March 16, 2016 The University of Alabama in Huntsville's (UAH) College of Engineering observed National Engineers Week February 12-26. The 2016 eWeek theme was "Celebrating how engineers make a difference in our world!" On Thursday, Feb. 25, the eWeek Banquet and Awards Ceremony honoring College of Engineering faculty and students was held at the Jackson Conference Center, located in Cummings Research Park. Each year one of the College of Engineering's member technical societies hosts the event. This year, AIAA Greater Huntsville Section and The Boeing Company hosted the eWeek banquet. The purpose of eWeek is to call attention to the contributions to society that engineers make. The keynote speaker for the banquet and awards ceremony was Dr. Robert C. "Bob" Winn. Dr. Winn is a mechanical/aeronautical engineer, Principal and Chairman of the Board of Engineering Systems Inc. (ESI). ESI is a multidisciplinary company providing professional engineering services to industrial, legal and insurance firms, government agencies and trade organizations and acts as consultants to other engineering firms. ESI provides a wide range of technical support capabilities, including metallurgical, materials, aeronautical, mechanical, structural, electrical, safety, automotive, and audio/visual services. Student of the Year: Undergraduate Category Aerospace Engineering - Ryan Gott Chemical Engineering - Zachary McGee Civil Engineering - Brent Fletcher Computer Engineering - Lee Seemann Electrical Engineering - Jonathan Ostrosky Industrial Engineering - Dallas Behrens Mechanical Engineering - Joshua Giegling Student of the Year: Graduate Category Chemical Engineering - Zheng Lu Civil Engineering - Jaehoon Kim Electrical & Computer Engineering - Wonkyu Kim Industrial Engineering - Katherine Burris Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering - Rohit Dhariwal Outstanding Faculty Junior Faculty - Sarma Rani Senior Faculty - Kader Frendi Lifetime Achievement - James Blackmon Other UAH individuals receiving awards were: American Society of Mechanical Engineers - Huntsville Branch Outstanding Mechanical Engineer of the Year - Phillip Ligrani Outstanding Young Mechanical Engineer of the Year - Naveen Vetcha Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - Huntsville Section Outstanding Educator - Adam Panagos Outstanding Student (UAH Chapter) - Elena Todorovska Every year, National Engineers Week (now known as DiscoverE (discovere.org) is held on the third week of February. eWeek is observed by more than 70 engineering, education, and cultural societies, and more than 50 corporations and government agencies. The celebration of eWeek was started in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) in conjunction with President George Washington's Birthday. President Washington is considered as the nation's first engineer, notably for his survey work.
