From EVs to Trebuchets: Celebrating a Smashing Success

On Saturday, October 25, ASPIRE students at Utah State University were able to put their mechanical engineering knowledge to test with smashing results. At the annual event, put on by USU’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) — including ASPIRE students Whitney Walpole and Seth Patterson — mechanical engineering students built trebuchets in teams and launched pumpkins at targets. 

“I was part of a team of five that made a wooden trebuchet,” said Walpole, an undergraduate at ASPIRE. “This included creating a design with my team for the trebuchet and a design for how it would launch. We then built the trebuchet ourselves.” 

ASPIRE undergraduate Seth Patterson was also able to participate from a leadership standpoint. 

“I helped organize pumpkin toss as a presidency member of ASME,” Patterson said. “I’m a co-head of the communications committee, so I put together the design for the various posters/social posts, as well as handling much of the event photography (along with other miscellaneous tasks).” 

This exciting fall event provided family fun for the public and an opportunity to exercise real-world problem-solving skills for the mechanical engineering students involved. 

“During the event I learned the importance of testing things out and making fine tune adjustments to improve the design,” Walpole said. “In test launches my team’s trebuchet worked great, but during the competition there were little setbacks, like having the rope from the pully system catch on the wood, or the wheels on the floating arm design almost coming off the tracks when prepping the trebuchet for launch.” 

Fortunately for her and her team, Walpole’s time at ASPIRE helped her be prepared to find a solution. 

“My experience working at ASPIRE helped our team quickly recognize a problem and come up with a few different ideas to fix the trebuchet during the event,” she said. “The two sides of the trebuchet frame were attached on bottom but not on top, so they were bending at the top. We added another piece of wood at the top to prevent the frame from bending in or out too much.” 

As a part of the planning process for the event, Patterson was also able to use the skills he has developed at ASPIRE at the event. 

“As someone on the back end of the event, I heavily utilized soft skills. One relevant skill I feel has grown tenfold since joining ASPIRE is that of confidence — not necessarily in myself, but in my ability to take on an unfamiliar task and execute,” he explained. “Before this event, I had never touched a formal piece of graphic design software. By the end, I had made advertising material that I feel meets the quality of those found around campus and in the community.” 

Prizes were awarded for first, second, and third place, as well as engineering marvel and public choice, with composite scores for safety, functionality, structural integrity, creativity, distance, and precision as decided by the judges. 

In addition to the fun of building trebuchets and launching pumpkins, it was a great opportunity to have fun and build community in Cache Valley. 

“There was something interesting I noticed while both taking and sifting through the large number of images from the event,” Patterson said. “The moments that stood out the most, that I connect with most, were consistently those with people as the focus. Their joy, celebration, anticipation, and sometimes disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, the trebuchets are cool, but I think it’s a good reminder of why we run events like these.” 

With around 3000 attendees and a record number of 22 trebuchets, it was a well-attended event with fun for all involved. 

This annual event will allow future ASPIRE students to put their skills to the test in this fun community event. For other students interested in getting involved at ASPIRE, reach out to Student Engagement Coordinator Melanie Conrad. 

About ASPIRE & Utah Electrification:  

Headquartered at Utah State University, ASPIRE is a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center. ASPIRE has demonstrated expertise in developing, implementing, and managing a range of electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure projects and fostering strong partnerships across the EV charging ecosystem. The center integrates multidisciplinary expertise across electrical, civil, and mechanical engineering, as well as economics, social sciences, and policy. In 2023, ASPIRE was designated the lead institution in building Utah’s Intelligent Electrified Transportation Plan. More information on the center can be found at aspire.usu.edu, and more on Utah’s electrification efforts can be found at utahelectrification.com. 

Contacts: 

Fawn Groves 
Education & Community Engagement Specialist 
Utah State University 

Writer: 
Kayleigh Kearsley 
Marketing & Communications Intern 
ASPIRE ERC