COOKEVILLE – Students in Tennessee Tech’s College of Engineering will put their intellectual and physical talents to the test the next few days during E-Week.
Held annually, E-Week is a competitive week of fun, food and games among Tech students majoring in chemical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, general and basic engineering, manufacturing and engineering technology and mechanical engineering.
Created in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, E-Week is celebrated to mark the accomplishments of engineers and engineering students. The week coincides each year with George Washington’s birthday because the NSPE was inspired by Washington, who was long considered the nation’s first working engineer.
“Engineers Week gives us a little break from the typical stress of studying calculus and working on engineering projects,” said Abigail Shores, treasurer of the Engineering Joint Council, and a junior majoring in Civil Engineering. “We get to have a bit of healthy competition between departments and earn bragging rights to the title of, ‘Best Darn Major,’ for the year. It is a fun week.”
At Tech, E-Week is set up by the Engineering Joint Council, which serves as the bridge between the students and student organizations and the College of Engineering. The EJC organizes the competitions, hosts dinners and coordinates other events for engineering students throughout each semester while trying to promote cohesion and communication among departments.
E-Week activities began this morning with Penny Wars followed by the egg drop at 3 p.m. at Tucker Stadium and the always-popular cardboard canoe races at the fitness center tonight at 5:30 p.m. On Tuesday, the tug-of-war will be at Overall Field at 11 a.m., followed by a video game tournament at 4 p.m. at Bruner Hall and the quiz bowl and chili cookoff at 6 p.m. at Clement Hall. The competitions wrap up on Wednesday with dodge ball at 4:30 p.m. in Memorial Gym followed by build-a-bridge at 7 p.m. in Prescott Hall. The week concludes on Thursday with an awards banquet in the Multipurpose Room of the Roaden University Center.
Points are awarded in each event for the winners and for participation. The points for the events, as well as those that come from the Mr. and Ms. Engineer coin competition and ticket sales from the banquet, will be tallied and the overall winner will be announced at the banquet.
The department with the highest point total will win the coveted “Best Darn Major Award” and take home the prized Choo Choo trophy while maintaining bragging rights for a year.
Tickets for the banquet are $5 for students — refunded at the door — and $15 non-refundable for faculty and staff. Student tickets must be purchased in each department office. Faculty, staff and alumni tickets may be purchased in Clement Hall 201 or by phoning (931) 372-3172.
