Engineering students to compete for thousands in prizes

Engineering mechanics students in the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Engineering Physics will cap a semester of hard work when they compete for more than $4,000 in prizes in a design competition Monday, Dec. 14.

The six student teams face the challenge of convincing judges their product is unique and marketable. The students will display fully functioning prototypes and present business plans for their inventions, which include hands-free crutches, an inexpensive trash compactor, a user-friendly bowling ball rack, devices that enable handicapped people to escape unassisted from a building in an emergency and an attachment to improve swimming pool spinal-rescue boards.

Judges for the contest will award prizes for complete designs with functional prototypes and business plans that are likely to succeed in the real world.

Student presentations are open to the public. Visitors can attend the presentations or watch live online and cast votes for the $500 Peoples’ Choice Award. The competition begins at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 14 in Room 1003 of the Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive. Paid parking is available in the adjacent parking ramp.

For more information or to watch the presentations online, visit http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~elder/2009/.