The Teams of the Envisioneers
Rube Goldberg Machine Contest
The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is an annual event that takes place at Penn State. Last year, the task was to shred 5 pieces of paper in 20 or more steps. After spending multiple weekends preparing for the event, the Envisioneers won first place in the competition. This year, the task is more challenging. Our machine must: "take a whole orange, juice it, and pour the juice from a pitcher into a cup in 20 or more steps." Any ideas???
The majority of the Envisioneers participate on this team. Since the design and implementation of our machine can become quite complex, we have multiple sub-teams that are each in charge of only a portion of the overall device.
For more information about the contest, visit http://www.engr.psu.edu/AlumniFriends/rube2007.asp.
Outreach
The Outreach team visits local elementary schools throughout the year in order to get kids excited about math, science, and engineering. Visits usually begin with a short lecture on a specific topic, and then end with a team competition relating to that topic. This is one of our smaller teams, so we are definitely looking for more people and ideas.
Sometimes, the Envisioneers are asked to present at different events on campus. The Outreach team also takes care of organizing these presentations.
T.H.E. B.O.O.K.
T.H.E. B.O.O.K. (The Handy Engineering Book of Obscure Knowledge) is a planner and information guide that goes to all freshmen in the College of Engineering. The Envisioneers are in charge of publishing this annually.
Web site and Technical Communication
Our Web site team is attempting to tackle a new task this semester. The team hopes to organize various internal development events in an effort to expand the horizons of our own members. These events could include guest speakers, dress for success events, and dining etiquette seminars.