IMECE 2018 to Offer a Variety of Activities for Students

The ASME 2018 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE 2018) next month in Pittsburgh, Pa., will feature a number of activities for engineering students, including the Old Guard and Student Design Competitions, a FutureME Mini-Talks session and a special meet-and-greet for students and early career engineers. The conference will take place from Nov. 9 to 15 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

IMECE 2018 will host several student competitions during its weeklong program, including the Old Guard Oral Presentation Competition Finals. During the competition, which will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, students who placed first and second in the regional competitions at the 2018 ASME E-Fests earlier this year will once again put their communication skills to the test by delivering 15-minute presentations in front of their peers and a panel of judges from the ASME community. The top four presenters will receive cash prizes ranging from $500 to $2,000. In addition, the student selected as the winner of a special “Innovation Award” will receive $250.

Another major ASME event for students at IMECE, the Student Design Competition Finals, will take place on Sunday, Nov. 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. During this final round, student teams who competed at the SDCs held at this year’s ASME E-Fests will vie for the championship title in a modified, four-way robot soccer competition. The overall winning team will receive the $3,000 first prize, with an additional $1,000 awarded to the ASME student section at the team’s university. The team finishing second will receive $1,000 plus $500 for its student section, while the third-place team will receive $500 plus $250 for its student section.

The Undergraduate Research and Design Expo Student Poster Competition, also on Nov. 11, will offer undergraduate mechanical engineering students the opportunity to present their research or design projects to a wide audience. Cash prizes will be awarded to the student presenters who finish first, second and third in the competition, which will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the exhibit hall.

Other student competitions scheduled to take place during IMECE 2018 include the National Science Foundation Poster Competitions, the Biomedical Graduate Students’ Competition, the Young Engineers Paper Contest, and the Safety Engineering, Risk and Reliability Analysis Division Student Challenge. For more information on these events, visit www.asme.org/events/imece/program/student-competitions.

Students attending IMECE 2018 will also have the opportunity to learn about the personal and professional experiences of several experienced engineers during an ASME FutureME Mini-Talks session on Sunday, Nov. 11, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. During the seven- to ten-minute Mini-Talks, the presenters discuss various topics including trends, skills, training and potential career opportunities related to ASME’s core technologies and enabling applications, which include advanced manufacturing, bioengineering, materials and design engineering.

Following the Mini-Talks, the ASME Early Career Engineers Programming Committee will host a special ASME FutureME Social Meetup for Early Career Engineers, which will give students and early career engineers the chance to meet and network in a relaxed, enjoyable setting. Registration for the Meetup is $10 per person. For more information, visit www.asme.org/events/imece/program/futureme-mini-talks.

Students should also be sure to check out the exhibition hall, where they can meet and talk to representatives from companies such as Boeing, Dell, MSC Software Corp., PCB Piezotronics, Aerion Corp., Granta Design Ltd., Proto Manufacturing and Durr Technik USA — as well as the National Energy Technology Laboratory and universities including Carnegie Mellon University, Penn State College of Engineering and NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Several of the exhibitors are currently hiring, so students should remember to bring their résumés with them to the exhibition.

For more information on the ASME 2018 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, or to register, visit event.asme.org/IMECE.