Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University students won the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Region VI Student Design Competition.

Three WKU teams in the Mechanical Engineering Junior Design class competed in the March 4 event at Champaign, Ill. The 2005 competition required teams to design and build a remotely controlled vehicle capable of transporting as much rice as possible across an obstacle course in 10 minutes.

The team of Brandon Bibelhauser of Louisville, Stephen Howard of Bowling Green and Johnny Martin of Franklin won the competition, lifting twice as much rice as the nearest competitor, and advanced to the national competition in Orlando, Fla., in November. WKU also won the 2004 Region VI Student Design Competition.

"The success of all three of the Junior Design teams at the competition is very satisfying to the ME faculty," said Kevin Schmaltz, who is a class co-instructor with Robert Choate. "Participation at student competitions is a small component of what we are attempting to create at WKU, but this success is truly reflective of the quality students that the ME program has already begun to attract."

Other schools in the regional competition included Purdue, Notre Dame, Rose-Hulman, Southern Illinois, Kentucky and several Wisconsin schools.

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For information, contact the Engineering Department at (270) 745-2461.

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