An open house to give prospective students a look at Tri-State University’s strong engineering program will kick off activities centered on Engineers Week at the university Feb. 18-22.

On Monday, Feb. 18, the TSU Office of Admission will host an open house for students and their families from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., offering cross-campus opportunities to investigate higher education at TSU. Current student panels, an engineering overview, presentations by TSU’s student service offices, an athletic open house, lunch, and campus tours will demonstrate the rewards of pursuing an engineering career at TSU.

Also on Monday, a 6 p.m. information session on the five-year master of engineering degree program with civil or mechanical engineering major will be conducted in Fawick Hall, room 112. At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Bill Archer, BSEE ’62 and employee of Regal-Beloit, will speak as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) member in Fawick Hall room 221. IEEE is the world's leading professional association for the advancement of technology.

Wednesday will showcase an American Society of Mechanical Engineers/Society of Women Engineers (ASME/SWE) Design and Build Contest at 5:30 p.m. in Hershey Hall’s west gym. TSU senior mechanical engineering major David Taylor was approached by SWE to create a collaborative contest for Engineers Week. The contest will involve altering the design of balsa wood kit airplanes to impact flight distance. The contest is open to all who wish to experiment with the design of the lightweight model planes.

On Thursday, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) members will engage in an outreach at Hendry Park Elementary School in Angola. TSU senior CE major and ASCE president Steven Rushfeldt will head the outreach. “We’ll have a 20-minute Power Point to introduce kids to infrastructure around them they may not give any thought to,” Rushfeldt said. An earthquake structure design project in which the kids construct a tower and then test it on a shake table will follow. ASCE members hope to introduce younger students to engineering concepts so those with an interest can enroll in middle school courses related to engineering, he said.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, American Institute for Chemical Engineering member W. Gabbard from Voltek Co. will speak in Fawick Hall room 112, while Pi Tau Sigma will host its Quiz Bowl in Fawick Hall rooms 112/117 at 7 p.m. A reception in Fawick Hall room 234 from 1-2:30 p.m. on Friday will wrap up the week’s events.

“The Allen School of Engineering & Technology is proud to participate in this annual salute to the engineering profession,” said Dean Roger Hawks. “We are pleased to help promote awareness of the impact that engineers have on our daily lives, and hope that by doing so we will encourage more young people to investigate the profession.”

For more information, visit www.eweek.org/site/news/index.shtml.