What is The Engineering Open House?
This year’s Engineering Open House will be taking place in Squires Student Center on April 4th, 2022 from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. It is an event that takes place each year to provide high school students with the opportunity to learn about all that Virginia Tech’s Engineering Program has for its students. Last year, the event took place in a virtual format, but this year’s open house will be an in-person event. The deadline to register was March 25th, 2022. Students are allowed to attend the open house with their parents, as well as additional guests.
Lab Tours
When students registered for the open house, they were given the option to pick their top three choices for possible lab tours that they will be attending. Each student will be allowed to attend one lab tour. There were a total of 15 options available for labs to visit, including Harris Manufacturing Processes Lab, Stretch Lab, Helmet Lab, Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Lab, Industrial & Systems Engineering Learning Factory, Stability Wind Tunnel, Frith Lab, Kroehling Advanced Materials Foundry, Advanced Propulsion and Power Laboratory, Hydroelasticity Lab, Ware Lab, Autonomous Master Prototyping (AMP) Lab, Holden Hall, Advanced Engineering Design Lab, and DREAMS Lab. Virginia Tech has a variety of labs available for students to use to conduct research and projects. The labs have access to the latest technology and equipment that advances students' innovation and approaches to solving problems. During lab tours, students will be able to learn more about research projects that are being conducted and facilities that will be available to them as engineering students. The labs are one of many resources available at Virginia Tech that allows the Engineering Program to excel and promote innovative problem-solving.
Student Organizations
An opportunity that prospective Virginia Tech students will not want to miss at this year’s open house is meeting members of student engineering organizations. This
allows students to get an exclusive chance to learn more about design teams and other organizations. Some of the clubs you can expect to see at the Engineering Open
House include The Society of Women Engineers, Steel Bridge Design Team, Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team, Human Powered Submarine, BOLT Electric Motorcycle,
and many more. The organizations will be positioned inside and outside of Squires Student Center and The Graduate Life Center. Design Teams are a great opportunity
for Engineering students to gain hands-on experience working on projects and even competing with their designs.
The Engineering Department
In addition to meeting with student organizations and participating in a lab tour, attendees of the open house will be able to take part in informational sessions to learn about the Engineering majors available at Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech has 13 undergraduate degrees including Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Biological Systems Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Construction Engineering and Management, Electrical Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Materials Science Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Mining Engineering. In the past, many information sessions on the majors available
to students have been given by professors at Virginia Tech. Students will also be able to meet with people from each department, so they will be able to answer any questions they may have and tell them about opportunities they would have as students.
Living Learning Communities and Peer Mentoring Programs
Prospective Engineering students are also encouraged to join the Galipatia community. Galipatia consists of Galileo and Hypatia which are for male and female engineering students. It is one of the many living and learning communities that Virginia Tech has for its students and is specifically directed towards engineers and advancing the resources available to them and connections that they will make with other students. It is located
in Hoge Hall which has a total of eight floors. The Galipatia program gives students the option to stay in Hoge Hall for their entire college experience or only for the first year. Students get exclusive opportunities through the Galipatia living-learning community to network with companies, have access to innovative technology, and participate in mentorship programs. Students will have access to a design lab, 3D printers, a laser cutter, and various other tools to help them succeed in any project they are conducting.
However, if a student chooses not to be part of the living-learning community, they will still be able to thrive and gain support from their fellow engineers. One form of support available to students outside of Galipatia is the CEED Peer Mentoring Program. There are four different groups available for students to choose from, including Academic Hispanic OutReach Alliance (AHORA), Black Engineering Support Teams (BEST), General Undergraduate Engineering Support Teams (GUEST), and Women in Engineering
Support Teams (WEST). Through these programs, students will learn more about how to build their resumes, prepare an elevator pitch, study spots on campus, and participate in the Engineering Expo career fair and other events. The Engineering Open House will make sure students are aware of their options and opportunities to further their success as Engineering students at Virginia Tech.
