Winging It : Students’ Paper Work Takes a Different Twist in Engineering Week’s Novel Events at UCI

Some swooped and swirled.

Others dipped and dived.

Still others glided along decidedly flat trajectories and at least one took a very direct path--straight down.

“What a double-E!” exclaimed an admiring spectator as one entry in the paper airplane contest, the first event of UC Irvine’s Engineering Week, described slow, graceful spirals on its odyssey from the third floor of the Engineering Building to the concrete below.

The remark referred both to the plane’s elegant descent and to the fact that its designer is an “e.e.”--electrical engineer.

‘Wait a Minute!’

“Wait a minute! There’s a homework problem on that paper!” pointed out another upon its landing.

Engineering Week, which is celebrated on campuses all over the United States, is designed to help students celebrate the lighter side of what is generally considered one of the most difficult college curricula.

Local activities continue today with a Nerd Contest at noon at Engineering Plaza. Also on the agenda are a “micro-mouse” demonstration and the beginning of Trivia Bowl. Thursday’s schedule includes Frisbee golf and a bridge-building contest. Among Friday’s highlights are the egg drop and a “flow intake” contest--beer is likely to be the beverage of choice for the chugging event.

The week will conclude Saturday with a banquet at the Registry Hotel.

Winning Paper Airplane

The winning paper airplane was constructed, as rules prescribe, from an 8 1/2x11-inch sheet of paper, glue, tape and nothing else, by applied physics major Tommy Choy of Long Beach.

Dubbed “The Wing” for its distinctive, body-less design, the plane registered a flight duration of just under 11 seconds.

“I have a book about paper airplanes,” Choy admitted. “I took a few days to try out different models. One of them was just a wing--the folds along the edge provide the lift, and also pull it forward.”