By VALERIE METREJEAN

Staff Writer

The 60th annual Engineering and Science Week held April 11-15 was charged with events for the week including an Engineer's Ball, bake sale, LEGO competition and crawfish boil, but the big event was Engineer's Day on April 13.

"Every year we invite high school students to visit the campus and see what our Engineering and Science program is all about," Melodie Benford, the president of Louisiana Tech Engineering Association and a junior biomedical engineering major, said.

John Elmore, the treasurer of the LTEA and a sophomore chemical engineering major, said the engineering department was excited about the number of students who attended.

"We had a turnout of 26 schools from Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas," Elmore said. With around 500 students in attendance, the Main Floor of the Student Center was packed.

David Hall, the LTEA adviser and an associate professor of mechanical engineering, called the day a success and said this was the biggest turnout Engineer's Day has brought in.

"We did not even know if we would be able to pull it off," Hall said.

Hall gives all the credit to the student leadership that was involved.

"They really deserve all the credit," Hall said.

"They talked to other organizations about getting involved and organized all the rooms the displays would be presented in."

Hall said the students arranged for 20 engineering organizations to come up with displays.

"The students voted on the best display and chose the mechanical engineering group as the winner," Hall said.

At this display, students were able to cast aluminum into T-shapes, which resembled Tech's emblem.

Benford said another highlight of the day was having 1983 Tech mechanical engineering alumnus Bart Thompson, an employee of Michelin Tire Company, speak to the students. After a greeting from Tech President Dr. Dan Reneau, Thompson spoke to the students about team work and practical things to know when studying the engineering field.

"Thompson led the design for the wheels of the Segway Human Transporter with his invention of the Tweel," Benford said.

The Tweel is a cross between a tire and a wheel that would not be destroyed easily by nail punctures, Benford said.

Later in the day, the students divided into 20 groups to have their own chances to show their ingenuity.

Given only several plastic drinking straws, a foot-long piece of duct tape, a napkin and a plastic bag, the groups had to assemble a device that would hold an egg and keep it from breaking when dropped from a second or third-story window.

The design competition was successful and ended when one team was awarded winner with the only egg still intact.

Jadi Pylant, a freshman at Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport and a member of the magnet program, said she enjoyed the day's events and plans to major in mechanical engineering.