March 26, 2009
WHO: High school students from Central Falls, West Warwick, Woonsocket and South Kingstown, along with URI student advisors and judges from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center.
WHAT: Engineering Challenge Weekend is a two-day event sponsored by the University of Rhode Island and the Science & Math Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE) program to engage under-represented students in a team activity involving engineering concepts and problem solving. This year’s challenge is to build and test a remotely operated underwater vehicle, including development of a propulsion system and controller. The 50 participating students will also tour URI engineering labs, meet with professional engineers, and receive guidance on college preparation.
WHEN: Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28. The best time to cover this event is Friday between 3 and 4 p.m., when students will be building their vehicles, or Saturday between 10 and noon when they will be testing them in the pool.
WHERE: Vehicle construction will take place in the URI Memorial Union ballroom, Lower College Rd., Kingston. Testing will take place in the Tootell Aquatics Center pool in the URI Athletics Complex off Route 138.
CONTACT: For more information about covering this event, contact Todd McLeish in the URI Department of Communications & Marketing at 401.874.7892 or tmcleish@uri.edu.