KU to feature SpaceShipOne engineer

[yruc]

For anyone in and around Kansas and that is interested.<br /><br />http://www.ur.ku.edu/News/05N/JanNews/Jan27/expo.html<br /><br />Engineering Expo Feb. 25 at KU to feature SpaceShipOne engineer, KU grad<br /><br />LAWRENCE -- Doug Shane, director of flight operations for SpaceShipOne, will be the keynote speaker at the 2005 Engineering Expo on Friday, Feb. 25, at the University of Kansas.<br /><br /><br />SpaceShipOne made headlines around the world in October 2004 when it became the first privately funded, manned spacecraft to break the barrier into space. Shane, a 1982 KU aerospace engineering alumnus, also was one of four test pilots for the project, led by aircraft designer Burt Rutan.<br /><br /><br />Shane's presentation at 9:30 a.m. in the Lied Center of Kansas will kick off the first day of Engineering Expo, an annual open house at the KU School of Engineering that lets students from throughout the region experience the fun of engineering. Expo, coordinated by KU Engineering Student Council, will continue on Saturday, Feb. 26. Both days will feature hands-on exhibits, demonstrations and contests for visitors. This year, KU students have adopted a Hollywood theme, “Engineering Studios: Behind the Scenes.” <br /><br />Also new is “Jayhawk Down,” a new contest that will test Expo visitors’ “lifesaving skills.”<br /><br /><br />In the style of the popular TV show “Junkyard Wars,” contestants will have to create a device that will deliver “aid packages” to a Jayhawk stranded on an island. Prizes will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place winners. Each team will receive an initial package of “junk” that they can use to create their device. The island will be in the center of a large water tank. Using their invention, the teams will have to transport or toss aid packages -- small sponges -- to the island. Teams may “purchase” additional junk items from event coordinators in order to complete