The 2017 Engineering and Computer Science Exposition at Sacramento State, hosted by the student-run Engineering and Computer Science Joint Council, will be from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 11, in the University Union Ballroom and second-floor suites.

The event is expected to attract a record 1,500 attendees from the Sacramento area. Among them will be 90 first-graders from Del Dayo Elementary School in Carmichael, who’ll be wearing special Sac State “Future Hornet Engineer” T-shirts. During the expo, the first-graders will teach other youngsters how to make a clever hovercraft with balloons and CDs.

“Our mission for the expo is to give younger students a hands-on experience to inspire them and get them interested in what engineers and computer scientists can do, while showcasing our clubs’ achievements,” says Jessica Bransen, a senior Civil Engineering major and the event chair.

The expo will feature the projects of students and student clubs from Sac State’s College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS), including:

  • Competitive Robotics will stage a Robot Rumble, a full-scale battle with small, handmade robots facing off in a big glass “cage.”
  • Hornet Racing will introduce its 2017 Formula-style race car, which is being built in anticipation of this summer’s Formula SAE collegiate competition in Lincoln, Neb.
  • The Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge teams will display models of their work, which are entered in next month’s American Society of Civil Engineers Mid-Pacific Student Competition in Chico.
  • The Computer Graphics and Game Design clubs will demonstrate their latest projects and invite expo attendees to play these innovative games.

In addition, the Sacramento Police Department bomb squad will demonstrate Ozbot, a battery-powered robot that assesses high-risk situations and defuses bombs. And attendees will have a chance to win raffle prizes, including bikes, gift certificates, baked goods, and more.

The Engineering and Computer Science Exposition is free and open to all, with free parking on the three lower levels of Parking Structure II. (For an interactive campus map: csus.edu/campusmap.)

The expo, which will immediately follow the college’s annual open house for prospective students, is sponsored by ECS and its alumni group; Associated Students Inc. at Sacramento State; A T.E.E.M. Electrical Engineering; Murray, Smith & Associates Inc.; Fehr & Peers Transportation Consultants; Mark Thomas; and the Sacramento Police Department. – Dixie Reid