updated July 8, 2008

Alex Drane, Sean Finney, Connor Ford and Ruffin White-Magner wanted to get the most out of their Operation Catapult experience this summer at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

That's why the four budding engineers utilized elements of mechanical engineering, electronics, chemistry and computer engineering into producing an underwater inspection robot, featuring a web camera and electronic LED lights -- a first-of-its-kind project produced over 19 fun-filled days of problem solving, thought-provoking lectures, plant tours, intramural activities and insight about college life.

Now in its 42nd year, Operation Catapult is a summer education program that gives incoming high school seniors an ability to explore their interests in engineering, science, mathematics and computer science at one of the nation's top undergraduate colleges in these career fields. Students are challenged to be problem solvers in areas dealing with chemistry, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering and computer science.

This year's first session, from June 15 to July 3, included 107 students from 30 states and China working in teams to design and assemble Frisbee throwing devices, electronic "smart" cars and embedded control devices, simple computer games, model hovercrafts, trebuchets and miniature submarines. The students also conducted wind tunnel tests, and examined forensic science, fuel cells, ferrofluids, polymer synthesis and battery technology.

"We wanted to come up with a clever solution to a complex problem," stated Ford, an Evansville, Ind., student who utilized his chemistry skills to come up with an idea to place dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) in a balloon to help waterproof his team's underwater robot.

"We needed to ensure that no water got inside the submersible robot and damaged our web camera. It looked like a good solution to our problem," added Drane, from Floyds Knobs, Ind., after examining chemical calculations on a chalkboard in a civil engineering laboratory.

Other elements of the 10-inch long robot developed by Finney, from Cincinnati, Ohio, and White-Magner, from Waukon, Iowa, included four small motors (to help with stability and establish motion), two power systems (one for the motors and one for the LEDs), three separate electronic circuits and a 15-foot long tether for remote control and transmitting video images from the web camera.

"This team pushed its imagination to the limit," admitted Operation Catapult Director Kevin Sutterer, who assisted civil engineering professor John Aidoo in supervising the project. "These students, like all of the Operation Catapult participants, came up with creative solutions to some challenging problems –- learning valuable lessons about the design process and how to adapt their skills in a team setting."

The team of Kathryn Dimon of Fairfax, Va.; Jimmy Foulkes of Terre Haute, Ind.; Devan Lai of Saratoga, Calif.; and Meredith Murphy of Cincinnati came up with a creative solution to develop an electronic "smart" car that utilized infrared sensors to avoid collisions with other objects. For the first time, a five-inch diameter ball was used as the vehicle's controlling device –- kept in constant motion through a series of nine ball transfers.

"The ball (concept) allowed for freedom of movement in all directions," stated Foulkes, who came up with the creative solution –- after several design concepts failed to achieve desired results. "As with any science project, you're never really done. The goal was to get as close as possible, while always striving to improve."

Lai learned that "to make something better you have to push it to the limit -- and break it eventually."

Learning valuable lessons about the science of engineering and product failures were David Adams of Richmond, Va.; Nathan Fuller of New Palestine, Ind.; and Kelsey Johnson of Brownsburg, Ind. The team examined roadway collapses near campus caused by culvert failures and other erosion problems due to recent flooding in southern Indiana.

"These students had a unique educational experience. Learning about forensic science isn't in most high school science or pre-engineering curricula," stated Sutterer.

Meanwhile, five groups of students learned enough about the Python computer programming language, after several classes from computer science professor Claude Anderson, to design simple computer games that captivated their fellow Operation Catapult colleagues.

Conducting Wind Tunnel Tests: Deron Calbert prepares a wing for testing in a wind tunnel in the Department of Mechanical Engineering's Rotz Laboratory.

Derrick Casson of Indianapolis; Dylan Davis of Bloomingdale, Ind.; and Corey Loescher of Columbus, Ind., developed a game that was similar to the old Pong arcade game, challenging two competitors to keep a ball bouncing between paddles on the right and left sides of the screen.

Nearby, a game that was similar to Nintendo's Mario Brothers/Donkey Kong series had players trying to score points by having a robot climb levels of the game board. Developers were Derek Desing of Clinton, Wis.; Kevin Johnson of Barrington, Ill.; and Jeff Rumschlag of Noblesville, Ind.

Also popular were Operation Falling Ball, a game in which players tried to keep a ball balancing between ascending platforms, and Syntax Error, a text-based role-playing game. Operation Falling Ball was programmed by Susan Cisneros of Blanchard, Okla.; Thomas Dykes of Skokie, Ill.; and Congnan Zheng, a foreign exchange student from China. Syntax Error was developed by Robert Edwards of Half Moon Bay, Calif.; Luke Mader of Spencer, Ind.; Jonathan Modene of Perrysburg, Ohio; Alexander Mullans of Castle Rock, Colo.; and Eric Pesch of Medford, N.J.

"I was interested in computers, but had no previous programming experience," stated Dykes. "Now I know about object-oriented programming and wrote computer code that contributed to a game that everyone enjoyed playing. It has been a successful summer."

Helping the learning process were faculty project mentors Aidoo, assistant professor of civil engineering; Anderson, professor of computer science and software engineering; David Erwin, associate professor of chemistry; James Mayhew, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Richard Onyancha, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; and Phillip Walter, visiting assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering. There were also several Rose-Hulman students that served as Operation Catapult counselors, organizing a long list of activities throughout the session.

A second Operation Catapult session, with approximately 120 students, begins on July 9.

See what happened during the June session at
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/Catapult2008I/.

Find out more about the Operation Catapult program at
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/catapult/