Section joins forces with students during Engineers Week

Melissa Murray
ASME Government Relations

Florida State Representatives Rob Wallace, Stan Mayfield and Jerry Paul, each an engineer by training, led a panel of speakers at a Town Hall Meeting in February, addressing the engineering and technology issues facing the state in the next five to 10 years.

Norman Thagard, a former astronaut and currently the director of the Florida State University (FSU) Challenger Learning Center, opened the Tallahassee event by discussing what factors prompted him to pursue a career in engineering and why students should become engineers.

The Town Hall Meeting was sponsored by the ASME Tallahassee Section, and by the student sections at Florida State and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) as part of Engineers Week 2002. The meeting focused on issues of concern to the mechanical engineering community, including economic development, energy, transportation and environmental needs. Farhad Booeshaghi, chair of the Tallahassee Section, moderated the event.

The three state representatives commended the Tallahassee Section for hosting the event and encouraged the section to make the session an annual event. Rep. Wallace noted the need for engineers to bring technical knowledge into the public policy process. "Unfortunately," Wallace said, "many technical decisions are currently being made by people lacking expertise."

Thagard also addressed the importance of increasing student interest in science, mathematics, engineering and technology education to maintain a pipeline of technically educated workers in the future. He recently launched the Tallahassee Challenger Center, www.eng.fsu.edu/challenger/, designed to utilize students' natural enthusiasm for space to create innovative learning experiences for young people.

Other speakers included Brett Doster, deputy director, Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development, Office of Gov. Jeb Bush; Charles E. Benedict, chief executive officer, Benedict Engineering Co.; Ching-Jen Chen, Dean of the FAMU/FSU College of Engineering; and Tim Lynch, director of the FSU Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis.

WFSU, the local PBS affiliate, taped the Town Hall Meeting and will air the program at a future date. Additional information on this event can be found at: www.asme.org/sections/tallahassee/townhall/.

For more, contact Melissa Murray at murraym@asme.org.

 

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