Posted on July 27: Posters present experiences in engineering
School isn't just about books for the nearly 200 engineering students studying at McMaster this summer. They're learning first-hand what engineering is about and this week they're showing it off.
On Thursday, July 29, students in three engineering summer programs will participate in an annual poster presentation hosted by the Faculty of Engineering.
“The purpose of the event is to promote the research endeavours of undergraduate engineering students at McMaster University,” says Anne Markey, manager of Engineering Co-op & Career Services. “This type of work is also an important component of experiential education. By having our students create a poster about their research, this process encourages them to reflect on their accomplishments and what they have learned in their research position.”
Sixty-seven students working in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) are participating this year. This program provides first- and second-year engineering students with summer-long research-based employment and experience working with faculty and research centre staff.
Seventeen Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research students also are participating. BIMR is an interdisciplinary research organization with the mandate to develop, support and co-ordinate all materials research-related activities at McMaster.
As well, there will be poster displays from students who received Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grants in science and engineering. These students receive NSERC grants to work in research positions in a university environment. The initiative is meant to stimulate a student's interest in research and encourage them to pursue an academic career in science or engineering.
“The research opportunities that the Faculty of Engineering provides to first- and second-year undergraduate students, through the Brockhouse Institute and UROP, is unique among Canadian universities,” says Tracey Gammon, student development officer in Engineering Co-op & Career Services. “We would like everyone at McMaster to be able to see first-hand, the exciting research our students are involved with.”
The presentation takes place on July 29 from 1:30-4 p.m. in the John Hodgins Engineering Building on the first-, second- and third-floor hallways, from the doors of the main lobby area leading toward the JHE annex. Posters will be judged by three judges from corporations and three UROP professor judges. The top 10 students with the best posters will each receive a $20 gift certificate from Titles Bookstore.
The faculty will also host Annette Bergeron, Ontario Society of Professional Engineers' president and chair, and director of First Year Studies, Faculty of Applied Science, Queen's University, as a guest speaker, in JHE 376 from 1:30 to 2 p.m.
