Engineers Week at UF includes showcase of student exhibits

February 15, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A cup of milk, a scoop of sugar, and a splash of liquid nitrogen. It’s ice cream a la Gator Engineers, and it’s on the menu at Engineers Week today through Feb. 23 at the University of Florida.

Events include soccer and golf tournaments, a 5K run, a field day, a Jeopardy-style brain bowl, and E-Week’s signature event — the Engineering and Science Fair, a showcase of hands-on exhibits presented by UF engineering students.

The Engineering and Science Fair will be held Monday and Tuesday in the Reitz Student Union Grand Ballroom. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Monday, a day especially geared to the local community. More than 1,000 students from schools in nine counties are scheduled to visit the fair on Tuesday.

These events represent a tradition dating to the 1930s at UF. It’s now part of a larger national event. National Engineers Week was founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers. It is always celebrated at the time of George Washington’s birthday. Our nation’s first President was a military engineer and land surveyor. Currently there are hundreds of engineering societies, corporations and businesses, government agencies, and universities nationwide that participate.

For more information, visit http://www.ufbec.org/eweek/.