Engineering Socials: Flying Pumpkins and A Cappella Groups

Pumpkins catapulted and blasted into the sky, a game of Tetris used bananas as control pads, a cappella groups sang all-time classics. It certainly doesn't sound like an average meeting of engineers, right? Well, apparently this is how engineering students socialize here at the U of R.

These monthly engineering socials or E-socials are engineering programs designed for all level engineering students, during which they network, exchange ideas, discuss career opportunities, eat delicious food, watch a performance or two, and see some engineering in action!

The last engineering social's focus was the annual Pumpkin Launch, organized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Student Chapter. In this event, several groups of UR upperclassmen engineering students engaged in a friendly competition against other schools in the area. These upperclassmen designed and built devices to launch pumpkins into the air with cunning precision to hit two adult men dressed as Angry Birds on an open field. This year, the University of Rochester team built a French trebuchet, while the RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) team built an air cannon. Both teams fired their pumpkins with great precision, earning cheers and applause from the excited crowd. 

Engineering majors are seen by many students, both freshmen and upperclassmen, as "hard" and "exhausting," and from my experience so far (barely three months in), the workload can be heavy sometimes. Nonetheless, it is surprising and refreshing to witness how much fun engineering students have in their respective fields doing research, developing class projects, or just having fun with cannons and catapults! 

E-socials are a great way to meet new people, get in contact with engineering faculty members, and just to have a good time! This e-social was a truly enjoyable afternoon with my engineering peers, and was a great example of how engineering students actually have lots of fun in activities outside the academic field.

The Midnight Ramblers rocking the pier!