Each year Eastern Washington University hosts the annual Intercollegiate Human Powered Paper Vehicle Engineering Competition. Colleges from Washington, Idaho and Oregon participate in this event. We have found that this engineering competition inspires students, challenges their engineering skill and creativity, and provides a format that limits the amount of money needed to field a competitive team. There is no cost to enter the competition. The only costs are materials and time.

The basic idea is to construct a human powered vehicle out of 90% paper products (by weight). The remaining 10% is limited only by the imagination of the designers. There are two parts to the overall competition, one which will test vehicle performance and another that tests presentation skills. This project helps develop student excellence in team work, communication and creative problem solving.

Awards are presented shortly after the performance competition. The first place team in each category receives a trophy for the school and medallions for each team member. The second place teams receive a plaque for the school and medallions for each team member. Plaques are awarded to the schools and medallions are awarded to team members for "most innovative design" and "team spirit." In addition each team member will receive a competition t-shirt.

The following is from a winning presentation:

" When you are faced with a set of specific guidelines, how do you view those rules? Are they constraints or challenges? Limits or opportunities? Do you view cardboard as a flimsy, useless paper product only good for boxes or is it a powerful tool that demonstrates the challenges that students will face in the workforce after graduation ?"

Each school may enter multiple teams. This competition is open to all students. Please let others who might be interested know about it. Thank you for your interest.

We hope that you will join us for this event!