ACTION-PACKED ACTIVITIES PROMISED

By SUZANNE M. SCHMIDT

A chemical magic show, a laser light show and robot demonstrations are all part of the thrills guests can expect to see at the University of South Florida’s Engineering Expo.
The expo will be Feb. 16 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Feb. 17 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the school’s College of Engineering.
“We invite all the student organizations to have shows and provide activities,” said Monica Escobar, a graduate student who is the director of publicity for the event. “We have also invited companies in the Tampa Bay area with engineering-related positions. We want to show our students what to expect when they finish their degree and go out into their career.”
The expo serves a dual purpose in informing the community and students about engineering and as a recruiting tool.
“The main theme centers around engineering,” said Henrick Jeanty, instructor in the computer science and engineering department and faculty advisor for the event. “The expo shows what engineering is and how it helps us in our daily lives. We hope to appeal to our visitors. Maybe a high school student visiting the event will enjoy the expo and will become interested in becoming an engineer one day and then maybe they will choose USF.”
The expo is geared towards children through 12th-grade, but is free and open to anyone. The event will have a variety of demonstrations including a fun with physics show by the Society of the Physics Students, a chemical magic show from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, a laser light show from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a robot demonstration from the CRASAR Team.
“This will be a great event for anyone who likes science, math and engineering,” Escobar said. “There will be lots of interesting displays and demonstrations and lots of hands-on activities. TECO will be there with a bike attached to a light bulb. People can ride it and see how much energy it takes to turn on a light bulb.”
Many companies will be participating with demonstrations of what engineers do at their companies including MOSI, TECO, Honeywell and the Environmental Protection Commission.
“It is good for our own students and prospective students,” Jeanty said. “Any student who doesn’t know which branch or specialty they want to go into in engineering can come and check out the different areas of engineering. By going to the expo and getting to see these different areas, it can help them decide what they want to do.”
In addition to all the exhibits, visitors to the expo will get the chance to look at USF’s facilities.
“The expo will be mostly concentrated around the engineering college area with some spots outside being utilized as well,” Jeanty said. “There will be some open labs, so people can see what they look like. A tour of the nano-technology lab will also be given. A tour guide will take a small group of people through the lab at a time.”
Many of the school’s groups have each designed a display or demonstration for the event. A few of the displays will feature robotics including one robot nicknamed the Intelligent Scarecrow. The robot was created by four computer science and engineering students at USF and took second place in Microsoft’s Third Annual Windows Embedded Student Challenge, a worldwide competition.
A few area schools are participating as well, including Jamerson Elementary School and Middleton High School. Both schools will have displays and activities.
Expo organizers are also hoping to attract many of the students in the area for field trips.
For more information visit http://expo.eng.usf.edu.