Student Engineers to Test Custom-Built Submarine
Contact: Contact: Nick Houtman, Dept. of Public Affairs, 207-581-3777
ORONO, Maine — A team of students in the University of Maine Dept. of Mechanical Engineering has built a one-person submarine and will test it in the Wallace Pool at UMaine from 1:30 to 3 p.m. June 27. Starting at 12:30 p.m. in Crosby Lab on the campus, media representatives are welcome to meet with James Bryant, student coordinator, and team member Keith Pearson, to discuss the project. Coverage is also welcome during sub trails in the pool.
The Wallace Pool is located in the UMaine Field House. Crosby Lab is located just behind Little Hall on the tree-lined university mall.
The sleek fiberglass submarine is about ten feet long and is propelled by pedal power. Inside the sub, a pilot wearing SCUBA gear controls its movements by means of fins at the rear of the machine.
Students are building the submarine as an educational project and plan to enter the biennial International Submarine Races, a student competition, in 2005. Information about that event can be seen at http://www.isrsubrace.org/.
Faculty advisor for the project is Michael “Mick” Peterson, associate professor of mechanical engineering.