More than 50 students have spent the last six months preparing for an event-filled weeklong engineering tradition, celebrated for almost 40 years at Iowa State.

The College of Engineering will be sponsoring the student-organized “Sum of Excellence” Engineers’ Week 2003, scheduled to run from Saturday, Sept. 20 to Saturday, Sept. 27. The first official E-Week was held in the fall of 1965.

Tom Ligouri, E-Week adviser and engineering director of external relations, said the college relies entirely upon students to plan and execute the celebration.

“It is really a challenge to do a weeklong series of events,” Ligouri said. “We really depend on the student group.”

Amy Dee Schlechte, E-Week general co-chairwoman and senior in agricultural engineering, said the committee has been working diligently since February to plan and promote activities.

“I’m really proud to say that we have some great events planned and we’ve done a lot to enhance the events,” Schlechte said.

She said the college’s goal is to bring engineering students, faculty and staff together to interact socially and take pride in what they are doing within their fields. The week’s activities also allow the college to educate the public on what engineering is about, Schlechte added.

The committee will be hosting the E-Week Kickoff Picnic from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday in the Marston Hall Courtyard. Ligouri said they have really “spiced up the picnic” by including a dunk tank and mechanical bull.

Schlechte said Ames radio station 105.1 KCCQ will also be broadcasting live from the picnic.

E-Week also includes the nation’s largest indoor career fair from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Hilton Coliseum.

Ligouri said this year 188 employers will be at the fair to recruit engineering and computer science students for internships and jobs. Although the number of employers has decreased from previous years, it still remains the largest indoor event of its kind in the nation, he said.

“This speaks well for Iowa State students and the caliber of students we have here.”

It shows ISU engineering students are highly prepared to go into the workplace, Ligouri added.

Brian Fager, sophomore in agricultural engineering, plans on attending Tuesday’s career fair to scout potential employers.

“It gives me a better chance to find a job opportunity and saves me a lot of hassle from locating each of these companies individually,” Fager said.

The closing event of the weeklong celebration is the Engineers’ Ball from 8 p.m. to midnight Sept. 27 in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

Last year approximately 400 students attended and this year the E-Week committee is anticipating 900 attendees, Schlechte said. The ball will have swing dancing, music provided by a disc jockey, free horse-drawn carriage rides around Central Campus and a fireworks show near the Campanile, Schlechte said.

“This year it has really been revamped,” she said.

She said an Engineers’ Ball date auction will also be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21 in 207 Marston, for students who want to go to the ball, but don’t have a date yet.

Meredith Nelson, E-Week events co-chairwoman and senior in civil engineering, said the committee is excited to put on the various events for engineering students to take part in.

“It will be a chance [for students] to take a load off and just have fun,” Nelson said. “It’s nice for us to be able to put this on for students so they don’t have to worry about what to do, but just show up.”