by Tim Crosby
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois University Carbondale engineering students will test and demonstrate a medieval weapon of siege warfare, but as may be appropriate for the season, the trebuchet will be flinging pumpkins instead of rocks or flaming projectiles.
Ken Anderson, director of the Advanced Energy Institute at SIU and the students’ adviser, said Gabe Gleason and Anael Clar built the machine as part of their classwork for SIU’s ancient practices program as well as for their senior engineering design project. The project was sponsored by the Jackson County Health Department, which will take possession of the machine once testing is complete.
“The students learned how engineering was done without all the modern technology we now rely upon,” Anderson said. “They had to learn to solve problems and come up with solutions with what they had on hand.”
The trebuchet, a type of catapult, is a forerunner of modern artillery. Instead of gunpowder, the machine uses an array of ropes, pulleys and gravity to fire its projectile. Building the machine taught the students how to apply engineering principles while also gaining an appreciation for people who designed and built them.
The ancient practices program grew out of a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2019. It focuses on broadening the perspective of students studying objective disciplines – such as science, engineering, technology and mathematics – by demonstrating the relevance of the humanities to their own interests. The program leads to a minor in ancient practices.
In past years, students have designed, built and demonstrated ancient grain mills, water pumps and cranes. Anderson said the team isn’t sure about their newest machine’s range.
“We think about 300 yards, but we’re going to find out,” he said.