To showcase their community during Freshman Orientation, East Campus residents led by juniors Wesley Lau and Ben Katz (Mechanical Engineering) created a 146-foot-long wooden roller coaster in their courtyard. The thrilling 30-second ride plunged from a three-story-high platform onto three smaller hills before a nearly vertical rise that slowed down the car. Lau and Katz took charge of the project and spent months on design, obtaining multiple permits from Cambridge and MIT, and supervising eight intense days of building. Richard Henige ’75, SM ‘77, vice president of LeMessurier Consultants, Inc. (founded by Bill LeMessurier SM ’53), donated his time to offer expert advice and review the students’ calculations.
Read a Boston Magazine blog entry with videos: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2014/08/26/mit-students-roller-coaster-east-side-party/