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SOUTH DAKOTA
SCHOOL OF MINES
& TECHNOLOGY
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School of Mines Wins Red Bull Soapbox Race -- Released October 18, 2007
Nearly 50,000 spectators lined the streets of Providence, R.I. last
Saturday, Oct. 13, to watch 57 teams from across the United States and
Canada race their gravity-powered carts at Red Bull Soapbox Race. The
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology team, The Good, The Bad, And
The Nerdy, took home first place with their oversized calculator craft
named “The Numerator 2.0.”
“As engineers, we deal with numbers all the time, and we thought it
would be fitting to create a calculator-themed craft,” Justin
Williamson, team leader, said. The Numerator 2.0 is a four-wheeled
soapbox craft constructed of steel and fiberglass. The craft was
constructed in the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Production,
CAMP, at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. CAMP aims to
offer the best possible undergraduate engineering educational experience
to build science and engineering leadership to confront the challenges
of the future.
Not to be confused with the youth soapbox derby, the Red Bull Soapbox
Race is fueled by creativity and competitive fun, not to mention the
need for speed. The race, organized by the energy drink Red Bull,
challenges teams to design, build and race gravity powered soapbox
crafts in a downhill race against the clock.
Teams are judged on three criteria: speed, creativity and showmanship.
Red Bull claims the soapbox race is the only race where fast is good,
but outrageous is even better. The Good, The Bad, And The Nerdy had
speed, creativity and showmanship all dialed in on race day.
“The course was amazing –we almost lost control in the last corner of
the course but we kept it together,” Anthony Johnson, team pilot, said.
Charlie Murray was the co-pilot onboard navigating Johnson through the
turns. Johnson and Murray piloted the course in 37 seconds, reaching a
top speed of 39 miles per hour. The nearest competitor completed the
course a full 6 seconds slower.
The competition is more than a race against the clock to the finish
line. Teams are required to entertain the crowd before their race with a
skit and music to illustrate the craft’s theme.
“This project requires us to not only design and build a fast craft, but
requires us to be creative in how we present it,” Williamson said.
“Engineers tend to get stereotyped as left brained individuals that lack
creativity. This project aims to correct this stereotype.”
No strangers to the race, The Good, The Bad, And The Nerdy began the
quest to create the world’s fastest calculator to race in the 2006 Red
Bull Soapbox Race in St. Louis, Mo. For more information about the race,
visit
http://www.redbullsoapboxusa.com/Providence-2007. To watch the
team’s performance, visit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rE0eHFm1X4.
Team members include Anthony Johnson (mechanical engineering, 2007),
Charlie Murray (industrial engineering, 2004), Brett Moorman
(interdisciplinary sciences, Rapid City), Justin Williamson (M.S.
mechanical engineering, Rapid City), and Mark Chase (mechanical
engineering, Saint Louis University).
#30#
Contact: Vice President for University Relations
This page has been visited 517 times since 10/18/2007
| http://sdmines.sdsmt.edu/pressrelease/2007October/redbull |
Last Modified: 10/18/2007 |
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