Engineers have fun too. With a new club on campus, there are more reasons to wish you were a mathematical genius.
UB ranks as one of the most technologically advanced campuses in the nation. Taking advantage of this status is the new engineering club, which focuses on establishing an online networking system to connect engineering majors.
With specific concentrations including electrical, chemical, civil and structural, the engineering field at UB is one of the most diverse on campus. Ahmad Zakari, president of the engineering cooperative society, said that his purpose in creating a club that would cater to all engineering majors was to create and maintain relationships within the field.
"I had a number of friends in engineering who I worked with since our freshman year, and then once you hit sophomore and junior status you start to specialize in diverging fields, and it's so hard to stay in touch," said Zakari. "I wanted to form something to allow engineering students to stay connected and continue to work together."
The Engineering Cooperative Society aims to provide an outlet for uniting individuals within the engineering major. An interactive and integrative networking center, The ECS boasts an innovative web community linking engineering students all over campus.
The web site features highlighted categories of discussion, including categories for each distinct concentration, club registration help, a section for incoming freshmen, job opportunities and general engineering information.
Not only does the site provide the forum discussion board, but it also provides profiles and information on the current members. Profiles contain everything from e-mail addresses, interests, instant messenger screen-names, to locations. Essentially, engineers can make new friends on this site while at the same time maintaining relationships with current friends.
Members of the ECS say that the club helps to strengthen bonds that engineers will rely on in the future.
"Even though we all take separate classes, when we go out into the engineering field we have to work together with other engineers," said Kevin Baboolal, a junior mechanical engineering major. "Nothing can be designed by one engineer alone. It takes the strength of an entire group."
The networking of these engineering concentrations is found directly on the society's webpage, www.engcoop.com, where there are currently 76 active members on the forum section of the site, which allows for threads of discussion with one another. The discussion board is public and can be viewed by anyone, but can only be contributed to by active members.
Baboolal is registered in the forum and thinks it will be very helpful for incoming students.
"The forums are going to be great for freshmen and sophomores because it gives them access to students that have done everything they are going to do, said Baboolal. "They can ask for help on work, ask questions about professors and get books cheap."
Jamie Brown, current secretary of the ECS and senior mechanical and aerospace engineering major, agreed that the forum offers an excellent way for students to connect.
"Every year students have the same questions and problems that we've had," he said. "Placing these questions and answers onto the forums makes it an invaluable tool for all engineers."
Zakari's hope is that the growth will continue, and all engineering students, whether they are members of other clubs or not, will employ all that the ECS has to offer.
Most current engineering students are connected to the site, but as the society grows in size and development, and as more new students come in, the site and forum will be perfect for linking students in all engineering disciplines.
The ECS, which has been around campus since it gained temporary status in March 2004, is applying to become a permanent club following its assessment by the club senate.
To get a taste of all that the Engineering Cooperative Society has to offer, students can check out their website or attend one of the clubs' bi-weekly meetings. All meetings are on Wednesdays, from 4:20 to 5:20 p.m. in 145C Student Union.
According to the members of the ECS, establishing relationships among fellow engineers is just as important as completing a degree and getting a job.
"An engineer of a specific discipline cannot advance without a mutual relationship with other engineers of different disciplines," said Brown.
