The most talked about event of National Engineers Week at Walla Walla University, Feb. 17–23, was the 39th Annual Egg Drop competition sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers club. The yearly event features contestants including WWU engineering students and students from Davis Elementary School. Competitors design devices to protect a single raw egg from destruction when it is dropped from the roof of Kretschmar Hall to a frying pan waiting on the ground below.

Entries are evaluated in two areas: whether or not the egg is intact after impact and the proximity of the egg to the frying pan target. This year there were 39 entries, 17 from the WWU sophomore engineering mechanics class and 22 from students at Davis Elementary School.

Team R.I.P. Opportunity, comprised of WWU engineering students Ethan Dolph, Matthew Harter, Andrew Eoff, and Ivan Wu, won first place in the college student category and $100, which was provided by Key Technology, a Walla Walla-based company that specializes in the design and manufacture of process automation systems for food processing and other industries.

“Our apparatus is essentially a rocket-looking cushion for the egg. The approach to the design was to have the rocket land head first to extend the impact time of the device. In other words, we wanted there to be as much cushion as possible for the egg at the bottom,” Wu said.

Other awards given at the Egg Drop included Most Creative, Best Engineered, and Humpty Dumpty (a prize is for the most spectacular or entertaining fail).

The ASME club at WWU exists to connect the scientific and social aspects of engineering in an engaging and informative way and to build connections among engineers by hosting events like the Egg Drop to engage the community and campus.

Posted April 15, 2019