Media Advisory: First-year UArizona engineering students to test their designs at Solar Oven Throw Down

Oct. 10, 2023

Media Advisory: First-year UArizona engineering students to test their designs at Solar Oven Throw Down

What: UArizona College of Engineering Solar Oven Throw Down
When: Thursday, Oct. 12, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Where: University of Arizona Mall (east of the Cactus Garden)

TUCSON, Ariz. – More than 650 first-year students from the UArizona College of Engineering will gather Thursday on the University of Arizona Mall for the Solar Oven Throw Down, cooking biscuits in solar ovens they crafted out of common, low-cost materials such as cardboard, duct tape and aluminum foil.

They'll be joined by 28 students from Salpointe Catholic High School who are taking the College of Engineering's introductory course early, as part of the Engineering 102 High School program.

The students spent time applying thermodynamic and mathematical concepts to the design and construction of the ovens. Working in small teams, they will compete as class units for the overall Throw Down award, which goes to the class that achieves the highest performance index, a measure of the temperature reached divided by the cost of the materials. They'll also compete for the highest average oven temperature – 339 degrees Fahrenheit last year – and the "all in the same boat" teamwork award from sponsor W.L. Gore and Associates.

The Solar Oven Throw Down represents one of the students' first hands-on design experiences as part of the College of Engineering's four-year Craig M. Berge Engineering Design Program.

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Media contact:
Katy Smith
College of Engineering
520-621-1992
katysmith@arizona.edu

The University of Arizona, a land-grant university with two independently accredited medical schools, is one of the nation's top public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. Established in 1885, the university is widely recognized as a student-centric university and has been designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. The university ranked in the top 20 in 2021 in research expenditures among all public universities, according to the National Science Foundation, and is a leading Research 1 institution with $824 million in annual research expenditures. The university advances the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships as a member of the Association of American Universities, the 71 leading public and private research universities in the U.S. and Canada. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $4.1 billion annually.