UT Tyler’s College of Engineering holds Olympic-style competition
“Bill Ratliff is an engineer because once an engineer, you’re always an engineer,” said Dr. Javier Kypuros, Dean of the College of Engineering.
TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - The University of Texas at Tyler’s College of Engineering hosted their first annual college-wide design project, called the Delek US “Ratliff Relays!”
Teams of UT Tyler’s construction management and chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering students participated in four competitions: cardboard canoe races, robotics, extreme water treatment and catapult launches. Over 400 students took part in the events.
“Bill Ratliff is an engineer because once an engineer, you’re always an engineer,” said Dr. Javier Kypuros, Dean of the College of Engineering.
The competition was named in honor of Former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, who served as a Texas state senator. The engineering buildings at UT Tyler are named after him.
“The purpose is to engage the students with faculty and with industry members, giving everyone a kind of sense of community and participating together in competition, so that the students can develop their skills in their particular area of engineering,” said Chair of the Jasper Department of Chemical Engineering Fernando Resende.
The chemical engineering students held a water filtration competition where groups competed to see who could produce the cleanest water in the instance of a natural disaster.
Fletcher Rives is a construction management major. He and his teammates competed in the cardboard canoe relay race, where they raced 50 yards forwards and back. “It took five people a total of 16 hours to complete this canoe, and the maximum weight it could hold is 2,500 pounds,” said Rives. Some floated, while others sank.
Javier Sauceda is an electrical engineering major who worked with his team members to build a robot from scratch. He said there were issues due to the many functionalities the one robot was supposed to have. “It took me around one to two days to, like, probably get it out to work completely,” said Sauceda.
Meanwhile, the engineering students competed to see how far they could launch a catapult.
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