Merrill W. Buckley, Jr.
IEEE-USA Past President (2000)

Where does the time go? Did you know that National Engineers Week (E-Week), which was founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) in 1951, turns 50 this year? And once again a wide range of programs and activities are planned for 18-24 February to promote the contributions engineers make to the quality of life. Visit www.eweek.org for more information. To find out how IEEE-USA is getting involved, go to our E-Week Web site at www.ieeeusa.org/eweek/.

Because I’ve always been a strong advocate of getting more minorities and women into engineering, one project that has me really excited is Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day on Thursday, 22 February. I’ve conducted a few of those days myself. Three of my granddaughters are in college studying engineering, two at Georgia Tech and one at Villanova. Although I couldn’t convince any of the three to study electrical or electronics engineering, I’m pleased that one is studying industrial engineering, another mechanical engineering, and the third computer engineering.

Their studies are encouraging to me not only on a personal level, but also for the profession as a whole. Only about nine percent of the engineering workforce are women. Compare this statistic with the realization that today more than 50 percent of the students in medical and law schools are women. Our low percentage of women is a shame, and we need to do better. Not only do women bring a different perspective to engineering, but if we could recruit more females into the profession, we’d have little or no need to look for engineers outside the country.

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day should have a profound effect on many of today’s young women, and encourage them to consider engineering as a career. We have a lot of bright young women out there whose talent could help design the systems and products of tomorrow.

I applaud the efforts of all of the IEEE’s female members who have served as mentors and role models to many of our youth. Catherine Jordan, who served as the IEEE Washington Section Chair in 2000, has spoken to middle school girls about engineering for the past 7-8 years. She thinks Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is a wonderful idea and an excellent program. "I try to foster a continued interest in math and science," Jordan said. "If we don’t continue that interest at the middle school level, I think it’s a lot more difficult to regain that ground."

Because E-Week 2001 co-chairs IBM and NSPE’s goal is to introduce one million young women to engineering, we need just as many of our members —men and women—to get involved in this worthy project. IEEE-USA and the IEEE Women in Engineering Committee have organized a contest to see which U.S. IEEE Sections can reach the most young women by 1 April. The top three sections will be recognized publicly. To participate, please fill out the form at www.ieeeusa.org/eweek/form.html.

Another great program, which IEEE-USA introduced to E-Week in 1993, is the Future City Competition (www.futurecity.org). To compete in this project, 7^th and 8^th grade students from across the country create their own vision of a city of tomorrow. The students work in teams of three with a teacher and an engineer. Twenty-one of the 26 regional winners will gather in Washington, D.C., on 20-21 February for the national finals. For the first time, IEEE-USA will present an award for best communications systems. Ned Sauthoff, my successor as IEEE-USA president, will attend the finals on the 21^st. All told, about 30,000 students are expected to have participated this past year.

I’m proud that of the 26 Future City Competition regional coordinators, seven are IEEE-USA volunteers: Sonya Hutchinson (Alabama), David Pierce (Louisiana), Todd Hiemer (co-coordinator, Oklahoma), Michael Andrews (Phoenix, Ariz.), Jean Eason (Texas-Ft. Worth/Dallas), Dr. Zafar Taqvi (Texas-Houston) and Joe First (Washington State). Their efforts on behalf of our youth are much appreciated.

Another impressive legacy project starting this year is A Sightseer’s Guide to Engineering. This Web-based travel guide will help travelers incorporate famous and not-so-famous engineering wonders from all 50 states into their vacation itineraries. So, if you know of a site you think should be considered — particularly an interactive one — submit it to www.eweek.org/nspe/engineeringsights/.

If none of these activities tickle your fancy, you can find 50 other suggestions at www.eweek.org/index.html. Possibilities range from speaking to elementary, middle school or high school students about a career in engineering, to organizing a tour of interesting engineering achievements in your community.

As you can see, you can do many things during National Engineers Week to help promote your profession and increase its visibility. Together, we can interest our young people in engineering and help more people realize how we make the world a better place. So get involved; it’s our week to shine.