The in STEM – “Discover Engineering”: A New Name for an Expanding and Enduring Mission
From Rick McMaster
 I believe that many of you have heard of EWeek, short for Engineers Week, that has celebrated the contributions of engineers to society now for over 60 years. In 1990, a new aspect was added to EWeek, outreach to K-12, to introduce students to engineering and encourage them in their studies of math and science, keeping the door open to a future career in engineering or other technical professions. My first experience with EWeek was on an assignment to the IBM corporate staff when Stephen Bechtel, Jr. approached Jack Kuehler, then president of IBM, to have IBM join the effort. It was the start of IBM’s and my own commitment to STEM before anyone had yet invented the acronym.
 EWeek has continued to grow its dedication to outreach over the years since those intial discussions and is changing its name to Discover Engineering – Discoverfor short - to cover not only its signature program of EWeek but to encompass all its programs to encourge students, especially those in underrepresented populations, to pursue careers in engineering, contributing to the betterment of society worldwide. It also avoids the confusion that the effort is limited to a single week each year but has programs that span the full year.
 There are a number of programs under the Discoverbanner. High on the list is Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day or “Girl Day” for short. Around the world businesses and higher education institutions open their doors to girls (as well as their brothers) to explore STEM through hands-on activities and exciting demos. In Central Texas, Tricia Berry of the Cockerell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, attracts 2000 K-12 students to campus, with volunteers, not just UT students but technical professionals from companies throughout the Central Texas area. This is replicated across the US and around the world.
 Another Discoverprogram is the Global Marathon – Women in Engineering & Technology. The marathon goes for three full days, so that, no matter what time zone you are in, you can be part of it. Again, both businesses and educational institutions worldwide are involved. Men are not excluded.
 The Future City Competition is another Discoverprogram. Future City challenges middle-school students to imagine, design, and build cities of the future. When the competition is over, the participants are not only prepared to be citizens of today’s complex and technical world, they are poised to become the leaders of tomorrow.
The messages of these programs are straightfoward.
- Engineering is creative.
- Engineering is about teamwork.
- Engineering makes a difference in the world.
Please explore the new website. There are a lot of new resources to make it easy to participate in any of the programs.
Until the next issue and , as always, your comments and suggestions for future columns are welcome, @drkold. Thanks!
The graphics and program names are trademarks of the National Engineers Week Foundation.
Rick McMaster is the STEM Advocate at IBM’s University Programs Worldwide.
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