Instead of going to class last Thursday and Friday, engineering students joined community-members and businesses in the biennial Engineering Expo.
The expo, which involved several hundred students, including over 60 student groups, gave engineering students a chance to inform the public about their projects.
\The expo gives people an idea for what engineering is all about,"" said mechanical engineering Professor John Moskwa.
The expo also provided an opportunity for grade school and high school students to get excited about a subject which can, at times, seem complex, according to civil engineering Professor Tuncer Edil.
""The expo makes technology more familiar and understandable,"" Edil said.
Engineers Without Borders, a student group which focuses on sustainable energy, gave children a hands-on experience at the event. The group had the children take random organic materials, like newspaper, and smash them into a small brick to show the different ways of obtaining fuel.
""The kids loved getting dirty,"" UW-Madison junior Paul Fraser said.
Engineers Without Borders also displayed a solar water food cooker.
""The expo helps make people, both in and out of engineering, more aware of engineering,"" Fraser said.
Edil, who is also the chair of the geological engineering club, said his group displayed a groundwater-flow model and a quicksand model.
Edil added the expo provided many benefits to undergraduate students.
""When I first came to the UW 32 years ago, I was astounded by the Engineering Expo,"" he said. ""I was most astounded that the whole thing was organized by the undergraduate community.""
UW-Madison seniors Mariana Kersh and Jesse Maier co-chaired the event.
UW-Madison junior Tyler Gabert said the expo was a valuable experience that enabled him to apply knowledge from past classes.
""I learned how to work with a team and turn an idea into a tangible product,"" he said.
Along with UW-Madison's chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Gabert created a bicycle that will compete in a national competition called Human-Powered Vehicle Challenge.
At the competition, the bicycle will compete in a 40 kilometer human endurance race and a utility event, which will test the performance of the vehicle.
Industry also had a big presence at the Expo with over 20 businesses displaying exhibits. IBM gave children an opportunity to play with a robot and Mustang also had an exhibit.
Edil said the expo provided a nice activity for the Madison community.
""I'm proud that our students do this,"" he said.
