San Joaquin Engineers Council

San Joaquin Delta College Engineering & Technology Day

 

The San Joaquin Delta Engineering & Technology Day began in 1985 under the leadership of instructors John Larsson and Helm Haas. Originally it was a Mechanical Engineering competition sponsored by ASME. Later drafting and team competitions were added. The event continued until 2007 when both men retired. In 2015, it was restarted again and continued through 2020 when it had to be cancelled due to the Covid epidemic. Current plans are to resume Engineering and Technology Day in 2025.

The San Joaquin Engineers Council has been a supporter of the event from inception by providing engineers to act as judges. Beginning in 1997, SJEC began financially sponsoring Engineering & Technology Day by providing funds for trophies and lunch.

The event will be held on january 24, 2025 and begins at 8:30 am with registration.

Drafting competitions are first thing in the morning. In the past both hand and computer drafting competitions were held.More recently just computer drafting is the standard. There have been several levels of competition, Beginning Drafting for ninth and tenth grade students, Advanced Drafting for eleventh and twelfth grade students and Advanced Architectural/Civil drafting. Students have been given a project to complete using AutoCAD, Inventor, or Revit programs to compete within about three hours. The student’s work is judged by a panel consisting of Architects and Civil Engineers.

At noon participants have lunch consisting of pizza, cookies, and sodas provided by SJEC.

In the afternoon, teams of students compete in an engineering design competition. Every year the subject of the competition changes. One year it was an egg launcher, one year a mystery box and one year a Maze Machine. Recently added to the day is a new Robotics competition. Teams are provided information regarding a task that must be completed.They then program the robots to complete the task. The team’s work is judged by a panel consisting of Civil Engineers.

Following the competitions, a Career Orientation with a panel discussion and an award ceremony is held in the Tillie Lewis Theater. Plaques given for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place for every category. A total of 24 plaques will be awarded.

At past events, approximately 100-125 high school students from Calaveras High School, Cesar Chavez High School, Lincoln High School, Lodi High School, Merlo Institute of Environmental Technology, Weber Institute of Applied Science & Technology, and others have competed in the events.

Professional volunteers; both Engineers and Architects, have assisted in judging competitions. SJEC has provided lunch and the award plaques.  For more information, follow the link above.

We look forward to the 2025 competition.