Clubs and Activities
The Department of Engineering and Physics offers many opportunities beyond the classroom. As first-years, students are invited to reside in the Partners in Engineering Living Learning Community. As upperclassmen, students often work alongside faculty and staff as teaching assistants. Many of our engineering majors are heavily involved in Division III athletics as well as music and the arts. Finally, the department has many clubs and organizations for our students to join to enhance their Etown experience.
How faculty and students help first-years transistion to college life.
Video by: Theresa M. Forcellini '15, Communications
Partners in Engineering (PiE) Living Learning Community
Since 2008, this Living and Learning Community has been a growing success. Students enjoy peer learning with their classmates and project teammates. PiE students are housed in a cluster of approximately 12-16 engineering students on the same floor of a dorm in their first year. Many events are held to help students perform well academically and to feel at home in the department such as: an international food night; movie nights; picnics and cook-outs, and weekly tutoring sessions with specially assigned upper-year peer mentors.
Student Employment
Engineering and physics students may be invited to serve as an assistant in a laboratory section, in the fabrication lab, or as a tutor or grader for a class in which they have been successful. These opportunities can often replace on-campus work-study in other areas and provide additional interaction with faculty and preparation for paths to graduate school.
Student Athletes
Many of our engineering majors are also successful varsity athletes. Both women and men are well-represented on lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, basketball, track and field, and tennis, to name a few. Engineering students are commonly honored as MVPs and All-Americans, with several students recently competing on the national stage. Our engineering faculty serve as Faculty Mentors to the track and field, soccer, baseball, and basketball teams. Professors and coaches work closely together to ensure the success of our student-athletes in a rigorous program.
Student Clubs
Etown Women Engineers
Etown Women Engineers was formed to provide social and academic support, encouragement, and mentorship for women and other underrepresented students in engineering and physics, and to educate about issues and opportunities facing minorities in those fields. Activities include guest speakers, a mentoring network for first-year students, and outreach activities such as Into the Streets. The club is in the process of becoming a campus chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.
Elizabethtown Student Chapters – American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
Our local student chapters of national engineering societies give students opportunities for leadership roles, attendance at national conventions, bringing nationally recognized guest speakers on campus, scholarship and job opportunities, and increased interaction with local and national members.
Robotics and Machine Intelligence Club
This club has focused on many projects in robotics and artificial intelligence over the past 12 years. A list of many of the projects can be found on RMI Lab Website, including the Wunderbot autonomous robot, which was entered in the national IGVC (Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition) in 2004, 2006 and 2008. Students can become involved in these projects as early as their first year, and all Engineering, Physics, and Computer Science majors are encouraged to participate.