E-Week Open House April 23 features technology and tradition

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering will celebrate a century of solutions at its E-Week Open House 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 23 in Othmer Hall.

The guest speaker is Brian Halla, executive chairman of National Semiconductor and an alumnus of UNL's electrical engineering program. Halla will speak at 10:30 a.m. in 106 Othmer Hall, Vine Street between 16th and 17th streets [map].

This year's innovative senior project displays look to the future of electronics engineering with an I-phone "app" for controlling a robot, and tweak the past with a "stereolith" audio system using vacuum tubes for superior sound quality. Class assignments in civil engineering offer perspectives on preparing for Lincoln's West Haymarket redevelopment, and chemical engineering student teams will display refined water filters for use in undeveloped nations.

Current and future students and their families are invited to the event, as are alumni, employers and teachers. Several labs open their doors to tours and E-Week's famous "egg drop" competition engages high school students as future engineers: to design devices that survive a 40-foot fall from the top of Othmer Hall. The full schedule of E-Week 2010 Open House activities is listed at www.eweek.unl.edu, along with parking and shuttle options.

The UNL College of Engineering officially formed in 1909 and began the tradition of welcoming the public to its open house in 1912. With programs in Lincoln and Omaha, it is Nebraska's only accredited engineering school. Students earn bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in agricultural engineering, architectural engineering, biological systems engineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering, civil engineering, computer science and engineering, computer and electronics engineering, construction management, construction systems, electrical engineering, engineering mechanics, industrial and management systems, and mechanical engineering.

WRITER: Carole Wilbeck