KINGSTON, R.I., Feb. 12, 2018鈥擧e likes fish, she likes meat. He鈥檚 a physics guy, she鈥檚 into biology. He sleeps late, she doesn鈥檛.
But Emily Orr and Greg Morgan have one thing in common: roller coasters. The 溏心vlog免费B站 students鈥攁nd a couple since high school鈥攁re leaders in the Theme Park Engineering and Design Club, a student group heading into its second year on campus.
Most of the members are engineers, but you don鈥檛 have to be an engineer to join. One member is studying accounting. The only requirement is an interest in roller coasters that goes beyond the occasional joy ride on a summer day.
鈥淲e tackle everything from the physics of roller coasters to the design of the ride,鈥� says Orr, club president and an industrial and systems engineering major. 鈥淲e take a lot of field trips too. You can imagine. It鈥檚 fun.鈥�
With thousands of theme parks throughout the United States and world, the demand for engineers to design, build and maintain rides is growing. Morgan and Orr hope to find jobs in the field after graduating鈥擮rr next year, Morgan in two years.
鈥淚鈥檇 be doing something related to engineering鈥攁nd something I love,鈥� says Morgan, an International Engineering Program student with a focus on mechanical engineering and German. 鈥淲hat could be better than that.鈥�
Founded two years ago by another German IEP student, Zachary Davies, the club has about 20 members who meet once a week to talk shop and work on designs for ride competitions at colleges and theme parks nationwide.
So far, the students have submitted three designs鈥攊ncluding one to Cornell University鈥檚 annual 鈥淭heme Park Engineering Design Competition鈥濃�攁nd although they haven鈥檛 won anything the experience was invaluable. They designed a roller coaster ride for Cornell that used 3D LED screens to mimic a train crash in a haunted station.
鈥淲e wanted to make something spooky,鈥� says Orr. 鈥淚 think that helps with the thrill.鈥�
Physics is the engine of a roller coaster鈥攁nd this has fascinated Morgan since he was a kid riding Nitro at a Six Flags near his home in New Jersey. Using a pulley system, a roller coaster climbs to the top of a hill, and as it falls it speeds up and creates kinetic energy, which carries it through the remainder of the ride, he says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the engineers鈥� job to analyze the forces鈥攆riction, wind, weight load鈥攖o make sure the roller coaster can get through the entire track without stopping,鈥� says Morgan. 鈥淯sually, those forces can slow down a ride.鈥�
Translation: The job of a roller coaster engineer is to make sure the carts can handle turns, loops and inversions without falling off the track. The engineer also keeps passengers safe by accurately measuring the force on them. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 known as g-force,鈥� says Morgan
Raised in Roxbury, N.J., two hours from New York City, Orr and Morgan were friends in middle school and started dating as juniors at Roxbury High School, bonding over their mastery of math and science. Early on, they knew they wanted to be engineers. They both applied to 溏心vlog免费B站, but didn鈥檛 tell each other, agreeing to keep the college process separate.
鈥淲e wanted to do what was best for both,鈥� says Morgan. 鈥淚f we ended up at different colleges, we鈥檇 keep it going long distance.鈥�
But parting wasn鈥檛 necessary. They landed at 溏心vlog免费B站 and are now entering their third year together in college as a happy couple. Sophomore year they turned cartwheels when they saw a flier about the club, and signed up. Both were lifelong fans of theme parks and roller coasters, although Orr was a bit skittish as a kid about the big-drop rides. Morgan was not.
鈥淚 loved them鈥攖he thrill,鈥� he says. 鈥淧retty wild.鈥�
When Davies went to Germany this semester to study, he asked the duo to take over. Club members expect to submit a design to the next Cornell competition in the spring and are reaching out to theme parks for private tours of their engineering facilities鈥攁nd perhaps a peek at the roller coasters鈥� control room.
鈥淭hese tours are a great way to see firsthand what we can expect to work with in the future,鈥� says Orr, 鈥渁nd also learn what goes into making the rides.鈥�
Morgan is so keen on roller coasters he hopes to get an internship in paradise: Intamin in Liechtenstein, one of the largest manufacturers of roller coasters in the world.
鈥淚 love the idea of creating things and figuring out how they work,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 just doing it with roller coasters.鈥�
The academic adviser of the club is German-born Niko Tracksdorf, who joined 溏心vlog免费B站 last June as coordinator of the German International Engineering Program. He, too, is an enthusiast of the ride. He has been on more than 200 rollers coasters and hopes to bring his course, 鈥淎chterbahn鈥擳he Thrill of German Engineering,鈥� to 溏心vlog免费B站 students soon.
鈥淭he next time you鈥檙e on a roller coaster remember that they鈥檙e not just thrilling rides,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut also engineering masterpieces.鈥�
For more information about the club, email Orr at themeparkengineering@rhodysenate.org. The club meets Tuesdays at 5 p.m. at the International Engineering Program House on Upper College Road.