updated July 3, 2007

High school seniors came to participate in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Operation Catapult program for 16 days during June from as far away as Sugarland, Texas; Naples, Florida; and Cupertino, Calif. -- along with stretches in between -- and left as newfound friends that had experienced a unique summer engineering and science educational adventure.

View Session I Photo Album

Taking Water Samples: Collecting one of a series of water samples from a creek that flows through the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology campus were June Operation Catapult participants (from left) Martin Sesse, Tara Bradsher and Leanne Stember.

“We all came in as strangers and came away with a wonderful time that I’ll always remember,” stated John-Ashton Allen of Moline, Ill., as he admired the “Catapult Challenge” computer game that was created using the Python software language.

Allen had no experience in computer programming before joining Manny Coker of Philadelphia, Pa., and Martin Pendergast of Kokomo, Ind., in writing more than 760 lines of software code to create the game.

“I learned a great deal,” Allen said. “Manny and I had no background in computer programming, while Martin was somewhat familiar with things. There were times when we thought that we had taken on more than we could handle. But things worked out.”

Pendergast added, “Every one had to work together to get the game completed (within the two-and-half week program). There were inconsistencies with the computer program that caused us fits. Those problems were a distant memory when the game worked properly for the first time.”

Testing Nylon's Strength: Meghan Mussehl adds weight to an experiment that tests the strength of synthesized nylon created by students participating in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Operation Catapult summer education program. Keeping a close look on the project are Allan Brooks (middle) and Adam Bruner.

Now in its 41st year, Rose-Hulman’s Operation Catapult program gives incoming senior high school students an opportunity to be problem-solvers in areas dealing with chemistry, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering and computer science. Students also attend lectures on a variety of topics, conducted by Rose-Hulman professors and visiting engineers; take field trips to witness technology in the manufacturing process; and experience what life will be like on a college campus. Two sessions are conducted each summer.

From June 13-30, 82 students from 28 states completed several projects -- discovering chemical ferrofluids and electric embedded control systems; creating solar-energy generators, miniature submarines and trebuchets; examining the water quality of a campus creek, and working with rapid prototyping equipment to design miniature objects.

One of this year’s innovative projects had a team of four students assembling a miniature electrically-controlled blimp. The device utilized three propellers (one for vertical control; two for lateral movement), two microprocessors, Styrofoam, batteries and two specially-ordered hydrogen-filled silver balloons to remain afloat in the air for as long as 25 minutes at a time. The project was completed during the last week of the summer program.

“You couldn’t wipe the smile off our faces and other (Operation Catapult) students were cheering to show their approval,” admitted Emil Hessel of Raleigh, N.C. “It was a proud moment for everyone and the crowning achievement of this entire experience.”

Building Model Hovercraft: Arpit Mehta, Kevin Faul and John Califano add duct tape to their Operation Catapult model hovercraft project. The device was the first hovercraft to successfully move.

The team affectionately named their blimp “Full of Gas.”

“It was shear perseverance on everyone’s part -- a work in progress until the final moments,” said member Tyler Wood of Vienna, Va. “We modified and simplified our original idea along the way. Working together to accomplish something tangible was the thing that I learned most from this experience.”

Shawn Mayo of Evansville, Ind., added, “I came here wanting to learn what it was like to be an engineer. This experience reinforced my feelings that engineering is where I can best utilize my talents.”

Rounding out the team was Kyle Green of Dayton, Ohio.

Another learning experience came from a group that created a subliminal message wand, utilizing eight light-emitting diodes (LEDs), a microprocessor, magnet switch, a fan with electric controller and approximately 150 lines of computer code, programmed in the C programming language. Any message that was entered into a computer could be emitted through the electrical system –- and paying close attention to the rotating wand.

Cummins Scholars: George Strodtbeck, executive director of corporate quality for Cummins Inc., visits six high school seniors that attended Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's June Operation Catapult program as Cummins Scholars. The group includes (from left) Niger Washington, Alex Ray, Matt Devonish, William Kolbus, John-Ashton Allen and Shawn Mayo.

“We wanted to do something that we could be proud to call our own,” stated Logan Leger of Baton Rouge, La. “We had another original project idea, but after a week of programming we weren’t satisfied with the results. We elected to go in a different direction and got the wand completed with four days to spare.”

“We needed to work as a team, because there was a lot to do and time was a critical factor,” added team member William Kolbus of South Bend, Ind. “I had never been in such an environment where four strangers had to work together on a project. It gives you a real-world experience and you learn to work with what you have.”

Two other members of the subliminal wand team were Derek Egley of Decatur, Ill., and Chad Tuchek of Indianapolis, Ind.

Each project has a Rose-Hulman professor as a faculty mentor. The Operation Catapult program is led by Patsy Brackin, associate professor of mechanical engineering. Other faculty assisting during the June sessions were Thomas Adams, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Claude Anderson, professor of computer science and software engineering; David Erwin, associate professor of chemistry; Keith Hoover, the Herman Moench professor of electrical and computer engineering; Michael Robinson, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering; and JianJian Song, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

For most students, the Operation Catapult experience helped reinforce their career interests in engineering and science fields.

“I love building things and my project (miniature submarine) allowed me to get my hands dirty -– something that I enjoy,” said Kelli Phillips of Paris, Ill., whose father is an engineer. “I didn’t know how submarines worked and it was something that I hadn’t done before. I had heard a lot about engineering, through my dad and his work, but didn’t know what it all meant. Now, I know what he finds so exciting about this area and I came away knowing that this (engineering) is what I really want to do.”

The July Operation Catapult session is scheduled from July 11-28, with approximately 110 students planning to participate.  

More information about Rose-Hulman’s Operation Catapult program is available at http://www.rose-hulman.edu/admissions/Catapult.htm.