From Feb. 22-26,  the University celebrated National Engineers Week.  Throughout the “E-week,” students in the College of Engineering celebrated their past accomplishments, took part in healthy competition, and exercised their creativities.

The event was organized by Associate Deans of Engineering Karen Marosi and Margot Vigeant, who are co-chairs of a committee of student volunteers. Beginning in 1987, the focus of E-week was rivalry and competition. After a brief hiatus in the late nineties, E-week returned in 2002 and was centered around the “Golden Hammer Contest” that students know today, as the event completes its 15th consecutive year on campus.

“The purpose of National Engineers Week is to call attention to the contributions to society that engineers make. It is also a time for engineers to emphasize the importance of learning math, science, and technical skills, and to inspire students to pursue engineering careers,” Marosi said.

Students play a major role in organizing the event to keep it fresh and relevant. Computer science and engineering major Devon Wasson ’17 helped plan many of the events, including the Bill Nye speaking engagement.

“E-week was planned by the Dean’s Office and a group of students to represent the different majors and honors societies. We met weekly for over a month to discuss logistics and details for events, both old and new, and then facilitated them during the week,” Wasson said.

The week is filled with events highlighting not only the students’ skills, but also their innovation and artistry. Students create and decorate a banner representative of their respective engineering major, which is hung in the front of the Dana Engineering building. These students also create video spoofs that illustrate their experiences in the College of Engineering, which they enter into a contest to be judged and evaluated. Additionally, there is a dance competition in the Tustin Studio Theatre, where teams of students from each major create a two minute dance that celebrates their individual major.

Each year, a money war unleashes between departments: the group that wins E-week also wins the opportunity to donate all of their proceeds to a charity of their choice. The week concludes with career networking events and a dinner held in Bostwick Marketplace.

“The most popular event is always the dinner on Friday at the end of the E-week. At this event, not only do the engineering majors get to dress up and enjoy a great meal together, but it is also the viewing event for the video competition. The videos tend to be the highlight of E-week because of the effort and humor that the majors put into them,” Wasson said.

It is often assumed that engineers are all work and no play, as the workload can be extremely rigorous. This is why E-week is especially fun for the students and staff involved.

“You’ll notice that none of the events are particularly ‘engineering’ oriented. Our students show amazing spirit, creativity, and artistic expression during these events. I personally feel this is a wonderful example of how engineering and the liberal arts mesh at Bucknell to create a very unique experience,” Marosi said.

“E-week is a great way to gain pride in your engineering discipline … it’s just a fun experience and a chance to interact with upperclassmen,” Ben Aladejebi ’19 said.

“It’s been a fun, spirited week where you grow closer with other students in your engineering discipline. I liked making the video and am excited to see everyone else’s work at the engineering dinner,” Colleen Hanisco ’19 said.