WSU students, faculty to be honored during Engineers Week

The student members of a team that designed the winning model of a Mars rover in a NASA contest will be honored during a National Engineers Week celebration. The students, along with WSU officials, are shown here after an announcement last year of their award. Pictured are left to right, back row, WSU faculty member Walter Horn, student Danny Ball, faculty adviser Gawad Nagati; second row, Bill Wilhelm, College of Engineering dean, students Clark Owens, Renaud Rebours and Maggie Nguyen, and WSU President Beggs; and kneeling, students Souhail Khallock and Janna McKenna.

If you stop to think about it, chances are you’ve got a good reason to thank an engineer. After all, engineers have designed nearly everything you use.

One purpose of National Engineers Week Feb. 20-26 is to show the impact of engineers on our lives.

Locally, National Engineers Week will be celebrated by the Wichita Council of Engineering Societies program "Engineering: The Past, Present and Future" Feb. 22 at the Hyatt Regency. Honorees include Wichita State University faculty and students.

Bill Wilhelm, dean of the College of Engineering, will receive the Engineering Service Award. The award recognizes a local engineer who best shows volunteer service and is dedicated to the advancement of engineering, the engineering profession and engineering public service.

Guest engineer of the past will be Lionel Alford, former vice president of The Boeing Co.

Guest engineer of the present will be Bill Wentz, distinguished professor emeritus of aerospace engineering at WSU and executive director emeritus of the National Institute for Aviation Research.

Guest engineers of the future are Danny Ball, Janna McKenna, Maggie Nguyen and Renaud Rebours. As WSU students, they designed a Mars rover that won top honors in a national NASA contest.

Larry Hatteberg of KAKE-TV 10 will moderate the program.