The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) mission statement reads, "To increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community." Few students takes that statement more seriously and closer to heart than senior Melissa Jacques, advisor and former president of the UConn NSBE Chapter and founder of the society's annual Thanksgiving Food Drive and Basket Delivery events.

Outstanding engineering students will be feted during the School of Engineering's annual awards ceremony on the evening of Monday, April 19. The presentation of scholarships will take place at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Engineering students often defy simple classification, media-fed stereotypes notwithstanding. Undergraduate student Shawna Smith (CMBE) is the very essence of the non-traditional student.

The School of Engineering has announced the formation of a new academic/business network, dubbed the Connection. According to Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives & Diversity, Kazem Kazerounian, the Connection will allow practicing engineers, businesses and entrepreneurs an avenue for liaison with the School of Engineering, as well as a forum facilitating peer networking.

Unlike Vegas, what happens in Ethiopia doesn't stay in the land-locked East African nation. Water and weather, for example, overreach Africa in profound ways. The nation's major rivers, including the mighty Blue Nile originating in the Ethiopian highlands, are transboundary and sustain life in neighboring countries.