Students
of the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering at the University of the West
Indies, St. Augustine Campus are now part
of a worldwide organization comprising 120,000
professional engineers and 23,000 student
members focused on technical, educational
and research issues. They now belong to
the worldwide engineering and technology
community through the formation of a student
Section of the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME).
The
section was approved by the ASME Board of
Governors in November 2004 and officially
launched at the Faculty of Engineering,
at the University of the West Indies, St.
Augustine Campus, Trinidad, on December
7, 2004. It marked the first student-run
campus organization focused on mechanical
engineering in the English-speaking Caribbean.
With
the continued development of key regional
industries such as oil and gas, bauxite
and manufacturing, mechanical engineering
graduates play key roles in developing the
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the
wider region. A well-trained engineering
and technology workforce will secure future
contributions to the region’s industrialized
economies.
Links
with international organizations, such as
the ASME, will assist students in their
all round development to face the impending
global challenges of the future. The University
of the West Indies joins 459 other ASME
student sections worldwide.
Student
sections provide opportunities for undergraduates
to begin their careers with the benefits
of a professional engineering society, benefits
that include networking and fellowship opportunities
with other engineers informed on the latest
trends and developments in the multidisciplinary
field of mechanical engineering.
While
ASME student section officers are responsible
for carrying out the activities of the section,
a University faculty member, who is also
a member of ASME, serves as student faculty
advisor. Eng. Dr. Winston G. Lewis, Senior
Lecturer and Head of Department of Mechanical
and Manufacturing Engineering at UWI presently
serves as the University’s first ASME student
faculty advisor.
In
his role, Dr. Lewis will oversee the students’
professional development. The interim Chairperson
of the Student body is Ms. Kimberly Ramproop,
a graduate student in the Department.
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