Reichel '04 wins the crown at Mr. Engineering pageant

You probably thought beauty pageants were no longer politically correct — that a formalwear parade, talent contest and question-and-answer session could never happen at the University, let alone in the engineering school.

You were wrong.

And in the words of Jason Lawrence GS, emcee of Friday night's Mr. Engineering contest, the contestants were "rugged specimens of manhood."

Twelve undergraduate male students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science heeded the call to compete in the less-than-traditional beauty pageant in McCosh 10 — proving they could emerge from the E-Quad to entertain a very large crowd for more than two hours.

"If you are sick and tired of engineers being stereotyped as nerds who never leave the E-Quad, this is your chance to prove everyone wrong," said Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs Peter Bogucki's e-mail to the engineering students in early November. Its subject line announcing the contest read "resume-building opportunity :-)."

The contest included self-described "Electrical Bingeneers," "Ultimate Playas" and a sophomore who was "faster than a subatomic quark in a superconductor."

Audience members held signs and dressed thematically to support their favorite entrants in the contest, providing authentic Atlantic City pageant style.

Kristee Sherry '04 wore a shirt reading, "If I could rearrange the periodic table, I'd put Patrick and I together," to support fellow senior Patrick Beattie. This chemical engineer had a core group of fans carrying signs and the flag of Alaska, his home state, and wearing gloves and construction hats.

But mere good looks and legions of fans holding signs like "Cam, I want to engineer your baby" could not alone garner the top prize. The competition included a round of questions including such stumpers as "Do pearls melt in vinegar?" and "Who is the current dean of the engineering school?"

And though he does not know who his dean is, junior electrical engineer Chris Duss still managed to make his way into the finals with his nonalcoholic version of the drinking game robopound. He eventually took first runner-up in the competition.

Other "talents" in the competition included a dramatic reading of a poem entitled "Where have you been all my life?" by Charlie "Trickle" Louden '04. His posse of fraternity brothers provided support and some interesting shout-outs during the contest.

Chris Wynnyk '06 rode a unicycle around the entire lecture hall, and David Follette '04 had a near-perfect performance on "Dance Dance Revolution" — a PlayStation video game.

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In the end, however, it seems animalistic elements rather than brainiac characteristics won over the judges. The first ever Mr. Engineering title went to Tom Reichel '04, who first appeared on the stage wearing a cow costume and made animal noises for his pageant talent.

"I am not quite sure what I am going to do now," Reichel said in an e-mail after the pageant. "I mean, ever since I was crowned Mr. Engineer, people have changed . . . Girls actually talk to me now."

"I don't have time to both have a social life and be an engineer," the chemical engineer and president of Charter Club said, "and these hot girls just don't understand that."

To pass the time warding off his new suitors, Reichel can play with his prize — a Microsoft Xbox. The rest of the group received pocket protectors, pencils and Smarties to accompany them on their way back home to the E-Quad.