Engineers Week is celebrating its 60th anniversary!

Author: Heather Stanford; Published: Jan 12, 2011; Category: Education outreach, Engineering Careers, Science, Technology, Uncategorized, Volunteering; Tags: Careers, Children, Classroom Instruction, Earth Science Week, Education, Energy, Engineering, Engineering Careers, Environment, eWeek, Teacher, Technology, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

Engineers Week was founded in 1951 to raise global awareness of the positive contributions engineers make to society and raise awareness of engineering careers.  This professional society is made up of engineers, educators, cultural societies, corporations and government agencies that emphasizes the importance of learning science, math and technology to future generations through global activities during Engineers Week, which is the culmination of awareness programs that occur throughout the year.

This year Engineers Week will be held 20-26 February 2011. The National Engineers Week Foundation is celebrating the 60th anniversary of Engineers Week and recognizing engineers that volunteer in their community. Engineers Week has grown to become a global event that includes an engineering challenge event for students called Future City and special activities designed to make girls more aware of engineering and technology careers.

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a proud sponsor of Engineers Week and encourages members and teachers worldwide to emphasize the importance of a career in engineering. SPE sections plan local activities and outreach to schools. Energy4me will provide reports on SPE section activities and ideas for teachers. Check back for ideas and activities! SPE can provide engineers to serve as classroom speakers in areas where we have members, and educational materials that can be downloaded. 

Click here to learn more about Engineers Week or a career in engineering.

UAE students view industry up close!

Author: Guest Author; Published: Nov 30, 2010; Category: Education outreach, Energy Education, Engineering Careers, Environment, SPE members, Uncategorized; Tags: Careers, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy, Engineering, Engineering Careers, Environment, School, SPE; Comments: Be the first

Guest Author – By Saba Faghihi, SPE Event Coordinator, Dubai, UAE

Call it the ultimate field trip for high school students considering an engineering career!

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) conducted a Regional Education Day on 2 November 2010, giving students a chance to visit the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC). ADIPEC is one of the largest energy shows in the world, and SPE organizes the technical conference at the event. The Education Day hosted 120 high school students, representing 9 secondary schools from the United Arab Emirates.

Education Days are held at selected SPE conferences around the world to introduce high school students to the discipline of petroleum engineering, and give them a chance to learn about the oil and gas industry that produces the energy that runs our world. The hope is that some of them may choose to study engineering and join the oil and gas industry.

The day began at the Petroleum Institute (PI), an engineering education and research institution in Abu Dhabi sponsored by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and four major international oil companies. Students were welcomed by Mr. Arafat Al-Yafei of ADNOC. The program began with a video called “Fuel-less” that describes a young girl’s day when everything in her life derived from oil has disappeared: her makeup, credit card, gasoline for her car and aspirin for her growing stress headache.

Next, university students presented a brief introduction into the oil and gas industry, discussed the pros and cons of joining the industry, and showed how oil and gas affect everyone’s everyday life. PI students then provided tours of the facility’s labs so that the high school students could see what it is like to study engineering, and learn about the field of energy research. The morning program concluded with presentations from young professionals about their experiences working in the industry, with lunch provided by the Petroleum Institute.

For the afternoon session, the students and their teachers visited the exhibition at ADIPEC. The exhibition included displays of the latest technology, software and services by 1,500 local and international companies from over 59 countries.

At the end of the day, it seemed that the group of students had enjoyed their time, become familiar with the industry and made lifelong friends and memories not to be forgotten.

We offer our special thanks to the Petroleum Institute and to the Education Day organizing committee, led by Badria Khalfan, ADNOC (Co-chairperson) and Ghada Bassioni, Petroleum Institute (Co-chairperson).

Engineers or Super Heroes!

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Nov 11, 2010; Category: Energy, Energy Conservation, Energy Education, Energy sources, Engineering Careers, Environment, Renewable energy, Technology, Volunteering; Tags: Energy Conservation, Engineering, Engineering Careers, Environment, sustainability, Technology, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

Engineers create plenty of high-tech gadgets, buildings and mechanisms that make life easier for people around the world. But many engineers also put their skills and training to good use by helping people in developing countries have access to electricity, clean water and other human necessities.

The organization Engineers Without Borders (EWB), which has over 250 chapters and 12,000 members in the US, works on hundreds of projects in countries including Kenya, India and Guatemala. These dedicated engineers – both professionals and students – aim to make a more stable and prosperous world by helping people in need.

EWB’s projects are born from proposals that come directly from the communities, which ensure that the residents’ needs will be met. Engineers travel to the community, assess what the people need and want and then, during subsequent visits, implement a plan to make the community’s goals a reality! Projects have ranged from building a health clinic in Peru to restoring an ancient dam and irrigation system in Cambodia. EWB provides training for local residents so they can maintain and operate the new buildings or systems, and a financial plan is put in place to make sure the project is economically viable for the future.

The recent rescue of coal miners in Chile also highlighted the importance of engineers. The rescue efforts used technologies developed and perfected in the oil industry, including drilling equipment and gyro guidance instruments to get to the target. Several members of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the sponsor of Energy4me, participated in the rescue.  This event shows how engineers can make a world of difference!

Think you might be a future engineer? Check out Energy4me’s careers section to find out if engineering is for you!

Solar Power in Your Everyday Life

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Nov 5, 2010; Category: Energy, Energy Conservation, Energy Education, Energy sources, Environment, Renewable energy, Technology, Uncategorized; Tags: Children, Earth science, Education, Energy, Energy Conservation, Environment, Renewable, sustainability, Technology; Comments: Be the first

You might use solar power more often than you think. It’s used in all kinds of everyday objects like calculators, cell phones and more!

Many calculators have small solar panels across the top that provide power, sometimes in combination with a battery. These solar panels work just like solar panels you may see on the roof of a house or office building, collecting the sun’s energy and storing it for when you need it. The solar panels must be recharged (by being exposed to sunlight) regularly in order for the calculator to work.

Solar power is used for cell phones, too. It can be especially useful in developing countries where electricity is not always available. For example, in Kenya, mobile phone company Safaricom Ltd. released a phone in mid-2009 that charges itself using the sun’s rays, even on cloudy days. About 17 million Kenyans use cell phones, but only about 1.3 million of the country’s residents have access to electricity to charge their phones. Some people use generators powered by bicycles to charge their phones; others pay businesses a fee to charge their phones for them.1 Solar-powered technology could be a huge help for many people. Solar phones are also being introduced in India, Latin America and other spots around the world.

Today, solar vehicles are primarily demonstration vehicles and engineering exercises, or in solar car races such as the World Solar Challenge and the North American Solar Challenge. These are electric vehicles powered by solar electricity. One day, solar power may be used more in cars as technology progresses, especially in hybrid models.

Learn more about solar energy.

1. “Solar Cell Phones Take Off in Developing Nations,” Moni Basu and Faith Karimi, CNN.com, 21 Aug., 2009; http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/21/solar.cellphone/index.html

A Career in Geology Rocks!

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Oct 20, 2010; Category: Energy, Energy Conservation, Energy Education, Energy sources, Environment, Geology, Renewable energy, Science; Tags: Careers, Earth, Earth science, Education, Energy, energy challenges, Energy Conservation, Environment, Geology, Renewable, School, science, Student, sustainability, Teacher; Comments: Be the first

The numbers of jobs in the geosciences are predicted to grow by 22% in the next 10 years!

Geoscientists work to solve some of our planet’s greatest challenges. Climate change. The environment. Energy. Water resources. Population growth. Our changing global environment is putting geoscientists in great demand.

Many students have never considered a career in geology. They may think that geology is only about rocks but geoscientists study the Earth, its minerals, rocks, fossils, atmosphere and more! There are many disciplines within geology. Geology, geophysics, hydrology, oceanography, marine science, atmospheric science, planetary science, meteorology, environmental science, and soil science are all considered to be the main geosciences disciplines by the National Science Foundation.

Geoscientists perform many different roles. Explorers, writers, environmental consultants, and teachers are just some of the many roles they play. When working they are never board and stuck in a cubicle. The often divide their time between the laboratory, the field and the office. Geoscientists work in many different places to learn about the Earth’s environment and resources.

They have many questions about the Earth, the solar system, the environment, life on Earth and other planets! They also observe the environment and how current situations affect one another. By increasing their knowledge and understanding of the geosciences and how they relate to one another, geoscientists improve the quality of our lives.

Students who think they might want to pursue a career in geology should focus their studies on biology, science, chemistry, physics, math, and computer science. Communication and writing skills are also important, because geologists must be able to write reports and effectively communicate their scientific findings. Most university students pursue a masters or doctoral degrees while gaining experience in the field.

Students who like sciences should consider geology as a career – they might find out it really rocks! Learn more about geology careers.