The usually noisy Student Union seemed a touch quieter Tuesday as 150 participants and observers gathered near the candy counter.
A second later, a loud splat echoed through the Union and the noise returned, as all in attendance let loose a collective "Whoa!"
With this splat, the annual Egg Drop Contest kicked off the first competition of National Engineers Week at UB. A general giddiness filled the ranks of engineers who gathered on the Union's third floor walkway, 30 feet above a blue tarp with a duct-taped target.
"The competition really shows off quick designing skills," said event coordinator and senior electrical engineering major Malati Patil. "The object is to guide the egg to the floor keeping aim, speed and protection in mind."
One hour before the drop was scheduled to start, the event's organizers revealed the materials the competitors had to use to build their devices.
"The groups had no prior knowledge of what materials would be used, even though they are basically the same as last year," said Patil.
Materials provided included string, film, strips of foam and a sponge.
If an egg broke at any time, or the apparatus didn't hit the target, the group was disqualified. The egg that safely reached the target in the shortest time won.
"I'm real nervous," said Mrynal Darcangelo, a freshman mechanical and aerospace engineering major, as he laughed. "I don't know if it's going to work. Any engineering project - you just don't know if it's going to work."
Most groups didn't seem fazed by the time restriction and the secret materials.
"It's real common to have to design quickly with unknown ingredients," explained Frank Centinello, senior aerospace engineering major.
"We just love the challenge and the tension," said sophomore mechanical and aerospace double major Danelle Schrader.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics group chose a design Darcangelo referred to as the "Wile E. Coyote," where extra padding and weight in the front protected the egg near the back. Cone-shaped designs like this one were common among participants.
Engineering clubs in attendance varied from aerospace and electrical to the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers.
According to some participants, certain groups may have held inherent advantages.
"I'd say aerospace has the best chance here, because that's just what we do," said senior aerospace and mechanical engineering double major Evan Tibbetts. "Some clubs are certainly at disadvantages."
Advantages or disadvantages aside, the American Society of Civil Engineers took first place.
The civil engineers had the slowest time - at 2.32 seconds - and successfully hit the target with their egg intact, the only group to fulfill all three criteria needed to win.
The Society of Aerospace Engineers took second place with a time of 1.17 seconds, but they failed to hit the target. Coming in a close third was the Society of Women Engineers, at 1.23 seconds.
The clubs were awarded five, three and two points respectively toward the week's worth of competitions, which will end Thursday with Bot Wars, where first place counts double.
The entire week culminates with an Engineering Student Association ball Friday, where the winners will be announced.
"This week is to recognize each club's efforts. The groups really do a lot outside academia," said senior Lindsay Peterson, a double major in electrical engineering and music performance.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
