Herff College of Engineering
eDay 2026 Competitions
Each competition is governed by independent student organizations or Herff faculty. Contact information for each is provided with the specific competition information. If you have any other questions about eDay, feel free to email us at eday@memphis.edu.
First, second and third place awards will be given per competition. Winners will be notified by the end of the day. If a school or student has left before awards are finalized, that student's school will be notified of their award and arranagements will be made to have the award delivered.
A Blazing Race
Hosted by MLGW
Get ready to race! The MLGW A-Blazing Race challenges students in grades 6-12 to design, build, and race their own solar-powered cars using a kit provided by MLGW.
Gather your team of 4-8 students and compete on a 20-meter track at Engineering Day 2026, hosted by the University of Memphis Herff College of Engineering (corner of Zach Curlin & Norriswood).
Location: East side of Edwards Research and Innovation Center building
Build a Biomaterial Scaffold
Hosted by the Biomedical Engineering Society
Particpants will be challenged to build the strongest, porous scaffold possible that can have a ball pass through it. Students will be prompted to build a biomaterial scaffold (in time limit of 10 minutes) using various supplies , and they will be graded on their model filling the criteria for a biomaterial scaffold.
0-10 for Biocompatibility (are the materials they chose natural oror not natural: choosing pasta or straws)
0-10 for mechanical strength (is their structure strong like a biomaterial needs to be and strength will be tested using books on top of it)
0-10 for porosity (is their structure porous like a biomaterial needs to be: ability for a tiny ball to go through)
Location: Edwards Research and Innovation Center 311
Contact: Justice Jefferson, jjffrs16@memphis.edu
Coding Challenge
Hosted by The Cybertigers
This coding competition is for 3rd through 12th grade students. It is designed for teams of 2 to 3 participants who will be working on designing a Scratch project. Here is an example.
Location: Engineering Technology 312
Contact Info: Mayira Sharif, mhsharif@memphis.edu
Egg Drop
Hosted by the Alliance of Women Engineers of Color
Teams are required to purchase their own materials and build their Egg Drop container prior to arrival at the competition.
Two Locations: Engineering Technology Stairway
Contact Info: Christy Ekem, caekem@memphis.edu
Flash Build
Governed By Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
Students will design, construct and build an appropriate structure during the competition.
Location: Edwards Research and Innovation Center 201/203
Contact Info: Sophie Neider, smnieder@memphis.edu
Homopolar Motor Build Competition
Hosted by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Contact Info: Yaneli Mora-Antonio, ymrntnio@memphis.edu
Location: Edwards Research and Innovation Center 205
Contact Info: Yaneli Mora-Antonio, ymrntnio@memphis.edu
Transportation KNEXX Challenge
Governed by Institute For Transportation Engineers Contact Info: lnsrbugh@memphis.edu (Logan Sirbaugh)
Student teams will compete with K’NEX vehicles that they bring and submit to the judges on E-Day.
Location: Engineering Administration 103
Contact Info: Logan Sirbaugh lnsrbugh@memphis.edu, Anslee Billingsley pbllngsl@memphis.edu
Transportation Challenge Rules
Paper Airplane Catapult
By The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Location: Edwards Research and Innovation Center 102
Contact Info: Bryan Mendoza, bmndoza@memphis.edu, Natania Middleton, natania.m@memphis.edu
Paper Airplane Design and Flight
by NSBE
Location: Edwards Research and Innovation Center 3rd Floor Southend
Contact Info: Jasmine Murphy, jnmrphy2@memphis.edu
Paper Airplane Design and Flight Rules
Pasta Car
By University of Memphis American Society of Mechanical Engineers chapter, University of Memphis Society of Automotive Engineers and University of Memphis American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers
The competition is designed to test the ingenuity of the team to design an ‘artificial leg’ to kick a standard ping-pong ball into a target.
Location: Engineering Sciences 326
Contact Info: Shaun Bowlin, smbowlin@memphis.edu, John Boughton, jbughton@memphis.edu, Haley Bryson, hnbryson@memphis.edu
Penny Boat
Hosted by Tau Beta Phi
Location: Edwards Research and Innovation Center 207
Contact Info: Paula Meier, pameier@memphis.edu
The Wall
Hosted by American Society of Civil Engineers
Students tape a chair to the wall and see what team can hold one of their teammates up with the least amount of tape. The chair must not fall for a full three minutes. Scores are calculated based the weight of the student that will sit in the chair and the weight of the tape used.
Location: Engineering Administration 2nd floor lobby
Contact Info: Aidan Espy agespy@memphis.edu