CEAS Hosts 2018 E-Week: The Fellowship of the Engineer

The middle of February is the halfway point for the spring semester—students are studying for midterms, writing papers and drinking plenty of coffee. This time of the year is also a perfect time for engineering students to unwind at Engineering Week, commonly known as E-Week.

Held every year, E-Week is an event hosted by the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Science’s (CEAS) student government body, Tribunal. The week is a collection of different activities, riddles and relay races that let students take a break from their studies to relax in friendly competition.

“By nature, engineers are competitive,” said Tribunal president Dane Sowers (computer engineering ’18), explaining the purpose of the week. “E-Week gives students a chance to participate in a friendly competition, while giving them a distraction from school and everything else going on.”

Each year, Tribunal dedicates a theme for the week. This year, 21 student teams donned their best wizard impressions and trekked through this year’s E-Week, the Lord of the Rings-themed “Fellowship of the Engineer.”

The 2018 E-Week kicked off on February 19 with Donuts with the Deans. Interim dean Paul Orkwis, PhD, and associate dean Allen Arthur both attended, conversing with current undergraduate engineering students over donuts from local favorite, Holtman’s. 

Throughout the week, activities included events like trivia night, minute to win it and a casino afternoon, where students wagered points in Vegas favorites like roulette, blackjack and Texas Hold ‘Em between classes.

Thursday night heated up, as students wrestled back and forth with a tug of war. A group of construction management and civil engineering students dominated the event for their team, the Construction Students Association (CSA). That night also included an inflatable obstacle course, where more agile students had the edge over the muscle of CSA.

Other less physically demanding challenges included Giant Jenga and the E-Week ring toss. Friday night’s Bid and Buy event gave students the chance to bid on packages that included Cincinnati Reds tickets, science museum passes and gift certificates to local restaurants. All proceeds went to Engineers Without Borders, an international organization that connects engineering students with communities overseas through service projects.

In the spirit of the week, most events tied back to engineering. “The events have an engineering slant to them,” said Sowers. “Questions and activities may make you think like an engineer, whether that be through problem solving or analytical thinking.”

Though Tribunal organized most activities, they also relied on the contributions of other student groups like AlChE, Chi Epsilon, Triangle and Phi Sigma Ro. Speaking of this collaboration, Sowers said, “It’s cool how everyone works together across all engineering fields. E-Week isn’t just for biomedical or mechanical or civil engineering students. It’s for everyone.”

The week ended with the E-Week Banquet, an award ceremony and dinner attended by several hundred engineering students, staff and faculty, held at The Madison Event Center in Covington, Kentucky. In addition to announcing the results of the week, presenters, gave out awards for outstanding seniors, engineer of the year and professor of the year.

Then came the moment everyone was waiting for: the announcement of the winning E-Week team. In addition to bragging rights, the winning E-Week team receives a free dinner of their choice on Tribunal. This year’s winner was the Super Senior Ambassadors.

Costina Luc (biomedical engineering ’18), captain of the winning team, Super Senior Ambassadors (named after the student group, CEAS Ambassadors, that helps run recruitment events for the college), talked about what it meant to win E-Week. “It was a great way to wrap up our senior year,” she said. “The moment they announced our team name I remember looking around the table at all my teammates and see the look of joy on all their faces.”

As the semester continues, students look back on E-Week with fondness not just because it was a break from their studies but also because it gave them the chance to get to know their peers.

“The week brought a sense of camaraderie,” said Luc, talking about her team. “Even though we are all in the same organization, we never really got to know each other on a personal level. E-Week brought us closer together.”

The following teams placed in UC’s 2018 E-Week: Super Senior Ambassadors (first), Return of the King (second) and Chi Epsilon (third).