On Nov. 17 some high school students will find out just how much tape it takes to tape someone and the chair they're sitting in to a wall.
The competition between local high schools is just on of the events the Herff College of Engineering will put on during their open house from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The free event will feature a Navy flight simulator as well as middle school and high school competitions.
This largest engineering outreach program of the year is open to all ages and is used somewhat as a recruiting tool for future engineering students.
The simulator will seat nine people, utilizing a video screen at the front of an enclosed capsule with hydraulics to give the desired effect, said Charles Bray, associate dean of engineering.
"We've had it before and it's certainly a fun thing to do," he said. "But there is much more to the event than just the simulator."
One of the other bigger aspects is the competition between local schools.
"For the middle school, they have a bridge building competition," Bray said. "In high school they use a chair and duct tape it to the wall. A student must sit in the chair for three minutes without it falling down. The goal is to use the least amount of tape with the heaviest person. The best ratio wins."
The department's "E-day" drew 1,800 people the first year it was held, but because of budget cuts drew about 800 last year.
Bray said that all sections of the engineering department will be represented in some way, through demonstrations or simply by giving out information.
A variety of events are scheduled. One, entitled, "Shake, Rattle, and Stand" is an earthquake presentation that shows how seismograph readings are used to predict how a building will react when an earthquake strikes.
Another aspect of the open house allows students to throttle an internal combustion engine connected with a dynamometer at a control station and observe how data is collected to assess the performance of an engine.
The event's web site also lists events involving computational modeling, water quality and treatment systems, new porous concrete that allows water to seep through instead of running off and particle image velocimetry, which will use a high-energy laser and high-speed camera to demonstrate modern data acquisition.
Bray says the open house can be successful in attracting prospective students, even if some are not exactly sure what engineering is. They may be ignorant of such matters for good reason.
"Engineering is very broad," he said. "Even the subsets like civil and electrical aren't really specific. People like to say that 'engineers are problem solvers,' but that could apply to a lot of people."
