Distinguished Engineering Alumni Academy member Avery Bang (BSE 2007 civil engineering) is featured in a new film on the engineering profession that will be released February 17 in IMAX and other large screen theaters.

Bang is CEO of Bridges to Prosperity, a company that aids poor communities in countries like Haiti by building footbridges over dangerous rivers.

The film, "Dream Big: Engineering Our World," provides a highlight for celebration of National Engineers Week February.  It will take viewers on a journey of discovery from the world’s tallest building to a bridge higher than the clouds. Along the way, the audience will witness how today’s engineers are shaping the world of tomorrow.

“I believe that every young woman and girl should understand that they can do this,” Bang says. “This is not only for men, this is not only for a certain class of people, it’s not only for people whose parents or uncles or grandfathers were engineers. Engineering is very accessible, and I think that accessibility can build belief.”

The film creates a visual basis for an effort called "The Girls Night Out," led by the American Society of Civil Engineers.  The events are designed as a kind of prepackaged outreach activity that groups can use with the film. The idea is that museums will invite girls and their female relatives and teachers to the Girls Night Out for film screenings and educational activities to improve girls’ attitudes toward engineering and encourage them to pursue engineering as a potential career.

Following is the "Dream Big: Engineering Our World" profile on Bang--http://www.dreambigfilm.com/team/avery-bang/

To read a USA Today story and watch the movie trailer, go to http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/01/18/trailer-imax-dream-big-engineering-our-world-exclusive-sneak-peek/96673710/.

For more on "Dream Big: Engineering Our World," go to http://www.dreambigfilm.com/.