BILL NUMBER: SR 10	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Padilla

                        JANUARY 14, 2009

   Relative to National Engineers Week.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
             HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST



   WHEREAS, Engineers use their professional, scientific, and
technical knowledge and skills in creative and innovative ways to
solve problems; and
   WHEREAS, Engineers have helped meet the major technological
challenges of our time, from rebuilding damaged infrastructure after
natural disasters, to designing an information superhighway that will
speed our country into the future; and
   WHEREAS, Engineers are a crucial link in transforming scientific
discoveries into useful products, such as the creation of lifesaving
biomechanics to help us live longer; and
   WHEREAS, Engineers plan, design, and direct the manufacture or
construction of nearly everything we interact with on a daily basis,
from computer microchips to highways, roads, and bridges, residential
and commercial buildings to automobiles and airplanes; and
   WHEREAS, Engineers are needed today and in the near future to
design and develop crucial infrastructure, including, but not limited
to, levees and waterways, roads and bridges, and universities and
schools; and
   WHEREAS, Not only is a diverse and vigorous engineering workforce
needed, but we also need to encourage young men and women to pursue
the field of engineering as a career; and
   WHEREAS, The 2007 National Academy of Sciences report entitled
"Rising Above the Gathering Storm" highlighted the worrisome trend
that fewer students now are focusing on engineering in college at a
time when increasing numbers of today's engineers are nearing
retirement; and
   WHEREAS, A 2007 report by the California Council on Science and
Technology determined that California faces a persistent and critical
shortage of fully prepared mathematics and science teachers; and
   WHEREAS, There are distinguished leaders promoting the field of
engineering in California, such as the California Engineering
Education Council (CEEC), a nonprofit organization comprised of
public and private engineers, educators, and public officials who
recognize the need for more engineers to design and support the
construction of California's infrastructure; and
   WHEREAS, CEEC is dedicated to creating and supporting programs
that encourage students to enter the field of engineering, better
prepare K-12 educators and students for engineering and
science-related coursework, and retain engineering students at the
college level; and
   WHEREAS, National Engineers Week provides professional engineers,
community groups, teachers, parents, and students with the
opportunity to interact with and learn about the many facets of the
engineering profession through special educational programs; and
   WHEREAS, National Engineers Week aims to increase the
understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers
and it also aims to promote literacy in mathematics and science; and
   WHEREAS, National Engineers Week is celebrated during the week of
George Washington's birthday to honor the contributions that our
first President of the United States, a military engineer and land
surveyor, made to engineering; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
hereby recognizes the week of February 15, 2009, to February 21,
2009, inclusive, as National Engineers Week and acknowledges the
services bestowed upon the citizens of California by engineers; and
be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.