Two Carleton students are competing in the North American finals of the Present Around the World (PATW) engineering contest Sept. 11.
Carleton students Mario Mahendran and Shashank Pant took first and third place in the PATW engineering contest on Aug. 17, and will compete on behalf of Ottawa.
Mahendran, a master’s candidate for aerospace engineering, came first for his research in the manufacture and design of composites, which will be used in the building of an unmanned aircraft system for geophysical survey missions at Carleton.
“I did not expect that I would win because I was not sure how well my presentation would be received by an audience with no background in composite aircraft structures,” Mahendran said, adding he was surprised with the results.
Mahendran said he mostly pleased with himself for managing to explain the technical content of his presentation in such a way that people understood.
Pant, a Carleton PhD student, received third place for his research into structural health monitoring and more cost-efficient methods of detecting flaws in aircrafts.
Pant said he used the competition as an opportunity to practice explaining his research in simpler, more generic terms, and to network.
He said he got involved to “exchange ideas with people from different engineering backgrounds.”
Filip Mares, who took second place at the Aug. 17 competition, said he can’t attend due to scheduling conflicts and has offered his spot to Pant, who will now compete with Mahendran and 10 others from across North America.
Mares, a fellow master’s candidate focusing on technology innovation management, took second for Structural SynapSync, a web service he designed to help small businesses build their online presence. Mares said it would allow businesses to showcase their latest promotions through different mediums such as Facebook, Twitter and mobile phone applications simultaneously.
Mares said he felt good about his presentation leading up to the competition and was pleased with the results.
“I was pretty excited to get the recognition,” he said. “Especially from fairly important people in the engineering domain in the Ottawa region.”
“I’m okay with it. I’ve gotten used to the competition feel. We’re mostly focused on the business right now and trying to get the product ready,” Mares said.
Mahendran said he’s starting to get nervous, but he doesn’t feel it’s really about winning. “The professional experience this competition brings you and the satisfaction of exposing your project to a highly qualified audience with various engineering backgrounds is just amazing,” he said.
Should Mahendran or Pant win, they will receive $600 and a chance to compete in the PATW finals in November in London. “I would certainly love an opportunity to compete in the global final, so I am going to try my best,” Mahendran said. Pant said he agrees.