It’s almost that time of year again — that time of March when the campus rallies in abundant anticipation and excitement. However, I’m not talking about the Big Ten Basketball Tournament. I’m talking about Engineering Open House.
The 93rd annual EOH kicks off tomorrow and will feature over 250 exhibits put on by students, societies and academic departments. It will also feature attractions such as the Illini Engineering Challenge, the Jerry Sanders Robot Design Competition and a keynote speech by author and astronomer Phil Pliat.
While EOH is the talk of the town north of Green Street, students outside of Engineering Land are often uninterested, thinking that EOH is not for them. The reality is that EOH is an event with wide appeal that should be embraced by the campus as a whole.
EOH is the largest student-run event at this university, consistently drawing over 20,000 visitors each year, including many prospective students and alumni. The quality of the event is something that most universities can’t rival, making it a staple of the Illinois experience. Thus, no senior’s bucket list should be complete until they have gone and experienced at least some of what EOH has to offer.
Now, you may be wondering: What could an accounting or political science major possibly get out of watching a non-Newtonian fluids demonstration?
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It turns out a lot, in fact.
For starters, EOH provides the unique experience for non-engineering majors to get a taste of what engineering is all about. This can provide a greater appreciation and understanding of the kind of work that engineering students and faculty are involved in and why it is significant.
This understanding is critical in a world that is driven by technological innovation. Regardless of your major, technological changes are going to impact your life in some way — be it through a new cell phone, computer application or car running on alternative energy. Having a better understanding of where this technology comes from will make you better able to use it to your maximum advantage.
In addition to the idealistic benefits, EOH is a tremendous opportunity to learn something new and interesting. The exhibits are designed to illustrate everything from basic scientific principles to cutting edge research. With the exhibits sprawling across the entire engineering campus, representing everything from computer algorithms to hydrosystems, you are almost guaranteed to stumble across something that peaks your curiosity.
At an even simpler level, EOH is just plain fun. For instance, you can watch the state-of-the-art crusher in Talbot Laboratory apply a million pounds of force to burst a cement column, you can witness a live simulation of a dorm room catching fire, and you can experience a live Tesla coil concert on the Bardeen Quad. All of these exhibits can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of age or background.
These thrills feed in to the main message of EOH, which is that engineering itself is exciting. The projects that University students and faculty are working on have the potential to revolutionize the way we live. Thus, understanding the importance of promoting engineering, even if you yourself are not a scientist or engineer, is essential for enabling a better future for all.
Experiencing EOH as someone from a non-engineering background even offers the possibility to find an original connection between something you see being presented with something that you are working on in your own field of interest. This intermingling of ideas is the key to creativity, which is something that everybody values.
So, regardless of what you are studying or what your interests are, come out either Friday or Saturday to get a healthy dose of engineering. Admission is free for all students, and you can spend the day exploring parts of campus that you may have never even known about before.
It will definitely be a blast, and it may even be a life changing experience.
Andrew is a sophomore in Engineering. He can be reached at ajhorto2@dailyillini.com.
