The College of Engineering will host its annual open house Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. Kay Leager, director of enrollment management for engineering said middle school students, high school students and upcoming freshman who have already been admitted plan to attend the event.

Leager said the format is the same as previous engineering open houses with most departments offering tours, demonstrations and information

sessions. In addition, a team of current students will show off their steel bridge design from a 2008 competition.

Chad Goodnight, a senior in civil engineering, said the design is part of an annual competition sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Local schools, such as Duke, Georgia Tech, Clemson and North Carolina A&T must design and fabricate a steel bridge, under strict rules and regulations. The top two schools then advance to a national competition and compete against the best engineering schools in the country, Goodnight said.

“At the open house we are going to build last year’s bridge,” Goodnight said. “It must be constructed graphically in less than 15 minutes.”

He said it is difficult to create because the maximum length of the individual pieces is 42 inches and all parts must fit within a box, six by six inches.

Goodnight said the demonstration will directly show attendees what students learn in college classes.

“I was surprised how much I learned,” he said. “By the time junior or senior year comes along, it all comes together.”

Jeremy King, also a member of the design team and a senior in civil engineering, said it allows students to take the tools and skill design and actually create a tangible product.

King said the open house will open prospects up to extra curricular

activities.

“It will really give them something to look forward to and even help them decide what they want their [engineering] focus to be,” King said.

Leager said she expects a full turnout for the open house.

“Everything we’ve done so far, such as the visitation days for high school seniors who have already been admitted to State have been completely filled up,” Leager said. “The engineering program hasn’t seen any drops in numbers.”

She said during the tough current economic times families are looking for events that don’t cost money, such as the open house.

“This is a good time for admitted students to make their final decisions and for high school students to find potential colleges to attend.”