can reinforce edges and what sort of stress acts on corners. The fifth annual Cardboard Canoe Races were just one event during Rutgers’ celebration of National Engineers Week, an annual celebration of engineers and their work around the nation. It usually occurs near George Washington’s birthday, as he is considered the first engineer in America. Planning for E-Week began last semester, but the actual preparation began at the beginning of the spring semester, said Taylor Au, a School of Engineering junior and chair of the Engineers Week Committee. The
committee is made up of about 20 members who met weekly to set up and organize the events. “It’s a pretty large and wide effort. I really like that because I’ve been able to meet more diverse people in engineering,” Au said. Engineering is an area that interests people of all ages, Au said. “We want to expose other people to engineering and show people what we’re all about, and share our passion for what we do,” she said. “Engineering is a discipline that spans all years and all ages. It doesn’t matter who you are, we (wanted) people to get excited about E-week from the start.” Engineers week lets students showcase their abilities, Deshpande said. Many people have the idea that engineering revolves around science and mathematics, which he said is not necessarily true. “There’s fun elements to it, and also you see the product of what you’re doing, which is fun,” he said. “(E-Week) SEE ENGINEERS ON BACK
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