Killer robots, concept cars, high-flying blimps and liquid nitrogen ice cream — it must be Engineers Week again, an exhibition running from April 8 to April 12. Admission is free and events take place in the Court of Sciences on the UCLA campus.

Engineers Week (E-Week) is a combination of the educational and the playful, an intriguing mix of science lesson and carnival attraction. Dunking booths and basketball shootouts are side-by-side with home safety kit presentations and a discussion panel for women in engineering. Visitors can join in cheer-offs to test an applause meter design, or engage in “grisly hovercraft combat� in a video game demo called “Hover Carnage.�

E-Week began as a national event in 1951, becoming a regular event at UCLA in the early 1960s. While National E-Week is held every February to celebrate George Washington’s birthday (America’s first president had a background in engineering and land surveying), UCLA traditionally holds its E-Week in the Spring Quarter to avoid Southern California’s seasonal wet weather.

E-Week activities are created, organized and carried out by student members from a number of engineering societies, coordinated by the Engineering Society of the University of California. All week engineering students will be applying the lessons learned in class with hands-on displays, games and exhibition-style demonstrations.

Some familiar student projects will be put on view, including the ever-deadly Son of Boelter Beast robot, due to compete this spring on Comedy Central’s “Battlebots� tournament.

The Society of Automotive Engineers will also unveil their newest car design, an off-road vehicle built to withstand the punishment of rough terrain.

Organizers hope to familiarize the campus with the engineering profession and its place in today’s technological world. “Communication between the technical and non-technical portion of society is very important,� said organizer Rex Lorenzo. “The public has to make
informed decisions on technical issues like nuclear power, rapid transit and space exploration, and engineers can understand and explain these issues.�

E-Week is also a chance to show that engineering is not just about algorithms and lab tests. “It’s an educational event,� Lorenzo said, “but it will also be a lot of fun.�

For more information about E-Week, e-mail esuc@seas.ucla.edu.