UPEI engineering students to compete in Canadian Engineering Competition

Katie Hughes, Mandy McKenna and Chris Russell, all of Charlottetown, and Tim McCarthy, of Summerside, finished second in the junior design division for their project on wind power. The Atlantic Engineering Competition, an annual event showcasing young and emerging engineering talent, took place in early February at Dalhousie University in Halifax. The four students competed against 12 teams from nine other universities.

"We are all very excited for our students... this year we again have a team competing nationally,' says Dr. Andy Trivett, chair of the UPEI Engineering department. 'They have big shoes to fill, since a UPEI team has also won the national prize twice in the past five years."

During the competition, the teams were asked to design and build a simple device to extract the maximum energy from the wind blown by a fan. Each team had six hours to build and test their wind turbine using supplies provided, and to prepare a short presentation for the judges. The UPEI team was shut out of the first place spot by the slightest margin in one of the judging categories.

The students' second place finish earned them a place in the Canadian Engineering Competition, which will be held at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Cutline: UPEI engineering students Chris Russell, Katie Hughes, Mandy McKenna and Tim McCarthy will compete in the Canadian Engineering Competition at UNB from March 5 to 8 after placing second in the junior design division of the recent Atlantic Engineering Competition.