The University of Houston Engineering Alumni Association (EAA) celebrated 2011 Engineers Week with its annual Engineers Week Reception & Program, held on Tuesday, February 22, at the University of Houston Hilton.
Roughly 215 engineering students, alumni, faculty, staff, and sponsors came out for the gathering. According to Cynthia Oliver Coleman (BSChE ’71), founder and chair of the event, the evening was designed “to celebrate how engineers make a significant difference in our world and to support future engineers, specifically UH engineering students, so they can continue the legacy.”
Through donations from engineering companies, professional organizations, and alumni, more than $37,000 was presented to 45 outstanding Cullen College students and three student organizations at the event in recognition of their achievements. That figure brings the EAA Engineers Week Reception & Program’s seven-year total support for students and student organizations to more than $166,000.
One of the highlights of the event was the finale of the EAA EWeek Engineering Challenge. In this challenge, alums were encouraged to donate to the student organization of their choice. The organization that received the most donations, the UH student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, won the Challenge’s $1,162 grand prize, the equivalent of all donations to all student organizations made through the challenge.
Also concluding at the event was the EAA Engineering Community Outreach Competition, in which Cullen College student organizations were tasked with hosting the most effective event to showcase engineering to area high school students. The Action Committee for the Program for the Master of Engineering Studies, or PROMES, won the challenge with “Engineering Day!”. Their outreach event saw approximately 100 high school students come to UH to tour research labs and take on engineering design challenges. As the winning organization, the PROMES Action Committee received a $2,000 prize and will go on an on-site tour at FMC Technologies, the competition’s sponsor.