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The 2026 CES/ACMS Conference is getting closer!
The 2026 CES/ACMS Conference is getting closer!
We are looking forward to this summer’s CES Conference, which will be a joint conference with ACMS (Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences). The conference will be hosted at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, May 27-30, with preliminary workshops on May 26-27. A couple specific CES preliminary workshops include the Christian Engineering Leaders Summit and the first ever Christian Engineering Teaching Workshop. Feel free to touch base with inquiries on either of those events.
For those of you who have had paper abstracts accepted, remember that the hard deadline for paper submissions is just a few days away, at midnight this Saturday, February 28.
The joint conference will feature presentations from Tai Danae Bradley (The Master’s University), Randall Pruim (Calvin University), Matt Heun (Calvin University), and Emily Wenger (Duke University), along with many other participants from fields including engineering, mathematics and statistics, and computer science. The conference will include invited and contributed talks on faith integration, history, pedagogy, and current research and fellowship over meals, worship, and prayer. There are also optional excursions to the Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park or the Frank Lloyd Wright Meyer May House. More information and the registration link can be found here: https://acmsonline.org/2026-acms-conference-calvin/
A big “Thank You!” to Cory Hixson (program chair), Gayle Ermer (general chair), and Steve VanderLeest (assistant chair) in their excellent work and leadership regarding this ongoing conference planning work.
Please submit nominations for an upcoming opening on the CES Board
Please submit nominations for an upcoming opening on the CES Board
CES Board Officer Carrie Francis will be concluding her term at this summer’s conference, so we are currently accepting nominations to fill this position. Please submit nominations (self-nominations are permitted) to any current CES officer, and stay tuned for details on the online election for this position that will be conducted later this spring. We encourage you to prayerfully consider whether God might be calling you to this unique venue of kingdom service!
New CES initiatives geared toward students
New CES initiatives geared toward students
One area where CES has been innovating and advancing is in the realm of student engagement. A framework for student chapters is being fine-tuned, and CES’s first student chapter at Florida State University is now active. We encourage you to reach out to us if you have interest in exploring what a student chapter could look like in your area. We envision student chapters providing unique venues for support and fellowship, book discussions, industry connections, and more. These chapters could exist as student organizations at both secular institutions and Christian institutions and provide unique connections across these spectrums as well. We are also beginning an online book discussion geared toward engineering students around the country, along with a blog geared toward this same group that includes monthly contributions from us as active and practicing professionals in engineering. If you are interested in helping out with the online book discussion, the monthly blog, or other student chapter initiatives, please email Paul Griffioen at paul.griffioen@christianengineering.org, as we are actively looking for CES members to help with these efforts.
Early Success with the CES Upper Midwest Chapter
Early Success with the CES Upper Midwest Chapter
In addition to engaging the students who will be the engineers and educators of tomorrow, another area that is ripe for engagement is that of practicing engineers themselves. Many Christian engineers around the country dutifully engage their engineering work during the week and then joyfully turn the page to rest and worship on Sunday only to revert back on Monday to a dutiful workplace posture. However, few seem to be interested in truly integrating their faith into their work, in breaking through this dualism of Christian life on one hand and engineering work on the other hand. Here is where CES can make a difference! No organization is as philosophically equipped as CES to provide the connective tissue between work and worship, between vocational call and kingdom service.
Local chapters of CES are one way to begin promoting these conversations. To date, two local chapters have formed, the Harrisburg Chapter in central Pennsylvania, and the Upper Midwest Chapter which encompasses Northwest Iowa, South Dakota, and Central Iowa. It would be wonderful to see more local chapters in other areas of the country to help connect the work we are doing at the grassroots levels where it matters most.
The Upper Midwest Chapter has been successful thus far in engaging and building connections with local industry. It is currently hosting its second series of book discussions using the book Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life by David Bahnsen, after having hosted a successful first series of discussions on A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers by Ethan Brue, Derek Schuurman, and Steven VanderLeest. These discussions are regularly attended by several practicing engineers and a few engineering faculty members and have been ripe soil for talking about what it means to engage engineering Christianly.
In addition, the Upper Midwest Chapter hosted a very successful continuing education event in the fall related to engineering ethics, attended by roughly thirty practicing engineers from the region. The success of this first continuing education event led to the idea of doing another similar event that will be happening in just a few weeks. In this second continuing education event, several local engineers will be participating as panelists, answering questions related to Christian leadership, mentoring, and evangelism in the workplace. The panel will be followed by a discussion on a biblical understanding of the nature of work, building off the ongoing Full-Time book discussion.
Finally, the Upper Midwest Chapter is teaming up with a campus ministry at Iowa State University in March to give a presentation on a distinctively Christian approach to engineering and to encourage CES involvement from Iowa State University students. We are excited to see how the Lord might choose to use this opportunity.
If you are interested in beginning a local chapter in your region, please reach out to us to help us get you started!
Ways to serve in CES
Ways to serve in CES
One of the biggest limiting factors in the effectiveness of CES to date is simply having enough time to do the good work that we would like to do. We would love to have your help in some of these areas where it feels like we could really make a difference as the hands and feet of Christ in engineering and technology. Some specific areas where we are looking for help are:
Student book discussion facilitation and participation
Student blog participation
Newsletter editor
Student chapter planning
Local chapter planning
Strategic planning
Please let us know if you are interested in serving in any of these ways, or if you’d like to hear more about these opportunities! Any specific roles are subject to CES board approval.
Feel free to email Justin Vander Werff (president@christianengineering.org) for inquiries on items in this newsletter or about CES in general.
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