Clark School Press Release Story

UMD Engineering Students Face Off in Hovercraft Competition May 9

Freshmen engage in annual competition for their final exam -- come see it live.

MEDIA ADVISORY  May 2, 2013

CONTACT:
Elise Carbonaro
301 405 6501
ecarbo@umd.edu

WHAT: Witness the most unique final exam you’ll ever see – the University of Maryland Clark School of Engineering Hovercraft Competition (otherwise known as the final exam of ENES 100, “Introduction to Engineering Design,” the Clark School's signature course that all engineering students must take in their freshman year). Undergraduate student teams will launch their hand-built, autonomous hovercraft to navigate around a track. The two-foot hovercrafts are constructed of foam, batteries, an Arduino UNO microcontroller, fans, sensors and other components. Each vehicle must float on a cushion of air and propel forward to complete the course. 

WHO: Hundreds of freshmen engineering students will take part in the competition. They will be joined by faculty members of the Keystone Program, which administers the course and competition. Keystone faculty members are among the best teachers in the Clark School and are hand-selected for this course. Teaching fellows -- undergraduate students who have already taken the course and are interested in developing leadership skills -- also will be on-hand.

WHY: Hands-on challenges are important in order to interest and motivate students to study engineering and the other STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines at an early point in their education. Through this class, students also learn interpersonal skills, problem-solving strategies, confidence and other qualities that will help them throughout the rest of their time as students and as engineers once they graduate. Many students consider this course to be one of their best educational experiences at the Clark School.

WHEN: Thursday, May 9, 2013, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

WHERE: Rotunda, or Main Lobby area, of the Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building
University of Maryland, College Park

**Please call ahead for directions and parking information**