The 10th anniversary of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (CSTEM) and Engineering Programs at EWU was celebrated on Oct. 30 from 12:30-2:00 p.m in the main lobby of the Computing and Engineering building.

Students, faculty and industry professionals throughout Washington and several alumni returned to meet current students involved in the program and celebrate the success and presence of CSTEM here at EWU. According to Eastern’s website, “No matter which major you choose in the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, talented and experienced faculty members will be there to help you learn everything; from how to build a robot; from quantum mechanics, to how to interpret the cosmos; from how to track songbirds. The topics are nearly endless.”

Another beneficial part of the program is the low student-to-faculty ratio at EWU, according to Eastern’s website. Students can get personalized instruction from professors in the classroom and greater access to their professors outside of the classroom.

Steve Simmons, Ph.D. and professor of Computer Science at EWU, put on the event. “You start with an idea, then you use some type of technology, then you work and work and work until you can say it works,” he said.

The anniversary event featured student projects, past successors, industrial robotic projects featuring the possibilities of the breakthrough technology of 3D printing, computer games students built from scratch based on cutting edge experimental development software and hardware all within a single quarter, a cyber pinball machine students learned to program to do whatever they want, controlling all the machine’s inner mechanics and a rocket that beat 99 percent of competitors in Brazil.

The event started with dean of CSTEM Judd Case speaking about the anniversary and how pleased he was with the turnout. Amber E. Orr, Chair of the Spokane Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), spoke about the history of IEEE and how the institute supports EWU students because there is a big need for people who are interested in engineering and Eastern offers great programs that help students work as successful engineers.

CSTEM alum Jason Pegg of Spokane’s Ecova Corporation was the featured keynote speaker at the event. He mentioned it is great how far the program and college itself has come, considering the program did not exist prior to 2005. He also announced that Case will be advancing to the Dean of Special Projects.

After Case thanked everyone for coming, the anniversary cake was cut and everyone was free to socialize, explore and take in the festivities. From 1-2 p.m. industry professionals met with students who were presenting their projects. The celebration ended at 2 p.m. with a symposium on the Darknet, which involves the issue of hackers maneuvering the inner workings of the Internet.

Mechanical engineering accomplishments are huge success stories for the school. EWU is one of the very few schools with industrial robotics. CSTEM has a 96 percent rate of career placement and continues to educate students in a variety of majors including Computer Science, Visual Communication Design, Electrical Engineering and more.