Looking to the future

The atrium of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science was packed last Friday as middle school and high school students from across Oregon came to campus to take part in the Engineering Discovery Showcase.

The room was filled with a “real strong sense of energy,” said Marcia Fischer, assistant dean for outreach and enrollment.

This last Friday, the PSU Engineering Department invited high school and middle school students from across Oregon to come to campus to take part in the Engineering Discovery Showcase and to learn all that Portland State has to offer to them.

The annual engineering department tradition is growing in size every year. Last year the showcase was a relatively small event, with roughly 100 people in attendance. However, for this year’s event, nearly 400 students came to see all that Portland State has to offer.

This year, project coordinator Kristen Nieman re-organized the event to make it a more interactive experience, with more exhibits and tours of the electrical and computer labs that are open to the engineering students. Also, to capture more attention, there was a raffle filled with various items donated by Nike and Portland State.

“Students and teachers told us that they felt it was a great event,” Fischer said, “an amazing opportunity to experience the fun and excitement of engineering, to see labs and lab activities and to have them… get a sense of what engineering is like, and what studying engineering at Portland State is about.”

Throughout the afternoon, students roamed through a variety of exhibits set up by student volunteers in the atrium of the Maseeh College aimed at showcasing the results of their Senior Capstone projects. Downstairs, student groups showed off their different projects and achievements.

The entirety of this event is run on the work of student volunteers who take the time to talk with students about what they do at the university.

Richard Knight, the interim dean of the engineering school, viewed the event as an outstanding success.

“Kristen and her team did an amazing job, they started last year and managed to learn a whole lot about what was working… such as a lot of different activities, many of which were self-guided,” Knight said. “There were a lot of undergrad students, as well as faculty and staff, who found that the near-peer relationship turned out really nice, and I think we saw that this really worked. Based on that, it will give us additional learning this year, we will make it better next year.”

On the first floor of the atrium, the Senior Capstone projects were displayed and included the Mini Baja, a small, one-person, all-terrain vehicle. The student-led team designed the vehicle and has even raced it against other teams across Oregon.

In the basement of the Engineering Building were the student groups, such as Engineers Without Borders, Viking Motor Sports and the American Society of Mechanical Engineering.

One such group was Engineers Without Borders. The student group is currently working on two different projects that are both situated in Nicaragua with the aim of bettering living conditions of the local people.

Projects include one that works to create a better well-water system, as the current system has problems with saltwater intrusion that makes the water undrinkable. Another project is working towards improving a small school that has severe problems with flooding.

Towards the end of the event, Knight spoke to the crowd of students. Below him in the atrium they listened attentively to his words, surrounded by the various Senior Capstone projects.

Looking at all the intricate projects that had been created by Portland State seniors, Knight’s words seemed to ring true.
“What engineering is about is having an awful lot of fun,” he said.