| This year forty-three
students started on the project, with forty completing it.
Dr. Deborah
Lange, an Environmental Engineer, with the Department of
Engineering & Public Policy, introduced the students to
the project, giving an overview of THE project. |
 
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| She created
"play money" in µ's that students were to use, emphasizing
the "cost effectiveness" of an engineering project. Currency
or "money" was issued in monetary units or "µ" to determine
the cost effectiveness of each vehicle. Students were issued
"money" to spend on the building to race their vehicle in
the final competition. The money was in denominations of
"One µ," depicted by One MonetCry Unit - with
Stephanie Kwolek, Inventor of Kevlar on the face; 5 MonetCry
Units - with Sally Ride, First US Woman in Space on the
face; and 10 Monetcry Units - with Ida Lovelace, First Programmer,
on the face. |
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Dr. Annette
Jacobson, Chemical Engineer, was in charge of designing
the fuel. Using Sodium bicarbonate and Sodium tartrate,
she pointed out the chemical reactions that result from
mixing the solid fuel with either acid or water result
in the formation of carbon dioxide gas.
This gas pressure
in the bottle increases to the point that the cork on
the bottle pops off and the gas is released. The bottle
moves forward in the opposite direction from the escaping
gas. The bottles used were 12 oz. Water bottles. Goggles
were worn at all times for protection.
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Next, Dr. Gabriela
Stoleru, a Materials Scientist/ Engineer, worked with
the participants to select appropriate materials for the
vehicle to run on, through testing of alternative materials,
taking into account weight, friction and cost.
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| Dr.
Susan Finger of Civil & Environmental assisted the students
in constructing the track and trusses, taking into account
vehicle emissions and track management upon which the vehicle
will travel. Constructed from a steel erector set, the track
had a beginning section, an ending section, an incline,
and lots of straight/level sections. The track was 10 to
24 feet long. |
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|
Dr.
Cristina Amon and Dr. Ender Finol of Mechanical Engineers,
assisted the students in designing and building the vehicle,
taking into account the aerodynamics and center of mass
of the vehicle that was to be used. |
| Dr. Gary Fedder
of Electrical & Computer Engineering directed the building
of sensors on the track so that time of the "vehicles" could
be measured when the "light beams" were broken. Data was
collected into a computer. A computer program calculating
the speed at intervals the "vehicles" moved on the track,
determined the speed and length of time the vehicles traveled
during the final competition. |
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