The Union lobby was full of activity on Wednesday evening, as Rose-Hulman and local high school students participated in the Recyclable Engineering Contest.

The contest began at 5 p.m. on the second floor of the Union, according to Donna Gustafson, assistant dean for student services. Judging of the entries occurred at 6 p.m.

Contestants were given equal quantities of cardboard, fishing line, masking tape, pop bottles and cans, and plastic jugs to begin construction. They were then allowed one hour to “design and build whatever possible” from the given materials.

Other requirements were that students’ creations were limited in size by the size of the table, and the height was limited by the distance from the table top to the ceiling. Gustafson commented that to encourage creativity, very few restrictions were placed on the entries.

A total of seven teams entered the contest, and there were three winners. The first prize of $100 went to the team named BWS, which consisted of Sam Gould, Colin Colaco, Alan Fletcher, Kasey Arthur, and Mike Goble. The BWS team built a device called “Rose freshman on a Tuesday night,” which could stand up and collapse with the pull of a string.

The second prize of $75 was awarded to the team named Beefcakes, which consisted of Kevin Beto, Shane Stanford, Chris Maurer, and Chris Schultz. The Beefcakes team built a device featuring Rosie the elephant; its trunk nudged a basketball into the hoop.

A team called the Llamas won the third prize of $50. The Llamas were comprised of Jonathan Webster, Peter Webb, David Powder, Stephen Brewer, and James Rose. They built a “pneumatic pump and piston” from the available materials.

Gustafson explained that the Recyclable Engineering Contest was started a few years ago when she went to a conference at a college campus in Cincinnati, Ohio. Gustafson noticed a contest called “Edible Architecture” taking place.

When Gustafson returned to Rose-Hulman, she suggested the idea of an “Edible Engineering” contest. Structures were built using pretzels, crackers, and cheese. The response to the contest was very impressive. “I was amazed,” said Gustafson.

The idea of the Edible Engineering contest was abandoned, however, because the structures were so well-done that students did not want to eat them. To avoid the waste of food, Gustafson decided to change the contest to Recyclable Engineering.

Gustafson added that the Recyclable Engineering Contest is done to bring some variety to the campus during the long stretch of winter quarter. “It’s a monotony-breaker...[and] adds a little energy,” commented Gustafson.

The Recyclable Engineering Contest was organized by Gustafson and Tina Toth, graduate assistant in student activities.

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