CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State University (OSU), known for its engineering program, is ready to show off what graduating seniors have done in the past school year the university's 2022 College of Engineering Expo.
Engineering is a popular option from among OSU's wide range of courses and degrees. From civil engineering to computer science and artificial intelligence, the field of study covers a lot of ground.
All of those disciplines are represented by a variety of projects at the annual expo, now in its 23rd year. And after two years of being all-virtual, the expo will be back in person this coming Friday.
"We have over 200 senior project teams that are presenting — that's over a thousand students," said Scott Ashford, the Kearney dean of engineering at OSU. "And we're expecting 31 busloads of middle and high school students to attend the event, what I consider to be future engineers."
Ashford said it's good to have the expo back in person because it gives school kids and the public a chance to come see projects created by a new generation of engineers.
The projects on display range from a face mask that doesn't fog up glasses to a system converting plastic waste to energy, and many more. It's the kind of stuff that inspires and gives future engineers hope, he said.
"They are the future of this planet; engineers are able to solve so many problems that we're facing today," Ashford said. "And so come see the expo, see our student projects, you're going to get a glimpse of the future and I think the future looks bright."
The College of Engineering Expo is free and open to the public. It runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, June 3 at the Kelley Engineering Center, Johnson Hall, and the adjacent Community Plaza at Oregon State University.
There is also an online option that shows off all the projects from the in-person expo plus an additional 28 that are online-only.