[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 30 (Thursday, February 25, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S2041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL ENGINEERS WEEK

 Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to those 
men and women who have made the world we live in a better place through 
their advances in engineering. February 21-27 is the 49th annual 
observance of National Engineers Week to increase public awareness and 
appreciation of the engineering profession and of technology. Thousands 
of engineers, engineering students, teachers, and leaders in government 
and business participate each year.
  Engineering is so intertwined in our everyday activity that it can 
often be taken for granted. The National Society of Professional 
Engineers and a consortium of more than 100 engineering, scientific and 
education societies and major corporations are working to increase the 
public's awareness during this week.
  This year's theme, ``Engineers: Turning Ideas into Reality,'' will 
focus on participants interesting with children from elementary to high 
school through demonstrations and question and answer sessions. Seventh 
and eighth-grade students are invited to design future cities and build 
three-dimensional scale models with the help of their teachers and 
volunteer-engineer mentors. The National Engineering Design Challenge 
will team up high school students to design, build, and demonstrate a 
working model of a new product. And the Discover E program will reach 
more than five million elementary, junior and senior high school 
students to help them discover how engineering is applied in math, 
science and technology. Over 40,000 engineers nationwide will work with 
these students through hands-on activities in the classroom.
  In Minnesota, ``Discover E! in Minneapolis'' was held on February 23 
with the help of engineering students from the University of Minnesota 
and engineers from local businesses visiting 5th and 6th graders. The 
students were able to explore mechanical, biomedical, and environmental 
engineering through demonstrations and discussions about work and 
studies.
  This week honors the birthday of one of the nation's first engineers, 
a surveyor named George Washington. It also recognizes the countless 
other engineers who have influenced nearly every aspect of our lives 
with their dedicated work and numerous technological advances. Their 
contributions to science include discoveries, for example, that have 
resulted in the development of ultra-lite materials such as Kevlar, and 
environmentally beneficial technologies such as a wastewater treatment 
system that effectively recycles 100% of all wastewater.
  Schools have focused their teachings on the body of scientific 
knowledge, often times neglecting the process of discovery that 
engineers use to help create the new advances for our modern world. 
With the support of groups such as NASA and Minnesota-based 3M, 
programs during Engineers Week will integrate this process of discovery 
and the use of technology into mathematics, science, language arts, and 
other topics. I am a strong supporter of exposing our children to the 
world around them and hope this awareness will get them involved and 
spark interest in the future of engineering.

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