Never one to refrain from crowing about Lehigh's successes over "that school in Easton", the Rivalry has gone into brand-new territory: engineering research.The David Freed Undergraduate Research symposium, which took place on April 1st in Packard Lab (making it a "home game"), billed itself as an extension of the Lehigh/Lafayette rivalry in their write-up on the Lehigh website.
The Lehigh and Lafayette football teams have played each other 144 times since 1884, more than any other two college football teams in America.
On Wednesday, April 1, top undergraduate engineering researchers from the two schools faced off for the first time in Lehigh’s Packard Laboratory.
The occasion was the annual David and Lorraine Freed Undergraduate Research Symposium, which is endowed by Andrew D. Freed ’83 in honor of his parents. Freed, a member of the RCEAS advisory board, is president and CEO of Medical Device Investment Holdings Corp. in Malvern, Pa.
The research symposium has been held each of the last five years. This year’s event was the first in which Lafayette students were invited to compete.
Unlike the football "Rivalry", it's hard to see any losers in this initiative - just winners, and likely some lucrative research situations or jobs after graduation - though it must be told that Lehigh senior bioengineer Stephen H. Henry won first place for his presentation "Understanding Bioneedle Penetration Mechanics" (pictured) over the best Lafayette engineers.
Think there was any taunting going on?
“The competitive aspect was definitely secondary to the academic aspect,” said Henry, who will enroll as a doctoral candidate in the University of Pennsylvania’s bioengineering program next fall. “Every one of the contestants deserved the honor that I received.”
Oh, well. Only 237 days until the next meeting on the football field.
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