Don't Let that Cookie Crumble: SSE Teams Build, Test Gingerbread Houses
"More weight next year!"
Teams of students, faculty and staff in Saint Louis University’s School of Science and Engineering recently put their engineering skills to work for a December Innovation Challenge, building gingerbread houses designed to stand up during a weight-loading competition. Organizers tested the houses using sandbags of various weights. Multiple houses withstood 40 pounds, besting the 2023 winners by six pounds, leading organizers to plan for more weight in 2025.
Scott Sell, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and associate dean for undergraduate education in SSE, adds weight to a gingerbread house during the innovation challenge on Friday, Dec. 6. Photo by Joe Barker.
Clayton Stout checks to make sure that the pieces of the gingerbread house are level for the SSE Innovation Challenge on December 2, 2024. Photo by Sarah Conroy.
A crowd gathered in the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (ISE) building to watch the Innovation Challenge. Photo by Joe Barker.
Scott Sell, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and associate dean for undergraduate education in SSE, reacts as a gingerbread house collapses from the weight of the sandbags. Photo by Joe Barker.
Sophia Weaver decorates her team’s gingerbread house for the SSE Innovation Challenge on December 2, 2024. Photo by Sarah Conroy.
Scott Sell, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and associate dean for undergraduate education in SSE, and Amy Preis, director of undergraduate student success and retention, add weight to a gingerbread house at the Innovation Challenge on Friday, Dec. 6. Photo by Joe Barker.
Naveena Mutharasan and Clayton Stout work on their gingerbread house for the SSE Innovation Challenge as Sridhar Condoor, Ph.D., professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering watches on December 2, 2024. Photo by Sarah Conroy.
Scott Sell, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and associate dean for undergraduate education in SSE, adds weight to a gingerbread house during the innovation challenge on Friday, Dec. 6. Photo by Joe Barker.
Naveena Mutharasan and Clayton Stout construct their gingerbread house, as Sophia Weaver, right, works on decorations for the SSE Innovation Challenge on December 2, 2024. Photo by Sarah Conroy.
Scott Sell, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and associate dean for undergraduate education in SSE, reacts as a gingerbread house collapses from the weight of the sandbags. Photo by Joe Barker.
Scott Sell, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and associate dean for undergraduate education in SSE, adds weight to a gingerbread house during the innovation challenge on Friday, Dec. 6. Photo by Joe Barker.
Teams of students, faculty and staff spent days building gingerbread houses. Each team was given three pre-made kits and a holiday Billiken to use in their design. All houses were required to be edible, created from only the materials in the kit and have a flat roof.
Students Naveena Mutharasan, Clayton Stout and Sophia Weaver worked with Sridhar Condoor, Ph.D., professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, to construct a gingerbread model of Oliver Hall. Weaver participated in the 2023 challenge. The aerospace engineering major said she loved getting to challenge herself in new ways.
Her teammates concurred.
"It's teaching us some of the soft skills while also putting into practice what we are learning in our classes," said Mutharasan.
On Friday, Dec. 6, all houses were weight-tested to determine the strongest design. Scott Sell, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and associate dean for undergraduate education in SSE, added sandbags to each house until the structure gave way. All entries were weight-tested, but those that didn't meet the project specifications were not considered for awards.
Winners of the competition received a cash price to split among the team.
Latest Newslink
- Helen De Cruz, Ph.D.: 1978-2025Helen De Cruz, Ph.D., the Danforth Chair in the Humanities at Saint Louis University, died Friday, June 20, 2025. She was 46. The Belgian-born philosopher examined why and how humans engage in pursuits that seem remote from the immediate concerns of survival and reproduction, such as theology, mathematics, and science.
- 'I am More Than Just a Refugee': A SLU Student Shares His StoryThe Saint Louis University-Jesuit Worldwide Learning (SLU-JWL) program offers remote bachelor's degrees to international students displaced by conflict, lack of opportunity, and poverty in places such as refugee camps in Kenya and Malawi. One student, Dictor Olame, reflected on his experience as a SLU student in the Kakuma refugee camp in North-Western Kenya.
- SLU Supports St. Louis by Hosting City's Tornado Relief CenterIn the weeks following a devastating tornado that tore through St. Louis on May 16, hundreds of households have turned to a centralized Disaster Assistance Center (DAC) at Chaifetz Arena for assistance.
- Persistence Pays Off for Fulbright Award RecipientAnuj Gandhi is a Fulbright Scholar. A year after being chosen as an alternate, Gandhi has been chosen for a Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Award. With the Award, the recent Saint Louis University graduate intends to "investigate how globalization-based acculturation influences Indian young adults' attitudes toward mental health and treatment options."
- Pestellos Honored With Honorary Street NameA stretch of Laclede Avenue that has undergone major development since President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., and First Lady Fran Pestello, Ph.D., arrived at Saint Louis University 11 years ago now has a new name.
- Disaster Assistance Center Opens to the Community in Response to the May 16 TornadoThe City of St. Louis, in partnership with the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency and Saint Louis University, opened a Disaster Assistance Center (DAC) on Monday, June 9, to serve as a central space for tornado-affected residents to connect with agencies offering guidance, resources, and assistance related to recovery and long-term support. The DAC will take place inside Chaifetz Arena.
