Second Annual ME Alumni Career Celebration
To Be Held in April

The Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of Delaware is pleased to announce that it will be sponsoring its Mechanical Engineering Business & Career Conference on April 28, 2006.  This event is the second annual event of its kind celebrating the careers of ME alumni and providing a forum for networking among alumni, faculty and students.

“One of the things we discovered from the presentations by last year’s distinguished alumni was that there were many things they didn’t learn in school—primarily the business aspects of being an engineer,” says Jim Hutchison (BME78), President of StudioJAED, Architects and Engineers, and member of the ACC planning team.  “So we decided to make the next alumni career celebration more of a learning event.”

The 2006 conference (click here for agenda) will comprise two tracks:  one focusing on business and the other on careers.  The talks will be geared toward providing current students as well as recent alums with information that they can apply in their job searches and in the workplace.

“Participation by students was disappointing last year,” says Prof. Mike Santare, who is also on the planning committee. “To attract more students this time, we included undergraduates Khenya Still and Janelle Konchar on the committee.  We also polled students to determine their interests.  The career track at the conference is geared directly toward current undergraduates and their needs and interests.”

“Our overall goal is still to celebrate the accomplishments of our alumni,” says event coordinator Nate Cloud.  “But we hope that the new format will also enable us to attract a broader audience and allow others to benefit from the wisdom of the most-accomplished of our alumni.”

In addition to the dual-track conference, the event will include networking/poster sessions, recognition of the 2006 distinguished alumni, dinner, and a keynote speech.

For more information about the Mechanical Engineering Business & Career Conference, see the enclosed agenda, contact Nate Cloud (cloud@me.udel.edu), or go to http://www.me.udel.edu/alumni/.