The PEGG

March 2002

Students Raise Charity Cash, Achieve Excellence

BY MARY GRACE DEGUZMAN
University of Calgary

The sounds of students cheering, the chants of the engineering song, and a sea of fantastical costumes were but some of the sights at the University of Calgary from Jan. 14 to 18. In other words, it was Engineering Week once again.

Engineering Week is when students can be proud to be engineers. Departments adopt themes and morph into the characters of their themes. For example the department of geomatics engineering becomes "GeOlympics." Mechanical engineering is known as the"Mechs Men" and chemical engineering is converted into a "Wild Wild Cess."

The departments rally together but also compete against each other in various activities. The Iron Chef competition had students preparing a four-course meal from specific ingredients. There was Snow Golf, and also Survive Engg, in which students bid to outlast each other by staying in the engineering lounge. Silent auctions, a charity ball and many more events also took place.

Not only do these events also encourage interaction between students and faculty, but they also allow students to give back to the community while having fun.

Every year these events raise money for different charity organizations. Approximately $5,000 was raised for the Calgary Woman's Shelter this year. And this year's winning department of Engineering Week 2002 was geomatics engineering.

Concrete Toboggan Race

On Feb. 2 the University of Manitoba hosted the 27th annual Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race. Nineteen schools competed from all over Canada -- as well as one team from the University of Colorodo.

First held in 1975 and organized by professors from the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, the race challenges the skills of third- and fourth-year civil engineering students to build the fastest (reaching speed of 55 km/h), safest (measured through breaking distance), and most creative sleigh. But as the name of the race denotes, the sleigh must be made of concrete.
A minimum of 50 per cent of the sleigh's running surface must be concrete. There must be an adequate breaking system and roll bar, the sleigh must weigh less than 135 kilograms; and a maximum of five people must be seated in the sleigh.

This year, 32 students from the University of Calgary were awarded the best technical exhibit award as well as a $2,000 cash (the only cash award given) for excellence in engineering! Congratulations to all the students who participated.

Engineering Dinner

What better way to celebrate the accomplishment of finishing your first two years of engineering than a dinner with friends, faculty and professionals. What better way to gain an understanding of what the industry you are about to enter is all about than by mingling with professionals.

The First and Second Year Engineering Dinner is an event organized by the Engineering Students' Society and APEGGA. The dinner allows students, faculty and engineering professionals to share their experiences. Teaching excellence awards, student awards and a guest speaker are also items included in the program. However, this night would not be possible without the support of faulty and various companies.

Please contact Chris Popoff of the Engineering Students' Society, vice-president of first and second year, at (403) 220-5737 or ess@ucalgary.ca if you would like to be a sponsor of this long-standing tradition. And if you would like to participate in the 12th annual dinner, which will be held March 20 at the Palliser Hotel, please contact APEGGA.