News Release
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June 8, 2006
Boise State Engineering Students Soar Radio-Controlled
Aircraft to Top Ten Finish in Competition
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Boise State engineering students Matt McCrink, left, Alex
Miller, Nick Nygaard and Joshua Gunderson with the remote-controlled
aircraft they designed, built and tested. The students were part of a Boise
State team that took seventh place in a Society of Automotive Engineers
competition held recently in California. This is the first time Boise State
has entered the competition. |
They may be just rookies, but that didn’t stop a team of Boise State
University engineering students from designing, building and then flying a
radio-controlled aircraft to a top ten finish at a Society of Automotive
Engineers annual competition held recently in Van Nuys, Calif.
Boise State, which had never before entered the contest, beat out California
State Polytechnic University, University of British Columbia, Australian
National University and 27 other universities to soar to a seventh place
finish in the Lockheed Martin/SAE Aero-Design West competition. South Dakota
School of Mines and Technology took first.
The competition challenges engineering students to conceive, design,
fabricate, and test a radio-controlled aircraft that can take off and land
while carrying the maximum cargo. This gives students the opportunity to
apply the knowledge learned in the classroom on a practical problem.
The Boise State team, “Voodoo Designs,” spent nearly 2,000 hours designing,
building, and testing their aircraft, said team captain Matt McCrink, a
Boise State senior from Meridian majoring in mechanical engineering. Their
model, painted blue and orange and sporting the number 22, has an 8-foot
wingspan. It carried close to 18 pounds when it smoothly lifted off during
the competition.
“We learned a lot doing this, and we also had fun,” said McCrink, who is
spending the summer completing an internship at Sandia National Laboratories
in Livermore, Calif. “As soon as the rules come out for next year’s contest,
we’ll be ready to get to work.”
Members of the Boise State team included engineering students McCrink, Chris
Whitham, Kyri Baker, Mike Stephens, Melissa Castenada, Joshua Gunderson,
Nick Nygaard, Alex Miller and Cody Blevins. Melinda Seevers, engineering
co-op coordinator in the College of Engineering, advised the group.
Donations are being sought to cover material costs to build an aircraft for
the 2007 competition, McCrink said. To contribute or for more information,
contact McCrink at 890-4271, or
mattmccrink@gmail.com.
The Society of Automotive Engineers has more than 90,000 members —
engineers, business executives, educators, and students from more than 97
countries — who share information and exchange ideas for advancing the
engineering of mobility systems. SAE is a resource for standards
development, events, and technical information and expertise used in
designing, building, maintaining, and operating self-propelled vehicles for
use on land or sea, in air or space.
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Contact: Melinda Seevers, College of Engineering, (208) 426-5470,
melindaseevers@boisestate.edu
or Matt McCrink, (208) 890-4271,
mattmccrink@gmail.com
Media Contact: Janelle Brown, University Communications, (208)
426-1790, jbrown2@boisestate.edu
July 12 is the deadline for undergraduate academic degree-seeking
students to submit admission materials to Boise State University for the
fall 2006 semester. Students must meet the deadline if they plan to take
more than seven credits or apply for federal financial aid. For more
information, call (208) 426-1820 or go online at
http://admissions.boisestate.edu.
The Office of Communications and Marketing
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Located in Capitol Village, 2225 W. University Drive
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(fax)208-426-4001
email communications@boisestate.edu
Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007