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SALT LAKE CITY -- The world of the inventor was open to Utah high school students and their parents on Monday with the hope it would get the creative juices flowing in future engineering students.
University of Utah engineering student volunteers from Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honors society, hosted the on-campus event, and had plenty to show.
"This event is called 'Meet an Inventor Night.' It's an opportunity for high school kids in Utah and the Salt Lake Valley to get acquainted with some of the cool research going on here at the U.," said coordinator Ryan Russon. "I think our most important goal for this is to educate just the general community what an engineer is. We call it 'Meet an Inventor Night' because most people know what an inventor is. But a lot of people don't know what an engineer is and what they do."
The exhibits involved a broad range of engineering specialties; everything from lasers that fed a computer synthesizer to fire that danced to music, illustrating the effect sound waves have on pipelines.
There was even a little side-show drama. Material science engineering student melted a soda can with a torch and then held the flame one inch from fellow student Megan Campbell's face, which was protected by a Space Shuttle tile. The spectacle showed how well the tile deflected the torch's heat.
"High school students often don't realize that within a few years they can be inventors working on leading-edge technologies," said Peter A. Jensen, a clinical assistant professor in the U.'s School of Computing and an event organizer. "Our goal for Meet an Inventor Day is to have our faculty and students show the younger students what they can accomplish; that with a little vision, a career in invention is within their reach."
The event was conducted as part of a $2 million, five-near National Science Foundation grant aimed at encouraging high school and community college students to transition to university engineering courses. The U.'s goal is to increase the number of engineering and computer science graduates by at least 180 per year.
The grant also involves a service-learning program, in which U. students prepare hands-on engineering lessons and demonstrations for high school students.
Here are a few examples of the exhibits:
Ruben's Tube
Ahmed Elmadhoun
Also known as a standing wave flame tube demonstrates the relationship between sound waves and sound pressure. The pipe, sealed on one end and fastened to a speaker on the other, is filled with gas, which is lit. As sound waves, or music, is pumped through the pipe, a series of flames, coming from holes in the tube, create a standing wave, looking like an equalizer.
Wind turbine
Laura Shearer
The wind turbine uses the power of the wind to create useful energy.
Space shuttle tile### Megan Campbell
Students demonstrate how the tile deflects heat by putting a tile between the flame of a torch and the face of Campbell.
Laser harp
Enoch Lee
A laser bounces off something called a galvometer with a mirror on it. The galvometer oscillates the mirror back and forth at a speed faster than the eye can see creating the illusion that there are eight beams of light and not just one.
Strain gauges
Zac Jones
The gauges determine the weight of a load, which in turn helps engineers determine what materials and size of materials to use when designing a bridge. E-mail: sfidel@ksl.com
