The 93rd annual Engineering Open House will be held from Friday to Saturday throughout the Engineering Quad and at the Illini Union.
EOH is an event run by the EOH Central Committee of the Engineering Council, which includes students from all engineering disciplines.
Gloria Lin, a director of the committee and senior in Engineering, said there will be more interactive demonstrations this year because of presentations from many big companies including John Deere, Caterpillar and Boeing. The committee will also partner with the University and Champaign Police departments, who will demonstrate the bomb squad robots. which cost about $300,000.
“Every year we try to get bigger and better,” she said. “We try to bring in more attractions, and more cooperative sponsors.”
Lin said most of the main attractions will take place Friday, including a concert with a light show that uses more than 30,000 volts of electricity, led by Lippold Haken, lecturer in ECE. There will also be a talk called “Death From the Skies” by Phil Plait, an astronomer, lecturer and blogger.
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In addition to the shows and exhibits, there will also be creative design competitions for students in middle school, high school and college. All the events are open to the public.
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications, or NCSA, is offering self-guided tours of the Blue Waters Supercomputer on Saturday at the National Petascale Computing Facility, 1725 S. Oak St., Champaign.
Blue Waters is one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, and is used in a range of scientific problems. People interested in this supercomputer can see Blue Waters as well as the infrastructure required for it during the tours.
Trish Barker, a spokeswoman for NCSA, said EOH is a good opportunity for people who are interested in Blue Waters to come and learn more about it.
“People can just come in anytime and look around,” Barker said. “We’re usually not open on the weekend, and we give tours by appointment during operating hours only, so this is the easiest time to come and see Blue Waters.”
The Beckman Institute of Advanced Science and Technology will also have an open house concurrent with EOH. The Beckman staff will provide tours and presentations, along with interactive demonstrations of the research done at the institute.
Lin added that there is a smartphone application for Engineering Open House, as well as a Twitter account and a Facebook page for people who want more information about EOH events.
Earn can be reached at [email protected].
