ANNUAL ENGINEERING OPEN HOUSE TO BE HELD 

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Feb. 14 -- Robots, a trip into virtual
reality, a nuclear reactor and laser optics are among displays that
will be open to the public on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the University
of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science.
	Visitors, including students from dozens of Virginia high
schools, are expected to gather at the school for the annual
Engineering Open House, scheduled for 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.  Shuttle
buses will provide rides to exhibits outside the school, including
the U.Va. Nuclear Reactor Facility, Aerospace Research Lab and Auto
Safety Lab, where crash tests with dummies are conducted.
	High school students will compete to build the strongest
model bridge, for a first prize of $200. Teams from participating
schools will be given 20 two-foot sticks of basswood and asked to
build a bridge that can withstand the greatest load for its weight.
A separate prize of $50 will be awarded for the most attractive
design, regardless of the bridgeÕs breaking strength.
	More than 30 displays, in fields ranging from medical
imaging and pollution control to computer systems that enable you to
buy and sell on the Internet, will be staffed by U.Va. faculty and
students. They will be on hand to explain the displays and answer
questions about the engineering school.
	Visitors will be able to test their skills at using ERICA,
an eye-gaze system developed at U.Va. that allows people with severe
physical disabilities to operate a computer and write messages
simply by looking at command buttons.
	Parking will be available adjoining Thornton Hall, site of
the open house, in student and faculty lots.  Thornton Hall is
northeast of Scott Stadium, just off Emmet Street and south of the
McCormick Road bridge. 
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February 13, 1996
	For more information, contact Tom Doran at (804) 924-1381 or
Robert Weikle at (804) 924-3362.