EA Halloween Costume Party
EA members decided to show off their Halloween spirit this Wednesday by dressing up in their fun and creative Halloween costumes - from the Riddler, to Dean Bee, to a banana, to The Rock himself. The evening was punctuated with two games of Mafia and some Halloween themed snacks!
40 Under 40 Woman of the Year
October 2018
Central Illinois
"The Forty Under 40 program highlights the careers and achievements of 40 people under the
age of 40 who are making great strides in business and community involvement. This year’s Woman
of the Year is Jenny Amos"
(Central Illinois Business Magazine)
Article:
The full article detailing the achievements of Dr. Jenny Amos
Podcast:
Dr. Jenny Amos discussing the award
EA Goes to Curtis!
October 6, 2018
Curtis Orchard & Pumpkin Patch
Our Ambassadors went to the local apple orchard to eat some delicious apple
donuts, fresh, crisp cider, picked up some pumpkins, and more! It was a great
event that brought the EA family closer
More photos depiciting the event can be found here
2018 Annual Speaking Competition!
April 2018
Mechanical Engineering Building
"On Saturday, April 7th, during the Engineering Ambassadors’ Fourth Annual Speaking Competition—SpeakUp!—four finalists,
armed with PowerPoints and well prepared by their EA mentors, stood before five judges and spoke for around seven minutes
about the 'Advancement of Technology in an Engineering Discipline and its Impact and Future Implications in Society.' Their goal?
To compete and win a prize, of course, but, even more importantly, to improve their public speaking." (Innes, Elizabeth)
For the full article detailing the events of SpeakUp!, please visit:
http://www.istem.illinois.edu/news/ea.speaking.html
More photos of the event can be found here
Engineering Ambassadors visit Brenwood
April 2017
Brenwood Elementary School
Engineering Ambassadors, Sara Kochanski, Samantha Park, Austin Chan, and David Yan, visited Brenwood Elementary school. They engaged students with a packaging engineering presentation and a follow-up activity in which the students had to protect saltine crackers from being crushed with materials such as ziplocs, toilet paper, and pipe cleaners.
More photos of the event can be found here
Cupcake Wars
April 2017
Memorial Stadium
Engineering Ambassadors hosted Cupcake Wars, where we baked cupcakes and sold them to Illini football fans to raise funds. The customers got to taste and judge the cupcakes, then vote for their favorite.
High school students from Chicago Public Schools visit campus
April 2017
Lincoln Hall
Experience Illinois is an early outreach program where EA hosted 9th and 10th graders from select Chicago Public Schools onto campus. The students are members of high-achieving, low income and/or underrepresented populations on Illinois’s campus. For many of the students guests this is their first exposure to a college campus. Participating students are between the ages of 13 to 15 years old. They spend a full day on campus and engage our community through various sessions. EA's goal was to help prepare the students for college and share what it takes to be successfully admitted to a college or university. EA hosted 4 days of activities and presentations for the visitng students.
The third annual EA speaking competition is held!
April 2017
Transportation Building
SpeakUp!, hosted by Engineering Ambassadors and sponsored by Monsanto, was held on April 1st. Finalists gave 7-minute presentations on "an engineering solution related to conservation, sustainability, or the environment," with EA advisors Dr. Amos and Dean Brunet, Engineering advisor Chris Migotsky, and Monsanto representative Jason Smith serving as judges. Scoring was determined according to presentation, elocution, clarity, creativity, and passion, and the benefits of finalist training in March's EA workshop and in one-on-one coaching clearly showed. Congratulations to third place winner Michael Neal for his presentation on pervious concrete, second place winner Aashay Patel for his presentation on refrigeration, and first place winner Emilio Rivera for his presentation on utilizing satellite imagery to improve farming efficiency and yields. The winners were awarded $50, $100, and $200, respectively, and special thanks to Sai Komaragiri and Jenny Marten for their fantastic presentations as well
Ambassadors are knighted and awarded
March 2017
Illini Union
Engineering Open House fun didn't end after Engineering Open House wrapped up! EAs Melissa Goetter and Viraat Goel both won best in their categories for the EOH projects their teams put on to excite, interest, and teach EOH attendees, and they were recognized with awards at the Knights Ball. The Knights of St. Patrick, the highest honor bestowed annually upon a dozen of the most extraordinary upperclassmen Engineering students, were also knighted at the Ball and one of the dozen was our very own Katie Mummah! In addition, EA faculty advisor Dean Brunet was named an Honorary Knight of St. Patrick for the hard work she continues to invest in the College of Engineering and its students.
EA gives Engineering Open House tours
March 2017
Illini Union
Engineering Open House is the largest annual student-run engineering fair in the US and was held on March 10th and 11th. With over 20,000 annual attendees, EOH introduces visitors young and old to the wonders of engineering through student exhibits spanning all engineering disciplines. EA played a role in EOH by providing tours to visiting groups, including school groups, and EAs were able to help people navigate the busy Engineering Quad to find their way to their favorite exhibits.
Ambassadors travel to Chicago for a student panel
March 2017
Chicago, IL
EAs Sara Kochanski, Eddie Sun, Neva Manalil, Vignesh Sarathy, and Josh Lewis headed to a national TI conference for educators and were a student panel for questions the educators had about their experience at UIUC. On campus, EAs Viraat Goel, Melissa Goetter, Sara Kochanski, and Simran Patil gave presentations about effective teachers & classes and served as a student panel for the Collin Scholars program, a program for first year Engineering faculty at UIUC that acclimates them to the University and guides them on how to teach.
Illinois Represented at National EA Conference
September 2016
Pennsylvania State University
Advisers Jenny Amos and Dean Brunet along with EA President Nick Cain traveled to Penn State for the Natioanl EA Conference. Over 15 top scools from across the nation were able to meet and go through workshops based around the fundamentals Engineering Ambassadors. Nick mentored a group from Tennesse Tech University on strategies for changing the negative stigmas associated with engineering while advisers met with other school representatives to present and learn more about the nation EA network.
Congratulations to the 2016 Speaking Competition Winners!
April 2016
Garden Hills Elementary
Six top engineering students in various disciplines were chosen as finalist to give presentations on "describing an engineering solution to a societal problem." The judges consisted of: Dean Marie-Christine Brunet, Director of Communications, Michelle Rice, head of the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Penn State, Dr. Karen A. Thole, marketing and communications strategy leader, Bill Bell, and engineering alumni, Owen Doyle. The criteria for scoring ranged from content, poise, elocution, organization, ethusiasm, and creativity. Third place winner of $50 was Kevin Wang, second place for $100 was Aashay Patel, and first place for $200 was Shanna Bobbins. Honorable mentions to Virupaksh Agrawal, Jared C. Bowman, and Diego Deveras.
Ambassadors travel to local schools
March 2016
Garden Hills Elementary School
EAs visited a local elementary school to demonstrate the physics of sound waves. Activities included talking through cups with a string, wine glass sounds, and drums. This was one of many visits made in the spring semester.
A new class of students join EA!
November 2015
Transporation Building
26 students were welcomed into Engineering Ambassadors the same night EA announced its newly formed partnership with Engineering Career Services (ECS). This makes the largest and most diverse class of ambassadors to date. With the organization’s numbers growing, EA hopes to continue to expand its horizons into new areas.
Ambassadors meet aspiring bioengineering high school students.
November 2015
Judah Christian School - Champaign, IL
BioE senior Asha Kirchoff explains and works with high school students at Judah Christian School to teach the different chemical compositions found within a prescription pill. These students voluntarily enrolled in the class due to an interest in Biology and/or Engineering. Kirchoff was able to demonstrate and show engineering applications used in the real world as well as discuss different opportunities found at the University of Illinois for BioE. EA has begun to expand the types and range of students they talk to by visiting local elementary, middle, and high school students.
EA’s 2015-16 school visits has liftoff!
October 2015
Booker T. Washington Elementary - Champaign, IL
Illinois Ambassadors have begun a new season of visiting local Champaign-Urbana schools to help change the conversation in regards to engineering. EA has been working closely with schools such as Booker T. Washington Elementary, Garden Hills Elementary, and the St. Elmo Brady STEM Academy. Topics covered at these schools this year have included rocket propulsion (activity pictured above), the science of blacklights, as well as energy conversion via motors.
EA’s Inaugural Speaking Competition
April 2015
Mechanical Engineering Laboratory
Five excellent presentations were given by top engineering students at the University of Illinois. The presenters were prompted with the task of describing an engineering solution to a societal problem through a seven minute presentation. The students were scored by three excellent judges with prestigious backgrounds: Assistant Dean Marie-Christine Brunet, Director of Research Communications Melissa Edwards, and Associate Dean Kevin T Pitts. First place was awarded to Aerospace Engineering Student Je Won Hong on his presentation of "Eco-Friendly Spaceflight System Solutions in the Future." Second and third place were given to Mechanical Engineering student Patrick Slade and Bioengineering student Blake Wilhelmsen respectively. Honorable mentions were awarded to Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological engineering student Jared C. Bowman and Bioengineering student Olivia Webb. Congratulations to these five superb presenters!
Engineering Ambassador receives Chancellor's Public Service Engagement Grant.
March 2014
University of Illinois
Founding Illinois Engineering Ambassador Asha Kirchhoff was named a Chancellor’s Public Engagement Student Fellow in recognition of work done with the Illinois EA program. As part of the fellowship, Illinois EA will receive a $1,500 grant to fund work with the St. Elmo Brady STEM Academy
Illinois Engineering Ambassadors is founded!
August 2012
Pennsylvania State University
The founding Illinois Engineering Ambassadors and Advisors at the Penn State EA conference.
October 31, 2018
Engineering Hall