Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) students earned a second place award in a national video contest sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The contest, part of National Engineers Week (Feb. 14-20), asked students across the country to show how their schools are "Making their Mark on the World" by using engineering skills and knowledge in community service projects that touch the lives of people in their regions.
The contest entries were judged by seventh and eighth graders who were finalists in the National Future City Competition, held in Washington, D.C., in February. ASCE asked the middle-school students to serve as judges in hopes of inspiring them with images of college students engaged in fun and meaningful engineering-related activities that help people.
"I offer my personal congratulations to WPI," said Leslie D. Payne, the ASCE's manager of pre-college outreach. "We applaud the WPI community for its outstanding commitment to community service and volunteer projects that are making a difference."
WPI mechanical engineering majors Jeffrey Gorges, a junior from Cheyenne, Wyo.; Lindsay Mullins, a senior from Ashburnham, Mass.; Katelyn Perkins, a senior from Auburn, Maine; and Ethan Warner, a sophomore from North Attleboro, Mass., created a two-minute video about the university’s Engineering Projects in Community Service program (EPICS), through which students develop assistive technology to improve the lives of disabled individuals. The students wrote, edited, and appeared in the video, which introduced WPI, explained EPICS, and showed examples of the students' projects.
"The students in the video have been leaders in the EPICS program for the past several years and are thoroughly dedicated to its goals," said WPI Mechanical Engineering Professor Allen Hoffman. "They deserve the recognition that this award brings to them personally and to our program."
