UConn Material Advantage Members Impress With “DomesDay” Design
By Giorgina Paiella
The UConn Dome during the peak of testing.
ASM International hosted its first “DomesDay” Geodesic Dome Design Competition at the 2014 Materials Science and Technology (MS&T) conference in Pittsburgh, PA this October. The competition invited Material Advantage student teams to design a twelve-inch scale model of a geodesic dome that could potentially be used to provide efficient shelter for individuals living in third world nations.
MSE seniors Luke McCarthy, James Kos, and Nick Poulos represented UConn at the competition. Their modified geodesic design comprised of welded A36 structural steel maxed out the compression tester at over 11,000 lbs., doubling the load of the nearest competitor and setting the team apart as the only dome design that did not fail during testing. UConn placed second behind Virginia Tech’s cast aluminum dome, largely because UConn’s design exceeded the maximum force allowed to factor into the judges’ final decision.
Although McCarthy, Kos, and Poulos will graduate in the spring, members of UConn Material Advantage look forward to participating in the competition again next fall.
Published: November 5, 2014
Categories: conferences, news, research, student chapter, undergraduate students
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