Engineering students from five states and Ontario have descended on Grand Rapids as GVSU hosts this weekend's regional American Society of Mechanical Engineers student conference.
About 350 engineering students will participate in the conference, which features a national design competition, oral and poster competitions, tours of West Michigan industries, and the all-important interview fair, during which students pursue internships, co-op work opportunities, and for the graduating seniors, full-time employment.
You're going to see students from the top engineering schools, places like Penn State, MSU, and Cincinnati, who'll be finding out what West Michigan is all about and possibly landing jobs with some of our top employers, said Jeff Ray, on the faculty of GVSU's Padnos School of Engineering and faculty chairman of the conference.
The list of area companies interviewing students includes Steelcase, Amway, Thermatron, Brillcast, and Tiara Yachts.
Another conference highlight is the chance to watch future engineers become athletes-for-a-day in the Region V Volleyball Tournament, which pits school-against-school in a double elimination competition. The tourney will be held indoors at Dome World.
States included in the region include: Michigan; Ohio; Pennsylvania; New York; and also Ontario.
Ray noted that he and other conference organizers have worked closely with the Greater Grand Rapids Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Amway Grand Plaza staff to promote West Michigan to the out-of-town visitors.
