HONOLULU, Hawaii (Feb. 14, 2014) -- More than 300 engineers and friends of the 17 organizations within the Hawaii Council of Engineering Societies plus invited local VIPs and dignitaries and engineers from the Honolulu District are expected to gather at the Hale Koa's Banyan Tree Showroom Feb. 18 for a luncheon to kick off Engineers Week 2014, which runs Feb. 16 to 22.
"Engineers Week is a great opportunity to showcase the accomplishments and capabilities of the Honolulu District's professional engineers, architects and surveyors," said Todd Barnes, chief of Engineering & Construction, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District and past Honolulu Post president, Society of American Military Engineers (SAME).
Statewide Engineers Week activities include: signing of an Engineers Week Proclamation and photo opportunity with Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell; signing of an Engineers Week Proclamation and photo opportunity with Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie; Engineers Week static displays at Pearlridge Shopping Center Feb. 15-17 by engineering organizations; attendance at the kick-off luncheon and the HCES (Hawaii Council of Engineering Societies) Engineers Week banquet held February 22. The Corps supports all of these events.
The 2014 Engineers Week theme is "Discover Engineering: Let's Make a Difference."
The celebration of National Engineers Week was started in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers in conjunction with President George Washington's Birthday. President Washington is considered the nation's first engineer, notably for his surveying work.
Barnes and several of the District's Department of the Army interns are creating Corps of Engineers and Honolulu District photographic exhibits that showcase the District's missions for public display at Pearlridge Shopping Center.
Jointly hosted by the Honolulu Post of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and the Hawaii Council of Engineering Societies (HCES), the 2014 Kick- off Luncheon will feature keynote speaker U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pacific Ocean Division Commander Maj. Gen. Richard L. Stevens.
Each year during Engineers Week, the HCES organizes display exhibits to increase public awareness and appreciation of the engineering profession. The purpose of the displays and interactive exhibits is to improve the public image of the engineering profession and to stimulate qualified students in public and private schools to choose careers in engineering and in related science fields.
The public is invited to join in the Engineers Week celebration beginning at the Pearlridge Mall in Honolulu where static engineering exhibits will be on display at Uptown Center Court Feb. 15-17. On Feb. 16, the Hawaii Council of Engineering Societies and Pearlridge Center, with the support of the Pearl City High School and Highlands Intermediate School Robotics Teams, will sponsor the HCES Pearlridge Hawaii VEX IQ State Championship. Eighteen VEX IQ teams that qualified through earlier regional tournaments will be competing for four slots for the World VEX IQ Championships, which will be held in April at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center.
Prior to Engineers Week, Honolulu District engineers and staff attended the Oahu 2014 MATHCOUNTS competition with 16 personnel volunteering their services as moderators, proctors and scorers at the Oahu competition Feb. 1 at Kamehameha Schools, Honolulu. Sixth, seventh and eighth graders from more than 36 Oahu public and private schools participated in the competition. Respective winners from Oahu, Maui and the island of Hawaii will meet for the State MATHCOUNTS championship on Oahu March 8 at Kamehameha Schools. Another seven Honolulu District volunteers will be volunteering their time at the state competition. State winners advance to the National MATHCOUNTS May 9 in Orlando, Fla.
The MATHCOUNTS program, in its 31st year, is sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers at the state and local levels to emphasize the importance of mathematical skills in the development of future technology and encourage students to excel in these areas. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recognizes the critical role that Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education plays in enabling the U.S. to remain the economic and technological leaders of the global marketplace, and enabling the Department of Defense and Army in the security of our Nation. The Corps is committed to teaming with others to strengthen STEM-related programs that inspire current and future generations of young people to pursue careers in STEM fields.
MATHCOUNTS builds skills, promotes strategic problem solving and challenges students to sharpen their analytical abilities by bringing together sixth, seventh and eighth grade students through the MATHCOUNTS competition program, a national middle school coaching and competitive mathematics program that promotes mathematics achievement through a series of fun and engaging contests as individual, team and single elimination head-to-head individual events. The program exists in all 50 states plus U.S. territories and the Department of Defense and State Department schools.
Also coinciding with this year?'s National Engineers Week activities is the University of Hawaii at Manoa's College of Engineering Career Fair on Feb. 19. Honolulu District Workforce Management staff and District engineering personnel will be on hand to provide future engineers with educational career guidance, information on potential job opportunities within the Corps as well as discussing potential STEM field career paths.
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