Congratulations to Zachary Johnson, a 17-year-old student at Louisville Male High School. He is the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship, renewable for up to four years, awarded to him as part of the UK College of Engineering’s Engineers Day celebration held on Feb. 20. He was selected in a random drawing of all registration forms received on Engineers Day.
“I want to congratulate Zachary, as well as all the other winners who came to visit us on Engineers Day,” said Dr. Rick Sweigard, the college’s associate dean for administration and academic affairs. “Our world faces many challenges, and future engineers like him will be needed to find the solutions we need to build better lives for ourselves.”
Another door prize drawing selected winners for a new digital camera. The recipients are Bailey Bird, a fifth-grader from Versailles, and Vince May from Lexington.
Engineers Day, or E-day, is an annual celebration of everything engineering has to offer hosted by the University of Kentucky. College groups hold contests for elementary, middle and high school students, and representatives from nearly 40 companies and government agencies provide activities and exhibitions. E-day comes at the end of Engineers Week, a national event dedicated to promoting math and science literacy and ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce. The next Engineers Day will be held on UK’s campus on Feb. 26, 2011.
Contest winners announced
Student and alumni groups sponsored 17 different contests at the day-long event, in which nearly 2,000 visitors filled the College of Engineering on the UK campus.
Rube Goldberg contest
Entrants must build a complex machine that completes a simple task in at least 20 discrete steps. The University of Kentucky College of Engineering Alumni Association sponsored this event.
The first place winner was Matt McCoy, a tenth-grader from Georgetown.
Egg Drop Crash Survivability contest
Entrants must design a container that enables a raw egg to survive a 34-foot fall. Winners are selected based on lightest weight and shortest travel time. The UK student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers sponsored this event.
The first place winner was Elijah Messmer. Second place was Jacob McCain. Third place was Andrew Watts.
Newspaper bridge competition
Entrants must design a bridge using less than one pound of newspaper and tape that is at least two feet long and can support the weight of a phonebook without collapsing. The UK student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers sponsored this event.
The first place winner was Team 3, consisting of Joe Bleuel and Chase Herrington of Nicholasville Elementary School and Rosenwald-Dunbur Elementary School. The second place winner was Team 23 from Lexington. In third place was Team 1, consisting of Andrew Burgess, Ben Burgess, Sam Burgess and Sam Johnson of Georgetown.