On March 31, Martin Carter, head of Hydro Extrusion in North America, announced the winning entries for the Extrusion Technology for Aluminum Profiles Foundation 2006 International Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition.S

ince 2000, these competitions have generated much enthusiasm for aluminum  extrusions, attracting participants from around the world. This year there were 75 entries hailing from North America to Asia.

The Design Competition is divided into two classes: Students and Professionals.

For the first time in the history of the competition, the Grand Prize went to a student. Micah Bowers, a sophomore in industrial design at Purdue University, won for his concept of a Sea-Craft Rescue Bed or SEREBE.

The design employs three extruded parts mounted to a personal watercraft and controlled by two electric motors. The three parts consist of an outer extending arm, an inner extending arm, and a foldable bed. In use, the SEREBE can serve as a litter to transport an injured person out of the water.

Hydro once again sponsored the Sustainable Design Award, this year giving it to Jennifer Harmon, a computer science student at Purdue University, for her concept of a modular arch construction system. “Ms. Harmon’s emphasis on an assembly process that eliminates the need for tools, and on the use of readily available tarps for ‘roofing,' reflect the realities of disaster situations,” noted Carter. “With this focus, we felt the design best yielded the societal or environmental benefit which the Hydro Sustainability Design Award was created to address.”

Hydro has been proud to be the exclusive sponsor for the ET Design Competition since 2004.