On a snowy Monday, February 15, over 125 young engineers (and those young at heart) from the Delaware Valley gathered at Yards Brewery in Philadelphia to network, sample great beer and celebrate Engineers Week in a relaxed happy hour type of atmosphere. 

Michael Witkowski, the 2010 Young Engineer of the Year and guest of honor, spoke briefly about his relentless drive to promote and foster a love for engineering among the local college campuses at Drexel, Villanova, Widener and Temple Universities, leaving the guests inspired to join the effort to support the growth of our engineering community.

The young engineers enjoyed tours of the brewery, during which guests learned the secrets of how Yards engineers hops and barley into such a delicious product. Also during the tours, Yards was proud to share with the group their passion for sustainability. Wherever possible, the brewery incorporated green practices into the building design and production operations. For example, the brewery recovers and recycles heat to minimize energy requirements, wastes are donated to local farms for further use, and recycled and environmentally friendly construction materials were selected for the tasting room construction and decor.

All-in-all the event was a great success and left the attendees excited for a successful 2010 throughout our engineering community.