Engineering Expo is a daylong event designed to provide a tangible engineering experience for high school students from around the Midwest. Engineering Expo is the flagship program of Purdue Student Engineering Foundation (PSEF), which has existed annually since PSEF's formation in 1995.
Incorporated into Expo is an engineering scholarship competition. Every year $3,000 in scholarships are awarded to students who compete and win in the engineering competition. The competition consists of an impromptu engineering problem that each team of students will have to solve within the time and material constraints designated by competition coordinators. Their solutions will then be demonstrated and scholarships will be awarded for first, second, and third place.
Some of the most valuable time that students spend at Engineering Expo is during the many other activities that are not competition based. Students have an opportunity to participate in a full academic fair that includes representatives and interactive displays from engineering disciplines and organizations at Purdue. Also, a professor is asked to give a presentation to attendees about a topic related to the impromptu design competition. Finally, students have the opportunity to interact with Purdue Engineering students and ask them questions about the university, college life, and coursework.
Engineering Expo is organized by a team of PSEF members whose sole purpose is to coordinate this event. The Expo team is responsible for everything from selecting the theme of Expo, designing of impromptu components, designing, printing, and sending the mailers, managing the space for Expo, making arrangements for food, and organizing parking, required materials, and personnel. All of the planning and preparation begins in the spring after the conclusion of one Expo, and continues through the fall and winter until the day of the next Expo, in April.
As we look to future Expos, we will continue to provide students with challenging projects that require basic engineering concepts, as well as further introduce them to Purdue University and its outstanding engineering program!
