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Engineering Expo creates tomorrow’s tech experts

Provided by Lisa Lanza, Umpqua Valley STEAM Hub Project Manager

Approximately 300 guests attended the annual Explore Engineering, Surveying, Computing and Computer Science event which showcased nearly 40 exhibits.

Every year an exhibit is held in the Danny Lang Center. The attendance for this year’s expo increased by almost one hundred people. The purpose of this expo was to help find careers. Booths had information pertaining to starting a new career. Representatives from colleges like Oregon Tech Oregon State and Air Force attended.

“This has been an annual event at UCC for the last eight years. It is a wonderful event that provides an opportunity for students to learn about programs at UCC.” Clay Baumgartner UCC Chair, Engineering and CIS Department, said, “This year we had the highest attendance yet, estimated at 300 people.”

This event was for middle schools, high schools, UCC students and their families. The Expo received a grant through Umpqua Valley Steam Hub to fund the expo. This helped fund the dinner and the transportation.

After everyone had gone through the dinner line, the Expo had speakers talk about their success stories and how people can prosper in different career paths in engineering.

Students who would be attending UCC in the fall and who had interest in the Engineering Program were able to enter a drawing to be eligible for different scholarships. These scholarships are related to different studies in the engineering programs, such as computers, math, physics, surveying, and other opportunities.

“This year’s event was a combined effort of several departments at UCC working together and creating an excellent opportunity for the community to learn about UCC’s engineering, surveying and computer science programs,” Lisa Lanza, Project Manager Umpqua Valley STEAM Hub, said.

The UCC engineering program had a playful competition to see who could harness the most wind power. Engineering students ran the Expo’s booths while offering materials to build a propeller.

The propeller, which was hooked up and placed in front of a fan, measured energy. It was a continuous competition for one group of high school students trying to outdo each other by making better propellers and more energy for two hours straight.

The Engineering Expo had many different opportunities for people to find careers and what is best for them. The community came together and found a way to not only bond, but to better themselves and the community. They did this by educating people to make better roads, make water and air cleaner, and other environmental focuses to better the community.