School of Science and Engineering Students Show Off Their Pumpkin Prowess
10/31/2024
Teams of students in Saint Louis University’s School of Science and Engineering put their critical thinking and carving skills to work using pumpkins to represent their majors in the School’s October Innovation Challenge.
Students look at the pumpkins carved by the School of Science and Engineering students before judging of the contest on October 31, 2024. Photo by Sarah Conroy.
The pumpkins went on display on Wednesday in the lobby of the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering building, allowing the SLU community an opportunity to vote on their favorite pumpkin. Five hundred individual votes were cast for one of the 16 pumpkins during the voting window.
The top three teams received a cash prize. Scott Sell, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and associate dean for undergraduate education in SSE, announced the winners Thursday.
The winning pumpkins are:
- First Place: Which Witch is Which?
- Second Place: Poltergeist
- Third Place: Pumpken
Ayden Wells, Julia Vitale and Olivia King constructed Which Witch. The pumpkin, based on the game Operation, draws on their majors of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering.
The pumpkin features a Billiken with a few missing parts and an operation board of pieces. The team created a backstory for his injuries. It read:
One crisp autumn afternoon, the SLU Billiken was riding across campus on his handcrafted scooter, whistling a tune and high-fiving students as they passed. Suddenly, a feisty campus squirrel ran in front of him. Narrowly dodging the squirrel, the Billiken lost control, and fell off his scooter. He tumbled down West Pine, arms and legs flailing, and crashed into the koi pond in a spectacular, glittery burst. Piece of the Billiken scattered everywhere and now it’s up to YOU to put him back together again! His missing parts are laid out, and the Billiken’s health is in your hands.
Start with his heart - because that’s where his SLU spirit lives.
Next, take his brain and put it where it belongs so he can ace his finals this semester.
Equally important is his kidney, which will keep him healthy.
Now his mind, body and spirit are whole again!
His funny bone goes next; he’ll need that to keep everyone laughing.
Add his stomach after to prepare him for a tasty meal at his favorite restaurant, Bill Grill.
He then needs his femur and his shoe for his lengthy walks to Litteken, and don’t forget his ear so he can tune into KSLU later.
Last, but certainly not least, reattach his hand so he’s ready for more high-fives.
With a smile on his face, the Billiken is now as he “ought to be.”
See all the pumpkins below:
Latest Newslink
- Turkeypalooza Helps Bring Thanksgiving Meals to St. LouisThanksgiving at Saint Louis University means preparing hundreds of meals for the St. Louis community. Turkeypalooza is SLU’s annual Thanksgiving food drive. Led by Campus Kitchen, a student-run organization that works to decrease food insecurity and waste in the communities surrounding SLU, the drive collects holiday food items that will be distributed to the St. Louis community.
- Saint Louis University Student Speaks About Student Leadership at Ignatian Family Teach-In for JusticeSaint Louis University senior Reueline Arulanandam offered her perspective on student leadership to more than 2,000 participants at the 2024 Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice. The event, held in Washington, D.C., is the nation’s largest annual Catholic social justice gathering and advocacy day.
- SLU Study: Immune Dysfunction Increases Cancer Risk in Obese PopulationsRyan Teague, Ph.D., professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Saint Louis University’s School of Medicine, and his team are now trying to uncover the exact mechanism underlying the metabolic dysfunctions associated with obesity that directly impact T-cell function.
- SLU Students Compete in a Battle of the BridgesSLU Science and Engineering students tested their engineering skills in a timed innovation challenge building bridges out of cardboard tubes and duct tape.
- SLU to Hold GIS Day November 20Saint Louis University will host GIS (Geographic Information System) Day on Wednesday, Nov. 20. The one-day conference will feature speakers who work on GIS projects in the St. Louis region.
- SLU Study Explores the Pandemic’s Impact on Breastfeeding Practices in Historically Marginalized CommunitiesThe study, recently published in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, found that 34% of mothers said stay-at-home orders facilitated easier breastfeeding at home, stronger mother-child bonding, and extended breastfeeding duration for many women. However, the pandemic also presented significant barriers, including limited access to lactation support and heightened maternal stress.
