April 24, 2024
By Chloe Arrington

Undergraduate and graduate students in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering were given the opportunity to compete in communication-based tasks that pushed them to demonstrate that engineers can communicate as part of the inaugural Webb-Donnell Communication Competitions.

The competitions were created in honor of Frank K. Webb, ME 1938, and Jeffrey Donnell, former principal academic professional in the Woodruff School. Throughout his career, Webb recognized the importance of training engineers with effective communication tools. Donnell joined the Woodruff School in 1990 and was tasked with improving student’s communication skills. His work soon attracted the attention of Webb, who praised it as some of the best engineering education innovation he had ever seen. 

Webb remained a dedicated alumnus and in 1999 he bestowed an endowment upon the Woodruff School that ensured the continued support to the communication skills of students. Donnell was named the first Frank K. Webb Academic Professional Chair in Communication Skills and held this position until his passing in 2022. 

“We are very lucky to be able to offer competitions such as the Webb-Donnell Communication Competitions,” said current Frank K. Webb Academic Professional Chair in Communication Skills Jill Fennell.  

For this year’s competitions, undergraduate students could craft an op-ed that explored the challenges and opportunities related to public perception and trust in science and technology or compose an internal memo for a hypothetical workplace to introduce a current, real-world technological advancement and argue why this advancement is relevant and significant. Graduate students were able to showcase their original research in a Ted Talk-style presentation, highlighting their expertise and passion for advancing engineering knowledge. 

“All three competitions illustrate how communication is key to achieving the Woodruff School’s mission; in order to empower engineers who are equipped to solve society’s most challenging problems and to improve the human condition, they must be able to communicate such solutions and their social implications in a way that incites action and change,” explained Fennell.