Engineering Day to invite special guest
February 20, 2014
By Melissa Patrick
As part of the seventh annual E-Day celebration, the UK College of Engineering has invited Scott Murray, a civil engineering alumnus and senior vice-president at Stantec, to discuss the importance of communication skills in engineering.
E-Day is an annual event at UK that features approximately 150 engineering demonstrations, exhibits and contests.
The events will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in several of the College of Engineering buildings.
Murray will speak Friday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in the Raymond Oliver Student Commons area of the Ralph G. Anderson Building. Guest will also enjoy a free lunch during the lecture.
The deans at UK College of Engineering have a long history of emphasizing the importance of producing engineers with strong communication skills, said Emily Dotson, assistant director of the College of Engineering’s eStudio.
“Written communication is always going to be important, but it often needs to be oral and digital. We need students to be prepared to communicate in all ways,” Dotson said. “The industry tells us this.”
Students in the Engineering Honor Society of Tau Beta Pi choose the annual speaker.
Honor society member and civil engineering senior Meredith Renz who is a said she nominated Murray because of his reputation as a great communicator.
“He is a really great guy. He has an open door policy,” Renz said. “He tells great stories. He is well liked and personable.”
Murray specializes in geographic information systems and geotechnical engineering at Stantec, a professional consulting firm.
He is a member of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Kentucky, the Kentucky Geotechnical Engineering Group and the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Bluegrass Branch.
He is also involved with several national engineering organizations.