FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amy Hewes
(805) 756-6402
ahewes@calpoly.edu
Cal Poly Mechanical Engineering Students Dominate 2004 Hydro Power Contest
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- For the second year in a row, Cal Poly took top
honors at the Hydro Power Contest, held this year in Montreal, Canada.
Along with faculty advisor Jigger Jumonville, the students attending
included Brian Watt, Dillon Thomasson, Reuben Baril and Angel Aleman.
The Cal Poly student team earned first and second place in the
competition’s power category, and first, second and third in the
efficiency category, beating out fourth-place Syracuse by a wide margin.
“The students won $6,000 in scholarships, $2,000 for the Mechanical
Engineering Department to send students to next year's contest in
Austin, Texas, and an astounding $3,900 in cold hard cash,” Jumonville
said.
The 2004 competition was held Aug. 16-20 at the Palais des Congres de
Montreal and sponsored by HANDS-ON! Projects, the Tennessee Valley
Authority, and other professional organizations. The Hydro Power Contest
allows students to demonstrate their ideas for turning water into power.
To compete, each individual or team constructs a device that converts
the gravity potential of water into mechanical power. Winning devices
lift a weight through a fixed distance in the shortest period of time
or
with the least amount of water.
“We selected our team based on the results of our turbomachinery
class
contest held at the end of the spring quarter,” noted Jumonville.
“The
contest results over the last two years demonstrate the success of the
students in applying classroom theories to real-world practice.”
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