Rice SHPE Students Win National Competition

Rice SHPE Students Win National Competition
BY LIA UNRAU
Rice News Staff
March 19, 1998

When the Rice team first appeared at the National Academic Olympiad, a type
of college bowl for Hispanic engineering students, they were an unknown team
with a tiny cheering section. But not for long.

As first-time members of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE),
and first-time competitors, the Rice team became national champions of SHPE’s
Academic Olympiad in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 6.

"We went into this with almost no preparation and we came out on top,"
said Alfonso Acosta, a member of the champion team. "That says a lot about
the education you get at Rice."

The chapter first formed at Rice last September, and an area representative
encouraged Rice to get involved in the academic event, especially because Houston
was hosting the regional Olympiad competition in October. The group obliged.
Rice’s Mexican-American Engineering Society (MAES) chapter, which was already
established, joined forces with SHPE, and the officers of MAES selected three
team members and an alternate to represent Rice on their first foray into competition.
Choosing students with a range of academic backgrounds, the officers tapped
Acosta, a senior majoring in electrical and computer engineering, Laurie Carrillo,
a senior majoring in materials science, applied math and math, and Josue Villesca,
a senior majoring in chemical engineering. The alternate was Luz Maldonado,
a senior in mechanical engineering.

After qualifying for the first semifinal round by scoring well on a written
test, the team went up against eight schools in the regional tournament. The
questions covered all areas of engineering, from materials to applied math,
and were administered in a "Jeopardy"-type format. The more difficult
questions garnered more points.

"Because it was our first year, we didn’t know what to expect," Acosta
said. "We had the rules, but not much preparation."

Rice took the regional, beating out teams like University of Texas and Oklahoma.

In both competitions, Carrillo said, "for the type of questions asked,
when the clock is ticking, either you know it or you don’t."

"We went in not expecting to win," Carrillo said, "and so we
were a little laid-back. We didn’t have a reputation to live up to."

But other teams did. The University of California-Berkeley had won the competition
more than once, and they and some other teams came with coaches and tutors.
Rice competed against five other regional champs, including Berkeley, California
State University-Long Beach, University of New Mexico, New Jersey Institute
of Technology and University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign.

Rice held the lead early, 1,000 points ahead of the second-place team, but
late in the game Berkeley slipped ahead by 200 points. As the competition progressed
and some teams dropped out of the running, they began cheering for Rice.

It came down to a final round. They were given a difficult problem and the
opportunity to wager points on their answer. It was probably the most stressful
two minutes of the match. Should they risk a secure second place–if they bet
nothing, the worst they could do was second–or attempt to overtake Berkeley
if they both answered correctly? They decided to play it safe, betting nothing.
No one was able to solve the problem correctly in time, and Berkeley had wagered
1,500 points, dropping them to 300 and third place. Rice took first with 1,600,
and NJ Institute of Technology took second with 800.

"As far as national engineering schools go," Villesca said, "they
now know that Rice is on the map."

After the competition, team members were asked by different companies to sit
at their tables at the formal banquet and to visit their booths at the career
fair the next day.

"We made our mark in front of a lot of people," Carrillo said.

"I think everyone understood what it meant that Rice had won," Acosta
said. "I hope it attracts more Hispanic students to Rice."

MAES president Ariel Flores and junior Valerie Van Horn went along to Florida
to support the team.

The MAES/SHPE team received a computer system from Hewlett-Packard and a cash
award for the chapter.

Already the team is thinking about next year’s team. "We definitely plan
to enter again," Acosta said. "We’re looking forward to it."

For related information visit the following Web site:
Mexican-American Engineering Society and Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers:
www.ruf.rice.edu/~maes/home.html