Engineering Day celebrates 5th year with record number of students
NEW PALTZ — Note to editors: If you plan on attending Engineering Day, please contact the SUNY New Paltz Office of Public Affairs at (845) 257-3245 for a complete schedule of events, press kit and information about special interview and photo opportunities. For more information on Engineering Day, visit http://falatech.com/newfaces.
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the State University of New York at New Paltz will host 1200 students from a four-county region at the 5th annual Engineering Day event on Wednesday, Feb. 21, to celebrate National Engineers Week. The theme of the event, “New Faces of Engineering,” is designed to introduce students to the exciting world of engineering.
The day includes a keynote address from a high-ranking elected official who, due to scheduling requirements, will not be identified until shortly before the event.
In addition, there will be three featured guest speakers, Diane Bollen from Cornell University and the NASA Mars Rover Science Team; car racer Randall Kelsey from the Dyson Racing Team; and bio-technician Josh Nova from the Ketcham Agency. Bollen will introduce students to space exploration technology, Kelsey will introduce students to automotive engineering and Nova will introduce students to the impact of bio-technology on health.
Throughout the day, 7th through 12th grade students from 31 schools in Ulster, Dutchess, Orange and Rockland counties will have the opportunity to experience what engineers do by participating in hands-on projects, including the creation of their own electronic circuit system. They will also visit trade show displays of state-of-the-art products designed by professional engineers from more than 40 high-tech companies.
Sponsors for the event include: Alcoa, Entergy, IBM, Panasonic Plasma Displays, Smith Barney, NY Power Authority, Charles Schwab, Fair-Rite, Fala Technology, NXP Semiconductors, W2iHY Technologies, IEEE, Applied Materials, Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union and Brooklyn Poly.
Guest speaker biographies:
Diane Bollen, a member of NASA’s Mars Rover Science Team and a space astronomer at Cornell University, has been with the Mars Rover project since its beginning in 1997. The Mars Exploration Rovers (MER), Spirit and Opportunity, have been roaming the surface of Mars for the past two-and-a-half years.
Bollen is also the coordinator of the Athena Project at Cornell, which brings the exploration of Mars to children and teachers in a series of user-friendly and accessible Web sites, lessons and classroom projects. Bollen, who has a background in biology and geochemistry as well as space science, is also a musician, writer, and artist – the perfect role model for girls and boys who want to explore science as a career.
Josh Nova is an advocate for using human genetic information to develop groundbreaking medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. In his work as a spokesperson for Genentech and an advisor to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Nova has traveled around the country to talk with audiences about the impact that studying science and pursuing a career in bio-technology will have on literally millions of people around the world.
As a cancer survivor, Nova brings a unique perspective about his battle to beat cancer and the three key principles that helped him beat this disease which he believes form the foundation for the pursuit of any goal: the ability to face the unknown, a relentless focus on your objective, and passion and commitment for the cause.
Randall Kelsey is the manager for the Dyson Racing team. Based in Poughkeepsie, the team competes at the top of the American LeMans Class racing, which includes such events as the Daytona 24 Hour, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Virginia International Raceway, Watkins Glen and Daytona International Raceway.
According to Kelsey, success in these events comes from putting together superb automotive technology with the rest of the logistics team. Dyson Racing has 16 team and driver championships and 61 wins in the last 21 years.
For more information about the School of Science and Engineering at SUNY New Paltz, visit www.newpaltz.edu/sse.