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February 2005

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New University Policy ushers in Decade of Sustainability
By Caitlin Collins '

As Villanova University prepares to commence a celebration of the 100^th anniversary of its College of Engineering in late spring, it played host on Jan. 29 at Jake Nevin Field House to more than 300 seventh and eighth graders participating in The National Engineers Week Future City Competition^TM – an educational program that introduces middle-school students to engineering.

“What could be more appropriate than having talented girls and boys present their plans for Future Cities to judges, several from our faculty, on our campus as we look to the next 100 years,” said Joan Chrestay, associate dean of the College of Engineering. “These young people are our future students and our future engineers.”

The program, now in its 13th year, asks students to create cities of the future, first on computer and then in large tabletop models. The Philadelphia Regional Future City Competition was held on Jan. 29. Major funding for the Philadelphia competition is provided by Shell Oil Company. Students, working in teams with a teacher and volunteer engineer mentor, must also write a city abstract and an essay on using engineering to solve an important social need. This year's theme: "How can futuristic transportation systems efficiently use aggregate materials – crushed stone, sand, and gravel – as a basic construction product?"

To those unfamiliar with Future City, the question may sound esoteric and difficult, but to the estimated 30,000 seventh- and eighth-graders from more than 1,000 schools in 35 regions across America who are tackling the challenges raised by the competition, it's a welcome task

Students participating in the competition are equally enthusiastic about showing their skills.

"This is a great opportunity to learn about things we wouldn't learn about otherwise, like industry and transportation," said Katie Knorr, a 13-year-old at Drexel Hill Middle School in Drexel Hill, Pa. "I notice and understand why roads go the way they go, why buildings are the way they are, and what government does.  It all makes more sense, so I understand the world and our society." That understanding, she notes, has helped her outlook not just at school, but in her own life. "It makes me think that some day I'll be able to make the world a better place."

She's also seen Future City's positive influence in other parts of her school day. "I love singing," says Katie. "In music it's all about getting the good balance. In English it's all about a blend of talent and ideas.  That's what I've learned from Future City."

The winning team from the Philadelphia Regional Future City Competition will join teams from other regions for an all-expense-paid trip to the Future City National Finals, hosted by Bentley Systems, Incorporated, in Washington, D.C., Feb. 21-23 during Engineers Week. National grand prize is a trip to U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala. Numerous other prizes are awarded at the regionals.

Sponsored by the Engineers Week Committee, a consortium of more than 100 engineering societies and major corporations, Future City is the largest and most successful not-for-profit educational program of its kind. Students design their cities using SimCity 3000 software donated to all schools by Electronic Arts of Redwood City, California, and then build large, 3-D scale models. At the competition, they present and defend their cities before a panel of judges.