Razorback Technology Challenge Tests Younger Students' Skills

Students design and build a device to launch a marshmallow during the Razorback Technology Challenge on Dec. 5 at the Bell Engineering Center on the University of Arkansas campus.

University of Arkansas engineering students led the way when nearly 600 younger students from Arkansas and Oklahoma schools came to campus to test their own technological skills and problem-solving abilities.

The engineering student ambassadors were joined by other students, faculty and staff members from the College of Engineering, College of Education and Health Professions, the Office of Admissions, Pre-College Programs and the Honors College to put on the second annual Razorback Technology Challenge on Dec. 5. To view additional photographs from the event, visit http://coehp.uark.edu.

The competition and events were modeled on those sanctioned by the Technology Student Association, a 150,000-member national organization based in Reston, Va., whose goal is to promote technological literacy and leadership.

 Livening up an otherwise quiet campus on Dead Day last semester, the students raced CO2-powered dragsters and destructively tested bridges they built. They also competed in graphic design and technology quiz bowl events, and teams took part in a problem-solving challenge in which they built a device to see who could launch a marshmallow the longest distance.

In the problem-solving challenge, students received a sheet outlining the parameters of the challenge and tickets to "purchase" materials to build devices of their own design. They used coat hangers, dowels, duct tape, rubber bands and plastic utensils to build the marshmallow launcher.

Bryan Hill, associate director of recruitment, retention and minority affairs in the College of Engineering, coordinated the day's events.

Hill led a team of engineering student ambassadors who judged the problem-solving competition as well as registering students, preparing materials, organizing and conducting events, and cleaning up afterward. The students were Abe Lachowsky, Travis Florquist, Stephen Barnes, Joel Martin, John Doerpinghaus, Eric Specking, Andrew Nolen, Meagan Berlau, Stephanie Ang, Jenna Jannings, Lauren Megee, Stephanie Clark, Andrea Horton, Jason Howard, Nathan Hill, and Hayley Moore. Engineering staff members Carol Gattis, director of recruitment, retention, honors and diversity, Thomas Carter, assistant dean of engineering, and Jane Cromhout, director of the Office of Student Records and Academic Information, also worked at events.

"These students did an awesome job running the day's events," Hill said. "They showed the younger students how exciting the study and practice of engineering can be. This group of people from across campus made the event a huge success."

Charles Rossetti, a visiting instructor in the technology education program in the College of Education and Health Professions, said several of the teachers have e-mailed to describe how much their students benefited from the challenge.

Other UA personnel assisting with the day's events were John Baltz, Jeremy Dickerson, Layne Rainey, Elizabeth Jillson, Michelle Pribbernow, Amber Sisemore, Emerald Hames, Clare Foote, Jennifer Duncan, Joshua Wilson and John Moore of the Office of Admissions; Chris Sharp, Keith Brink, Nikki Holland, Leslie Yingling and Randy Werner of Pre-College Programs; and Maribeth Lynes of the Honors College.

Michael K. Daugherty, head of the department of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education and Health Professions, brought the idea to the campus after organizing a similar challenge at Oklahoma State University. Daugherty welcomed the students to campus, and Katy Pendergraft, a graduate student in the career and technical education program, conducted the quiz bowl competition and served as a judge in the problem-solving competition.