BlackboardIndustry Day 2003 Beats the Weather
Despite record-breaking snowfalls which completely snagged transportation along the Atlantic Coast, Industry Day 2003 came off on schedule.
The theme "Engineering for Homeland Security" featured two keynote speakers from the Washington DC area who were trapped by the snow, along with two of our Associate Deans who were attending a meeting in Baltimore. Fortunately a substitute was available to give the presentation by the Army Research Laboratory and another keynote speaker from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Advanced Technology Program, gave her talk by phone hookup from her home in Maryland!
Ten student teams participated in the annual design competition, which posed a rescue problem in the Australian Outback. The hero, Outback Jack, needed to deliver a life-saving snake antivenin to a remote part of the Australian country side. An egg was needed to transport the anitvenin by blimp over the desert. Students simulated the problem by designing, building and flying balloons carrying a plastic egg from the Building A atrium to the second floor balcony. They were given a box of parts that included a radio-controlled set of motors, a package of party balloons and a helium tank, and materials ranging from balsa wood to graphite fiber, epoxy and ladies nylons.
Each team consisted of a student from each department, a faculty advisor and a supporting corporate mentor. Companies sponsoring the teams were Army research Laboratory, AT&T Government Solutions, Harris Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporate, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Medtronic, Inc., Procter & Gamble, Progress Energy, Siemens Building Technologies and Sprint. The AT&T Government Solutions team won the competition. Scoring was based on speed, ingenuity of design and cost of building the model.
The second day featured a Recruiting Exposition at which companies provided exhibits of career opportunities with their organizations. Over 40 companies and government organizations participated in the eighth annual Industry Day activities.
