AEDC welcomes area students for annual Engineer-For-A-Day Program

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  • AEDC Public Affairs

Students from neighboring high schools will have the opportunity to learn more about the engineering profession as Arnold Engineering Development Complex gears up to host the long-held National Engineers Week, Feb. 18-20.

This event, which coincides with National Engineers Week, will provide students with the opportunity to learn about the wide range of engineering careers at AEDC.

Last year, nearly 50 students participated in the week’s events that included a Student Design Competition, Engineer-For-A-Day and an Engineers Week Banquet. 

Revived by retired AEDC engineer Paul Kelly along with several other base personnel, the Engineers Week was brought back in 2024 after a three-year hiatus. Kelly said last year’s event was a success and he looks forward to the week being well received again in 2025.  

“I’m looking forward to all the activities,” said Kelly. “Each has its unique attributes. The design competition has the largest fun factor, and the Engineer-For-A-Day allows students to get beneficial time with engineers, while the banquet allows for socializing and celebrating engineers.”

Kelly added that he hopes to see an increase in students taking advantage of the week’s opportunities.

“We are working to increase the number of students participating in the Student Design Competition and increase attendance at the Engineers Week banquet,” said Kelly.

Founded by National Society of Professional Engineers, or NSPE, in 1951, National Engineers Week is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers, according to the NSPE website.

The website also states that the week is a formal coalition of more than 70 engineering, education, and cultural societies, and more than 50 corporations and government agencies. Dedicated to raising public awareness of engineers' positive contributions to quality of life, the promotes recognition among parents, teachers, and students of the importance of a technical education and a high level of math, science, and technology literacy, and motivates youth, to pursue engineering careers in order to provide a diverse and vigorous engineering workforce.

Kelly stated that this year’s Engineers Week will kick off with a Student Design Competition on Feb. 18 at the University of Tennessee Space Institute, or UTSI. High school seniors will compete in teams to design, build and compete with their design against other teams. They will not know what they will be asked to design until they arrive at the competition. The teams will be given kits with identical materials and will have two hours to design, build and test. After lunch, the teams will compete with their designs against each other. Prizes will be awarded to top scoring teams.

The Engineer-For-A-Day program will take place on Feb. 19 at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of AEDC. Students will tour the base, have lunch and then go with a mentor to observe engineers at work.

Students will spend the day with practicing engineers where they will get a close-up view of what an engineer is involved in day-to-day and will also provide the student an opportunity to ask questions regarding the engineering field.

Kelly added that he hopes students come away with a love and better understanding of the field of engineering.

“I hope the students take away a better understanding and awareness of engineering as a profession and a possible career,” he explained. “Most of the students who come are already considering engineering for college, and I hope that it helps them decide to want to study engineering and follow engineering as a career path.”

Students participating in Engineer-For-A-Day will meet with their mentors at 11 a.m. at Café 100 following a tour of AEDC. They will remain with their mentors until 3 p.m.

Currently Kelly is seeking engineering mentors for the program. Engineers who are interested in volunteering their time for the day can contact Paul Kelly at pgkelly2011@gmail.com.

Kelly said mentors can benefit from their time with students.

“I hope the AEDC community and volunteers take away a sense of fulfillment that comes from volunteer activities and a sense that they may have helped influence a young person to follow their path into engineering,” he said.

An Engineers Week Banquet will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 20 at UTSI to celebrate the events of the week. Mark Mehalic will the guest speaker for the banquet.  

Retired after 40 years with the United States Air Force, Mehalic served as an engineer, an engineering educator and an engineering manager. 

Mehalic began his career as a research engineer for the Air Force Research Laboratory, developing digital flight control systems, then worked as a test engineer for electronic warfare systems. He served as an Assistant Professor at the Air Force Institute of Technology, focusing on high-speed integrated circuits. Later, he held senior engineering roles, including Director of Engineering at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center and Chief Systems Engineer for Strategic Systems. His final roles included Vice Director at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex and Executive Director for the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center. He retired in 2021.

Tickets for the banquet are available for $30 for adults and $10 for students. To reserve tickets, contact Paul Kelly at pgkelly2011@gmail.com.