I wish you all could have been at the Engineering Alumni Banquet this year. In typical fashion, Dean Katsouleas warmed up the crowd, our award winners shared their experiences and enthusiasm, and Dr. McElhaney recounted a humorous tale about the U.S. Court of Law vs. Newton’s Laws. In short, it was everything a gathering of Duke Engineers should be – intellectual and fun.
I am honored and thrilled to be your Engineering Alumni Council (EAC) President this year. As you may know, the primary responsibility of the EAC is to coordinate the activities of the Engineering Alumni Association in support of the Pratt School and its alumni. Over the past few years the EAC has focused its efforts on three core activities: supporting extracurricular student projects; recognizing outstanding alumni; and helping Pratt alumni stay engaged with our school. We believe this is where our strength lies and where we can add the most value for the entire Duke Engineering family.
Did You Know … that our ability to fund student projects is driven largely by the number of alumni who pay their annual Engineering Alumni Dues? When many of us are able and willing to contribute even a small amount of support, your EAC is able to provide:
- Seed money for individuals or new groups wanting to test new ideas or technologies. These are “start-ups” that may not have access to sponsorships or donations yet.
- Travel and living expenses for groups that enter inter-collegiate competitions. This assists groups entering competitions away from campus that generally find sponsorship money or donations for materials from other sources.
- Material and project money for groups like American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) that enter the “Canstruction” competition each year, building to a specific theme with 3000+ cans of food that are then donated to the Raleigh Food Bank; Or groups like Engineers Without Borders that make a huge impact by applying their ingenuity and passion with relatively low material costs.
I’ve included the web addresses of several of the student groups we have funded recently. Please take a look at what they are doing and see if they inspire you as much as they inspire us.
One Laptop Per Child at Duke - www.olpcatduke.com
Motorsports - www.duke.edu/web/fsae
Engineers Without Borders – Duke - ewb.pratt.duke.edu
ASCE - asce.pratt.duke.edu
Simple Engineering - se.pratt.duke.edu
Did You Also Know… that the Engineering Alumni Association is now on Facebook? We think it can be a great forum for us to stay connected, organize local get-togethers, let you know what we’re working on, and hear back from you. It’s just starting, so check it out and let us know what you’d like to see. There has never been a better time to re-engage with your alma mater, whether you graduated last year or 50 years ago. We hope to hear from you.
Babita Deitrich E’89
President, Engineering Alumni Association