Photo of National Engineering Week registration screen.
RICH CARBONARO / COURTESY
Zendrah Bonnick, Asst. News Editor
On Feb. 23, Manhattan University’s (MU) School of Engineering kicked off its celebration of National Engineers Week (E-Week) with a movie in Leo Hall. Throughout the week, students were able to participate in a variety of events and competitions for a chance to win the the “Brother Leo Cup.”
According to the National Society of Professional Engineers, E-Week was originally founded in 1951 to recognize the contributions of engineers while promoting the discipline of a STEM education. At MU, the week includes events and activities that help build creativity, teamwork and community. The Quadrangle spoke with Rich Carbonaro ‘97, Ph.D., associate dean of the School of Engineering, who shared what students can expect from this year’s E-Week events.
“From Monday to Friday…We have some games and competitions that are problem-solving events,” Carbonaro said. “The week culminates with what we call the ‘Battle of the Brains.’ It’s a final build competition where teams are given a challenge, a time limit and an objective… The winning team, accumulating points throughout the week, is going to win the Brother Leo Cup. This is the first time we’re doing that.”
Brandon Hilligoss, a junior chemical engineering major and president of MU’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), spoke to The Quadrangle about his experience participating in last year’s E-Week events.
“We actually won the build competition,” Hilligoss said. “We were the only ones that were able to drill the hole in the water and get the water landing perfectly in the bucket, so that was really fun.”
While reflecting on last year’s events, Hilligoss shared the success and enthusiasm that surrounded these activities. He also noted that this year, AIChE will host a Jeopardy competition as part of E-Week, adding a fun and engaging challenge for participants.
Ultimately, Hilligoss emphasized to The Quadrangle the importance of keeping events like these student-run, ensuring clubs remain active and involved within the MU community.
“Stuff like this keeps the clubs alive… It gives more opportunities for clubs to host those events and get more people involved,” Hilligoss said.
Carbonaro added to Hilligoss’s comment, further expressing that, under his supervision, he hopes to encourage student-run clubs to take full control in creating and hosting these events.
“We’ve engaged with our student [club] leaders to help plan some of these events… These were their ideas, and we’re trying to support them the best way that we can and fit them into the programming for the week,” Carbonaro said.
Kathryn Jablokow, Ph.D., dean of the School of Engineering, provided a statement to The Quadrangle regarding the significance of E-Week at MU.
“E-Week gives us a wonderful opportunity to highlight the key role of engineers in society and to recognize the excellence of our engineering faculty and students,” Jablokow said.
Carbonaro agreed with this statement. Describing how E-Week events are beneficial to creating and maintaining a sense of community at the university.
“We feel disconnected at times, and we feel like there’s not as much to do on the south campus… [E-Week] provides some enrichment and some fun… And maybe help students feel just a little less disconnected [by taking part in events like these],” Carbonaro said.