Trying to make an object fly with a piece of paper, a straw and six inches of tape is not easy.

That was one of the challenges of the second annual Faculty/Student Design Competition Tuesday night in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

The competition was put on by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), said Misty Maxner, a senior in Mechanical Engineering.

“We tried to bring together faculty and students in the M.E. program,” Maxner said.

Jake Kerber, a senior who is double majoring in M.E. and computer science, coordinated this year’s events.

“We thought it would be a fun idea, and it was,” Kerber said, “So we did it again this year.”

There were three timed events planned for the evening, Kerber said.

The groups’ first challenge consisted of making an object from a piece of paper, a straw and six inches of tape. The object that flew the farthest won that contest.

The second hurdle of the evening was to construct a boat that could contain the most marbles without sinking, given two feet of string, a block of clay, a small plastic cup and a foot of duck tape.

The third event was to estimate a distance on the ground from a given point, the most accurate group won.

James Melsa, dean of the engineering college, said, “This competition illustrates the creativity and innovation it requires to be an engineer.”

Team six, which consisted of Dave Eggert, Adam Baldwin and Melissa Niesen, took first place, taking home the gold calculators.

“It was fun, and it was a good chance to get together with other people,” Eggert said.

“The competition emphasizes design and allows us to be creative,” Baldwin said.