Kick off Homecoming Weekend with the College on Nov. 2

You’re invited to the NC State engineering party of the century (plus 25 years).

The College will celebrate 125 years of engineering at NC State with a Homecoming weekend kickoff event on Centennial Campus. The event, to be held from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, November 2, is expected to attract hundreds of NC State engineering and computer science alumni. They’ll catch up with friends, enjoy plenty of good food, and learn about the College’s latest research and education accomplishments.

Join them.

“This event is a great way to bring alumni together with current NC State engineering students and faculty to celebrate all the great things that make this College special,” said Brian Campbell, executive director of the NC State Engineering Foundation, which is hosting the event. “It’s going to be entertaining, informative and a whole lot of fun.”

When Friday’s events conclude, alumni can stick around for the rest of the weekend to attend the annual Homecoming parade and watch the Wolfpack football team take on Virginia. The College wants to make its celebration an annual event that brings alumni back to campus each fall.

The weekend begins at 11:30 a.m. Friday with mini-events hosted by each of the engineering departments and the College’s Minority Engineering Programs. Each group has planned a variety of activities, including open houses and lunch. (The event hosted by the Department of Nuclear Engineering begins at 10 a.m.)

At 2 p.m., alumni can drop off the future engineers in their families at an Engineering Mini-Camp. The camp, hosted by the Engineering Place, the College’s K-20 outreach program, will give kids the opportunity to create rockets, LED flashlights and more. Children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and any other young people ages five to 12 are welcome to attend.

“This is the perfect opportunity for kids and their families to get a quick taste of what the Engineering Place’s summer engineering programs are all about,” Campbell said.

While that happens, alumni can learn a little more about NC State engineering from Dr. Louis A. Martin-Vega, dean of the College, who will give his “State of the College” address. After that, some of the College’s top researchers will hold “Classrooms Without Quizzes” seminars on security, health and energy — areas in which the College is a national research leader.

At 4 p.m., attendees can tour the College’s new buildings Centennial Campus. Right after that, the event will conclude with a North Carolina favorite — a barbeque dinner — and live music. The Homecoming parade on Hillsborough Street begins at 6 p.m.

Registration for the event is required. For more information, please visit www.engr.ncsu.edu/alumni/homecoming.