The College Bowl

On Tuesday night the NJ Chapter of the AIChE featured their annual event known as the College Bowl.  All of the NJ engineering schools in the area were invited to participate by sending three students to answer chemical engineering questions in a friendly competition that results in a generous cash prize for the winners as well as a good chance for all of the students to meet & network with members of the AIChE who have been working in industry for years – an invaluable resource for a new engineer.

 

In short it is always a fun evening.

 

Now for Carol & me it was especially so this year.  Shortly after we arrived one of the members of the Chapter asked me if I would be one of two judges for the competition.  Although this was totally unexpected I did not hesitate to accept.  There was a time keeper, question selector, moderator (emcee), & the two judges.  In case of a split decision of the judges the moderator would break the tie.

 

Rutgers won the competition in a very energetic & fearless effort for anyone but especially so for college age juniors & seniors answering questions in front of people much older.

 

When the contest was over I led the applause – & it certainly was for the students but also for the people who run this Chapter, not just this one night every year that I attend, but all year long.  A handful of dedicated people trying to make a difference – like so many worthwhile things in life that are fragile & dependent on just a very few.

 

I learned a lot @ this College Bowl – & I don't mean just judging the answers to the questions from the Q&A part of the evening.