Show-Me State Times

Teams of students, faculty, and staff gathered for the SSE Innovation Challenge to build gingerbread houses. Each team was provided with three pre-made kits and a holiday Billiken for their designs. The competition required all houses to be edible, constructed only from materials in the kit, and have a flat roof.

Naveena Mutharasan, Clayton Stout, and Sophia Weaver collaborated with Sridhar Condoor, Ph.D., professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, to create a gingerbread model of Oliver Hall. Weaver, an aerospace engineering major who also participated in the 2023 challenge, expressed her enthusiasm for exploring new challenges. "It's teaching us some of the soft skills while also putting into practice what we are learning in our classes," said Mutharasan.

On December 6th, Scott Sell, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and associate dean for undergraduate education in SSE, tested each house's strength by adding sandbags until they collapsed. Only entries that met project specifications were eligible for awards. Winners received a cash prize to share among their team members.