Students Celebrate E-Week

March 12, 2018 - E-Week at the Samueli School of Engineering kicked off with a splash on Monday, Feb. 12, when the Engineering Student Council (ESC) hosted a dunk tank. Two dollars bought three balls ($5 for three when it was the dean’s turn), and two people were able to dunk Dean Gregory Washington. The first was his graduate student Theron Smith and the second was the Samueli School Communications Office’s Debbie Morales, who put Washington in the water twice. A small crowd gathered to watch, as the dean good-naturedly took his turn on the wet seat.

Presented by ESC, E-Week is an annual event aimed at increasing public awareness and appreciation for the engineering profession. This year’s theme was “Engineers: Inspiring Wonder.”

More than 900 students attended the kick-off to claim free school t-shirts and talk to various student organizations and clubs who organized fun activities, such as wacky wire, paper airplanes, giant Jenga, pasta marshmallow structures, pie in the face, Alka Seltzer plastic bottle rockets and more.

The celebration continued on Tuesday, when about 370 students lined up for pancakes at the dean’s breakfast, where several professors maned the grill. On Wednesday, nearly 350 students donned business attire and met with company recruiters to discuss internship and job opportunities at EngiTECH. Twenty companies participated in the career fair held at the Student Center, including MeridianLink, whose recruitment manager, Heather Gross, said they hire 25 percent of the company’s employees from UCI.

Marietta Lambrose ’88, an electrical engineering alumnae who works at Masimo as OEM product director, said the quality of students she spoke to this year was good, especially those with biomedical experience and interests.

Fourth-year mechanical engineering student Stacey Agustin attended, looking for a project manager position. “Career fairs have been the way in for me,” she said. “I am good with personal relationships. Some companies just tell you to apply online, but some take my resume.”

ESC’s Community Outreach Committee organized Thursday’s Shadow Day. More than 250 middle and high school students from Orange and Los Angeles counties spent the day at UC Irvine. They toured six different engineering labs, listened to presentations, and this year, they competed against each other in a bridge-building contest judged by civil engineering graduate students.

Meanwhile on Gateway Plaza, more than 1,000 Anteater engineers came out for the E-Week barbecue.

Christine Tran, ESC president and a mechanical engineering student, says E-Week 2018 was a complete success. “The purpose of E-Week is to celebrate being an engineer, and I think we were able to do just that. More than 2,500 people celebrated with us throughout the week by attending events, getting free food and interacting with other students, staff and faculty. Watching Debbie dunk the dean was definitely one of the highlights of the week.”

Festivities wrapped up with the Engineering Awards Banquet on Friday in the Student Center, recognizing outstanding students, faculty and engineering student organizations (see below).

Professors of the Year

Zoran Nenadic, Biomedical Engineering

Ali Mohraz, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Farzin Zareian, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Michael Green, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Faryar Jabbari, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

 

Graduate Students of the Year

Rachel Gurlin, Biomedical Engineering

Tae-Il Kim, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Koti Reddy Allu, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Farshad Yazdi, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Arash Zandian, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

 

Undergraduate Students of the Year

Jerry Chen, Biomedical Engineering

Jessica Leal-Cruz, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Daisy Rosas, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Mena Soliman, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Marlayna Montenegro, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

 

Engineering Student Organization (ESO) Awards

Best New Event: BMES (Biomedical Engineering Society) Heart Dissection Project

Best Outreach Program: SHPE (Society of Hispanic Engineers) and ESC

Best Mentorship Program: SHPE

Best Collaboration Event: Civil and Environmental Engineering Banquet – hosted by AAEES (American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists), Chi Epsilon, ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers), EWB (Engineers without Borders), GEB (Global Engineering Brigades) and EERI (Earthquake Engineering Research Institute)

Most Improved Organization: SWE (Society of Women Engineers)

Wildcard: Best Conference − Pacific Southwest Conference, hosted by ASCE

Best Engineering Student Organization:  ASCE (This category was determined by amount of participation in Presidents Council and number of collaborative events.)

– Lori Brandt