STUDENT DESIGN & EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CENTER

WINTER 2010 - 2011 SDELC Gets New Director Dr. Roger A. LaBoube, Curators Teaching Professor MORE INSIDE: Emeritus of Civil Engineering, has been named Director of the Student Design and Experiential Learning Center. New Director 1 Dr. LaBoube holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Kummer Design Center 1 Engineering from the University of -Rolla and has received numerous faculty and teaching awards. Team Reports 2 - 6 He serves as Director of Wei-Wen Yu Center for Cold- Formed Steel Structures at the Missouri S&T, remains Solar Village 2 active in professional organizations and societies, is a Registered Profes- Student Profile 2 sional Engineer in Missouri and served as faculty advisor for the S&T Steel Bridge Team from 1991 until 2010. Dr. LaBoube’s goals as SDELC director Alumni Highlight 3 include increasing student participation in competition teams and experi- ential learning activities, strengthening the center’s corporate funding sup- Thank You Note 4 port, encourage more faculty participation as team advisors, and ensure that student team members learn, succeed, and have fun. Event Schedule 7 Donate 7 New Student Design Center The Kummer Student Design Center will soon be a reality. Renovation of Phonathon 8 the old Holsum Bakery building started in August and by Thanksgiving new concrete floors, upgraded electric lines, interior framing walls, and the classy-looking new brick exterior were complete. Brinkmann Constructors should have the new facil- ity ready for oc- cupancy in late January. Solar Car Student Profile rience to assume the team’s public relations duties. Soon I became the 2011 is déjà vu for the Solar Miners. Miriah Anderson’s engineering group’s vice president, and now The annual Formula Sun Grand Prix journey started in her high school’s my peers have chosen me to lead (FSGP) relocates to the Indianapo- FIRST Robotics Team. She says the team. Throughout this process lis Motor Speedway as part of the “through FIRST (For Inspiration and I’ve strengthened my leadership famed track’s centennial celebra- Recognition of Science and Tech- skills, created friendships, and tion. The “Brickyard”, was the start nology) I learned that engineering networked with many engineering point for the SunRayce ’97 cross- was much more professionals at competition. Our country solar car race to Denver. than sitting team members come from different The Miners will run Solar Miner behind a desk. I backgrounds and all have unique VII at Indy, and they’ll make major worked closely personalities, but we work very well changes to the car’s chassis, includ- with engineers, together to create a fully function- ing moving SMVII’s center of grav- business pro- ing robot, and that is what I find ity and redesigning the rear swing fessionals, and most rewarding.” arm to accommodate a third-wheel my teachers, braking system. all of whom “I also began to better understand the impact that the Student Design Big changes are in store for the ’12 became my role models. Robotics became my educational heart and and Experiential Learning Center . Univer- (SDELC) has on our student design sity solar racers will have to use those mentors, along with my FIRST experience, helped me see my fu- teams. The SDELC is one of the driv- ture in engineering. When I learned ing forces behind S&T’s most-visible about the Miner Robotics Team, student teams. Without the center that made my college decision so our teams wouldn’t have been as easy that S&T was the only school successful. The center staff helps us to which I applied.” develop the technical, business and interpersonal skills necessary for us “I quickly got involved with the S&T to succeed in our careers.” robotics team, using my FIRST expe-

Solar Village silicon solar cells instead of mount- Responsibility for S&T’s Solar Village, which consists of four solar-powered ing the far-more-expensive gallium- homes designed and arsenide arrays. The lower costs built by the Miner Solar should expand the racing field as House Team, has been more schools will be able to afford transferred to S&T’s In- the project, and silicon’s lower effi- stitute for Environmen- ciency will require teams to concen- tal Excellence effective trate more on design and strategy Nov 1st. Inquiries regard- rather than simply spending money ing student housing op- on sheer power. portunities, public tours, In the meantime the Miners are and research should be directed to http://iee.mst.edu/. working hard to enlist and train new team members, and they’ll use We’re Online at: the FSGP to do just that. The track race helps keep teams sharp, serves www.facebook.com/SandTDesign as a test bed for new designs and systems, and gives new drivers and design.mst.edu support crews valuable solar racing experience. experiencethis.mst.edu www.twitter.com/STBob Alumni Highlight Mike Eckert, ME ‘09 Engineer, Tesla Motor Works Advanced Engineering team, “My story is a bit unusual because I didn’t apply to Tesla. They came looking for me simply because I was chief engineer on Missouri S&T’s highly-ranked FSAE team. During a phone call with Tesla executives I was given an immediate offer based solely on my FSAE knowledge and experience, and just two days after completing my last FSAE race I was in Los Angeles ready to start an exciting career.” “I am part of a small group of highly specialized engineers comprising the Vehicle Engi- neering and Design team. My work at Tesla highly parallels the Formula SAE experience at Missouri S&T. Quick, informed decision making, high-level knowledge of every facet of the vehicle, the ability to learn and apply new things very quickly, and extensive knowl- edge and reliance upon computer-aided design software are all part of my daily tasks.” “I work with former Formula 1, IndyCar, LeMans, and other race-industry engineers and even solar car veterans. There are at least five former FSAE chief engineers working at Tesla, attesting to the value of such a program. The long hours and fast-paced environment are nothing new to a Formula SAE graduate, and some of my Detroit-honed coworkers were very impressed with my ability to wear so many hats. Few of them had ever seen someone who could both TIG weld and run a finite element structural analysis!” “My S&T design team experience, often hard, tiring times mixed with the good, has really paid off. I often think about it when I pull up to my apartment each night, located just across the street from the sandy shores of Hermosa Beach, CA. I have my S&T Formula SAE design team experience to thank for it.”

Advanced Aero Airplane team member Anan Tak- separates on descent, takes photos, roori says “AAVG has helped me measures temperature, baromet- Vehicle Group understand the concept of propul- ric pressure, relative humidity, UV Every year SAE Aero officials throw sion and aerodynamics better than radiation, and solar irradiance even new autonomous design require- just formulas and lectures. This is after landing. The photos must ments into the heavy-lift competi- the first step to my future and I am remain in a specific orientation tion’s flight manifest. For 2011 the hoping this will help me fulfill my relative to the sky and ground, and Miners must build a durable aircraft dream of becoming the first scien- we’ve built some simple prototypes that does more than just carry tist to land on Mars.” to determine the best way to keep heavy cargo; the plane the instruments in the has to measure its own correct orientation dur- take-off and landing ing descent and land- distances, fly well with a ing.” payload and utilize on- USLI offers both a chal- board braking systems lenge and an opportu- to bring the landing roll nity for the AAVG rocket to a controlled stop. team. The top-five USLI Dave Althuis says ”Last teams must advance to year we didn’t get the larger Level II rockets in recording of the take-off 2012 and launch at the distance working so we have some The NASA-sponsored 2011 Univer- NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center catching up to do. We’ll also use sity Student Launch Initiative (USLI) Wallops Island (Virginia). Those pro- two engines, mount a twin vertical project will operate very differently jectiles must attain a 10,000-ft alti- stabilizer/rudder system for better than before. Chief USLI engineer tude and might “land” in the nearby performance, and get away from Jason Brown reports “This year Atlantic Ocean, so teams must plan the blended wing design.” NASA’s Space Mission Directorate for a water recovery if they hope to provides a deployable payload that bring their projects home. Engineers Without agement and maintenance tasks. the community doesn’t have the S&T’s EWB students are even writ- knowledge or resources to fix these Borders ing a Spanish-language operation issues. The Miners will return to David Malawey, Team Leader for and maintenance manual to leave tackle those problems using gabi- the Nahualate clean water project, behind in their partner villages. ons, stone-filled baskets to stabi- explains that the Miners “don’t Tacachia, Bolivia lize soil and prevent erosion, and impose a U.S.-based engineering EWB teams aren’t afraid to pull develop a plan to divert the surface solution to problems in developing out of a project if they determine water away from the homes. countries. S&T’s EWB chapter works it’s more than they can responsi- Project Leader Tiffany Werckmann closely with religious, non-govern- bly handle. In the case of Tacachia, says “The community is a huge part mental, and professional engineer- of our projects. The people take ing organizations to determine real ownership of the projects, work indigenous communities in special side-by-side with us, provide a lot of need. The team’s assessment trips quality labor and treat us wonder- are carefully coordinated with the fully.” national EWB office, which ensures Santiago, Honduras that proposed projects are feasible, S&T’s EWB team will return to affordable and sustainable.” David Honduras after a nearly three-year says “I wish I could do everything, absence to focus on clean water but EWB has challenged me to which needed a river footbridge supplies. Santiago, a tropical area weigh all things I devote time to to reduce the town’s isolation, the known for huge banana farms during school--what will matter, say, Miners determined it would have where much of the population two or ten years from now? This is been too expensive, didn’t provide works, is where the Miners will the one I stuck with.” a year-round benefit, and there repair the town’s water distribution Nahualate, Guatemala were other ways to reach the town. system and design a water storage EWB spends most of their time More importantly, the community facility with a capacity of as much talking to their “customers” in the expressed a greater concern for as 100,000 gallons. southern hemisphere. Each com- solving the town’s erosion prob- munity best knows its own eco- lems. The erosion problem will be nomic, political and agricultural a very large-scale project so the A Special Thank You! needs so dropping in with a ‘we students decided that with limited are engineers, finances and In September Bob (CE’71) and Kim we know time they’d Brinkmann hosted the 7th annual what’s best for only take on fundraising event for the S&T design you’ attitude one project at teams and other student programs. could doom a time. Over one hundred guests enjoyed any project, Erquis Sud, a wonderful French-style picnic at because with- Bolivia the Brinkmann home overlooking out commu- S&T students the Missouri River, and the occasion nity buy-in, the have been raised nearly $100,000 for pre-college project won’t working on programs, Hit The Ground Running, succeed. The water distri- and the SDELC. Miners developed a two tank solu- bution systems in Erquis Sud since tion, one at the well and the second Bob has long been a strong believer in 2008. The area, in the foothills of for residents a short distance away. learning by doing. He has worked hard the Andes Mountains, is normally They’ll still have to determine if to promote S&T’s experiential learning arid but riverbank erosion is threat- the community wants communal programs. ening the water tank the Miners water spigots, is prepared to pay built two years ago. Surface water The SDELC design teams thank Bob the monthly electrical costs, and is floods some of the houses, the and Kim for being such steadfast sup- committed to hiring a water system town still lacks electrical service and porters of the student design teams. manager to handle ongoing man- Robotics Concrete Canoe The S&T Robotics Team spent the Concrete Canoe has already expanded their paddling program that brought fall semester outdoors practicing S&T such good results at the 2010 ASCE Midwest regional conference. The and testing for the 2011 Intelligent team held regular outdoor practice sessions through most of the fall semes- Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC). ter before moving to the S&T indoor pool when the weather turned cold. The team revamped their design That’s helped them keep their coordination, muscle tone and focus through approach last year, and it paid the winter months, especially important because the concrete canoe compe- off with their best-ever IGVC fin- tition is one of the first projects out of the gate in April. ish. Even though their event takes The canoe squad isn’t faced with any place after spring semester they are major new design requirements this already focused on their AI/ME plat- year so they’re concentrating on two major issues, writing code for the five- axis water jet system to cut the mold cross sections, and pouring the boat nearly a month earlier than usual. The water jet will save countless hours of mold preparation and sanding time. The advanced schedule will let them spend more time on aesthetics and paddling practice. The Miners return only two veteran racers, but they’ve recruited plenty of excited newcomers with paddling experience. form and have worked out some interface issues. The Miners have Look for the Miners to qualify for the concrete canoe nationals for the first finally retired Aluminator, and its time in many years. replacement, the four-wheel-drive JomegaTRON, due to be rolling by year’s end, will sport a one-piece Steel Bridge Team firewire camera and a separate The Steel Bridge Team salutes faculty advisor Dr. Roger LaBoube who as- stereo imaging system for obstacle sumed the directorship of the SDELC. Their new team advisor, Dr. Timothy identification, and some of the key Philpot, has already given the builders great advice and helped the team work involves aligning the cameras work through a few issues that came up this fall. New for 2011 is the re- on the machine’s mast to provide quirement to build a cantilever deck bridge, so the team answered the call its “brain” with a larger viewing with an intra-team design contest in which four student groups presented area. Frank Fitzpatrick says “in the their ideas for a new competition bridge. The winning concept is simple, meantime our late-summer tests elegant, strong and requires only a minimum num- identified a new ‘bug’ we need to ber of members to assemble during competition, fix, but we got 1gb of pictures that so the now-unified design group will work out their we can analyze without having to calculations and modeling through the fall semes- go outside every day.” ter in SolidWorks and AutoCad. At the same time the Miners have been teaching their newer team Solar House members to weld, and have established their own S&T’s Solar House Team will sit out public relations working group that focuses on fund- the 2011 competition and use the raising, campus recruiting activities, team social time to write their ‘13 entry propos- events, and publications and outreach within the al. They’ll re-evaluate their design SDELC programs. approach, refine their home auto- Project Administrator Carolyn Wood says “Steel mation systems, get involved with Bridge has helped me see the ‘engineering process’ research projects and expand the as a whole. There is fundraising, design, fabrication, team and start introducing younger and the competition to win over the ‘customer’ who is looking for the design students to the scale, cost and com- which best fits their needs. It was clear to me after one year on the team plexity of the project. that engineering is just not sitting at a desk doing calculations all day.” Human Powered well as enhance my knowledge of Baja mechanical engineering principals Vehicle by being active on the Human Pow- In April S&T’s Baja SAE off-road team heads to Birmingham, Ala- The pedal-powered Miners have ered Vehicle Team.” bama for a grueling test of student dominated speed events, taking na- innovation, engineering and ma- tional championships on 2007 and Formula SAE chine against water, mud and rocks. 2010. This year ASME competition FSAE’s “Win or Die” mentality This event brings back the amphibi- rules call for more practical vehicle means go great distances to prove ous challenge, where, in addition to designs. Former team leader Trent themselves. S&T Racing, as they all the tech inspections, static tests, Lauer says “the Missouri S&T Hu- like to call themselves, has chosen engineering reports and hill climbs, man Powered Team will be chang- a truly international strategy for the cars must drive through a water 2011. They’ll pass up the annual obstacle on Michigan race for events in Califor- every lap of nia, Toronto, and, in August, the the four- famed Hochenheimring Formula 1 hour endur- course near Mannheim, Germany. ance race. They must raise extra funds to cover The Miners travel expenses, but race rules redesigned mean they can also use that same the chassis late-season car for the next racing ing things this year. No more will geometry season, so it could be economical in our rider need assistance in getting to include a the long run. in and out of the vehicle and stay- three-link rear suspension for a larg- ing upright. We’ve got landing gear, Team Leader Zach Lagrone says er range of motion and improved new canopy designs, a safer and “there are a lot of people doing an drive-wheel travel. These changes more rigid fairing, and more innova- amazing job. Several solid freshmen required the Miners to recalculate tive ideas than a third grader with are already running Finite Element their geometry and frame angles to a box of Legos. This year we are Analysis (FEA) and making complex accommodate the improvements. moving to the unrestricted category parts. I wish I could be on the team Done well, the car will be able to from the speed class, bringing new in three years. If all these guys stay take on harder terrain while simul- challenges in designing for practical- on I think S&T will be a real SAE taneously handling more smoothly, ity.” powerhouse.” a combination that will make car Chief Engineer Adam Jankowski and driver last longer. Mounted says “our challenge is to devise a incorrectly the suspension would fast and maneuverable bike that decrease performance and cause doesn’t need a pit crew to help the extreme axle travel bad enough rider start and stop. We’ve designed that our drive shafts might even retractable ‘landing gear’ the rider separate from the transmission. can deploy to get in and out of the The team is ahead of last year’s vehicle easily. We are even looking production schedule, have already at using some donated titanium for tested two different transmission our crank arms and maybe even the Zach adds “aero rules allow us designs in hope of solving last year’s frame. That’ll make the chassis 35% to mount larger devices and our shifter problems, and will even in- lighter and 150% stronger than last suspension changes are focused on stall the optional reverse gear. year’s frame. Riders will be from a reliability.” PR officer Karl Hansen says - “It’s strong pool yet to be determined, They put in huge hours in the shop fun to be on a relatively young de- although all prospective riders are when they aren’t out practicing late sign team that, despite being only training hard. at night, testing new designs, prov- five years old, is finally beginning to New member Dashiell Moore hopes ing durability and developing razor- compete at the upper level of SAE’s “……….to gain a greater knowledge sharp driver reflexes, all of which collegiate design programs.” of team building fundamentals as add up to a powerful team. Mail-In Donation Form:

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Comments:______Please list any specific instructions or identify which teams(s) you would like your donation to support. Competition Dates Advanced Aero Vehicle Group Solar Car SAE Aero Design East, April 29 - May 1, 2011 Formula Sun Grand Prix, May 2-7, 2011 - Marietta, Georgia Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, NASA University Student Launch Initiative April 13 - 17, 2011 - Huntsville, Alabama Formula SAE California, June 15-18, 2011 - Auto Club Speedway, Baja SAE Fontana, California April 14 - 17, 2011 - Birmingham, Alabama Robotics Human Powered Vehicle Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition June 3 -6, 2011 - Oakland University, Rochester, East Coast April 29 - May 1, 2011 Michigan Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Indianapolis, Indiana West Coast date TBA - Bozeman, Montana Engineers Without Borders Nahualate, Guatemala - January, 2011 Steel Bridge and Concrete Canoe Teams Erquis Sud, Bolivia - May, 2011 ASCE Mid-Continent Conference April 28-30, 2011 Tacachia, Bolivia - May/June, 2011 State University, Manhattan Kansas Santiago, Honduras - August, 2011 Student Design & Experiential Learning Center

500 W 16th St Missouri University of Science and Technology NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE Rolla, MO 65409-1410 PAID Phone: (573) 341-7546 PERMIT 170 design.mst.edu ROLLA MO

SDELC Staff Director Dr. Roger LaBoube Annual Phonathon Assistant Director Dr. Paul Hirtz Outreach Manager Bob Phelan The annual SDELC Phonathon, when design team Safety/Shop Ops. Manager Richard Dalton members reconnect with their supporters, is sched- Administrative Assistant Susan Robison uled for January 27, 30, 31, and February 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8. Main Advisors AAVG Dr. Fathi Finaish Your financial support helps our students finish their Baja SAE Mr. Randall Lewis Concrete Canoe Dr. John Meyers projects, and above all, provides the funds neces- EWB Dr. Richard Stephenson sary for teams to compete against peer institutions Formula SAE Dr. Hank Pernicka at events all over the U.S. and abroad. When the stu- HPV Dr. Keith Nisbett Robotics Dr. Donald Wunsch dents call, take time to learn more about them and Solar Car Dr. C. H. Wu their learning experiences, and please be generous Solar House Mr. Heath Pickerill with your support. Steel Bridge Dr. Timothy Philpot