Industrial Maintenance Team takes 1st Place at a Science & Engineering Event at Ole Miss

On April 7^th, the Division of Outreach, the School of Engineering, and the CMSE at the University of Mississippi invited Mississippi students and teachers to participate in an exciting science and engineering event!  The event was the 15th Annual Catapult Competition.  Industrial Maintenance seniors, Aiden Berryhill from Lewisburg High and Erik Velazquez from Olive Branch High, designed and constructed a catapult to compete in the competition. 

Having to adhere to certain design specifications, the students cut and welded metal to construct their catapult.  The team competed in five challenges: Design, Pop-A-Shot, Humpty Dumpty, Siege the Castle, and Art & Aesthetic.  They had a strong performance in the Pop-A-Shot challenge to start the day.  During the Humpty Dumpty challenge, which started strong, but a broken pull pin kept them from being able to finish the challenge.  After a quick repair job, the Siege the Castle event was next.  This challenge was to see who could knock off or move as many stacked cardboard boxes as possible during a five-minute period.  They boys felt confident after completing this challenge.

At the end of the day, the team earned a 1^st place finish in the Siege the Castle challenge.  The guys had a great time and increased their knowledge and skills during the design, construction, and testing of the catapult.  They both said they never thought they would get the catapult finished and able to perform as well as it did.  Aiden plans on attending Ole Miss and major in mechanical engineering, and Erik plans on attending Christian Brothers University with a chemical engineering major.