Published: Nov. 28, 2004

The creative ingenuity of engineering students at the University of Colorado at Boulder will be on display Saturday, Dec. 4, when nearly 60 student inventions will be demonstrated to the public at the ITLL Fall Design Expo.

The student inventions range from fun to functional, including a Rube Goldberg ice cream sundae-maker, a teeter-totter water pump and a car windshield that automatically turns opaque when the engine is turned off.

The end-of-semester expo showcasing the work of about 300 students provides an interactive, fun educational opportunity for K-12 children and their families to learn about the field of engineering.

Student projects include Rube Goldberg devices that perform simple tasks in complex ways, water-powered machines, robots, assistive technology devices for people with disabilities and sustainable technologies designed for use in developing countries.

Most of the projects that will be demonstrated were designed and built by first-year engineering students. A few upper-level inventions, researched and developed to be marketable products, also will be demonstrated.

The Design Expo is free and open to the public from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event is held at the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory, located on Regent Drive about one block south of Colorado Avenue. Free parking is available across the street in lot 436.

Volunteers from industry, government and the community will serve as judges, rating each project on its originality, craftsmanship, understanding of engineering principles, effectiveness and poster presentation. Judging will take place from noon to 1 p.m., before the event is opened to the public.

An awards ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. and prizes will be given to the best project in each category. Members of the community can vote for their favorite project to win the "People's Choice" award. Hewlett-Packard is sponsoring the event.

For more information, call (303) 492-8112.