April 9, 2003

NC State Wins Energy Challenge ’03 at Kitty Hawk

NC State students took first place in the Energy Challenge '03 competition.		The team's hang glider consistently exceeded a distance of 140 ft.
Jacob Odishoo (in the Wolfpack red shirt) is the 5th-grade student who won the team-sponsored poster contest at North Ridge Elementary School, Raleigh.  His original artwork of the Wright Brothers and the First Flight is included on the sail.		Not all teams were fortunate.  One team's sail tore badly in the first of three trials.

Piloting a hang glider with paper wings, North Carolina State University students won Energy Challenge '03 at Jockey's Ridge State Park, Kitty Hawk, on Saturday, April 5.  The competition was held as part of the anniversary of the Wright brothers’ 1903 flight.  The winning team was awarded a prize of $15,000.

The competing glider wings were constructed primarily of materials derived from paper, such as cardboard.  Scoring for the event was based on a number of factors, including distance flown, weight of the glider, material properties, recycled content and novelty of design.  The NC State team “AeroPack” developed a novel paper that incorporated fine sawdust from the furniture industry to improve properties.  They used computer-aided design to produce, in efficient fashion, a sail meeting the performance requirements without wasting energy or resources.  After testing more than 300 paper sheets with different compositions, they manufactured their own paper for the glider.

In addition to designing and constructing the glider wing, the team developed an outreach program, which included a website to provide children in grades four through eight with information regarding the Energy Challenge project, the centennial of the First Flight and the paper industry. They also sponsored a poster contest for fifth grade students at North Ridge Elementary School in Raleigh. The winning entry showing the Wright brothers was prominently featured on the wing, and the student, Jacob Odishoo of Raleigh, was recognized at the competition.

NC State team members - all seniors - represented multidisciplinary departments and included Trey Hathaway, chemical engineering; Josh D. McCall, chemical engineering; Sarah M. Mertens, aerospace engineering; Jody R. Moss, chemical engineering; Bryan K. Ransom, pulp and paper science; K. Brandon Teague, mechanical engineering; and Daphne S. Wang, chemical engineering.  The faculty advisor for the team was Dr. Richard J. Spontak, professor of chemical engineering and materials science and engineering at NC State.

The annual Energy Challenge competition is sponsored by the United States Department of Energy and the Institute of Paper Science and Technology.  The Energy Challenge provides undergraduates with the opportunity to solve open-ended problems designed to demonstrate how paper can be used in non-traditional applications, as well as to enlighten the public about the rational use of natural resources, energy/waste minimization and alternative resources.

For more information see http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/news/news_articles/wings.html.  See related stories:  http://www.ncsu.edu/news/press_releases/03_02/51.htm and http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/news/awards/wings_1st.html.

—   rudd —

(Photos: Dr. Richard Spontak)

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