2011 Issue

4 National Engineers’ Week February 20 — 26, 2011 2011: Turning Ideas into Reality The National Engineers Week Foundation, a formal coalition of more than 100 professional societies, major corporations and government agencies, is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce. It accomplishes this goal by increasing the understanding of, and interest in, engineering and technology careers among young students and by promoting pre-college literacy in math and science. Engineers Week also raises public understanding and appre- ciation of engineers’ contributions to society. In the United States, the third full week of February is National Engineers’ Week. The celebration of National Engineers Week was started in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers in conjunction with the birthday of our first president, George Washington. President Washington is considered as the na- tion’s first engineer, most notably for his survey work. The field of engineering encompasses many disciplines and is the art of applying those disciplines to improve our world. Everyone knows that an engineer needs a good background in math and science in order to become an engineer, but someone who wants to become an engineer should also have a strong pragmatic streak and the ability to think creatively. By applying knowledge gained in many different fields, not just science and math, an engineer can truly change the world for the benefit of everyone. The standards for becoming a professional engineer have never been higher, but that is appropriate since they will probably solve the most serious problems of our times. Member Societies www.aaee.net www.acecutah.org www.aiaa.org www.asce.org www.utahashrae.org www.asme.org www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/utah www.aspe.org www.ite.org www.same.org www.seau.org www.swe.org www.ucls.org www.uspeonline.com Scientists study the world as it is; engineers create the world that has never been. —Theodore von Kármán Turning Ideas Into Reality