CME seniors set for annual design expo
Undergraduate seniors from Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering will show off two semesters of hard work on April 19 during the annual College of Engineering Expo.
To prepare for the big event, the CME students had a practice presentation with their project advisors, who provided valuable feedback and advice.
In addition to the solid foundation and direction the faculty provides, the project advisors offer the students a different perspective from the view of an engineer working in the industry.
“They were telling us to incorporate more visual aids and provide something that’s simple and straight to the point,” said Noe Rivas, whose team is working on a transportation project titled “Strategic Intersections: Redefining Mobility with I-490 at Pratt Boulevard,” which entails designing an on-ramp and an off-ramp connecting I-290 and I-190 to alleviate traffic congestion.
“It’s really important for them to be here because it helps us know what to expect and what the judges that are professionals are looking for in the presentation,” he added.
Among the advisors to Rivas’s team was Joe Lewis, who graduated from UIC in 2013 and now works as a project manager at the Rosemont-based Spaceco Inc.
In addition to providing feedback at the practice session, the students received guidance throughout the second semester.
“[Joe Lewis] has been really accessible. If I send him an e-mail on a Saturday or Sunday, he responds that same day,” Rivas said. “He’s said he could provide us with more time to accommodate our schedules and be available to speak to us and ask any questions.”
As a former student, Lewis brings an understanding of what it’s like to present to the judges. And as a professional engineer, he knows what the judges will look for in the presentations.
“They don’t know what necessarily to expect and we can provide that information to them. One of the big things is the difference between schoolwork and what you are actually doing as a professional in the field, and we can tell them how it is in the real world,” Lewis said.
He expressed his appreciation for professional advisors when he was a student and helping students is his way of “paying it forward.”
“I had advisors when I went through this, and it’s a simple way to give back,” said Lewis, who has been volunteering as a project advisor for the last 10 years.
The College of Engineering Expo will be held at the Credit Union 1 Arena, 525 S. Racine Ave, Chicago, from noon to 4:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and tickets are not necessary to attend.
The expo will feature more than 700 students who make up approximately 200 teams from every department of the College of Engineering. The expo is the capstone to the Senior Design Course that challenges students to solve real-world engineering problems using research, creativity, and the skills they developed at UIC.