{"id":28243,"date":"2019-12-06T05:30:39","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T11:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=28243"},"modified":"2019-12-05T21:09:51","modified_gmt":"2019-12-06T03:09:51","slug":"austin-peay-state-universitys-bryan-gaither-flings-flaming-pumpkins-with-trebuchet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2019\/12\/06\/austin-peay-state-universitys-bryan-gaither-flings-flaming-pumpkins-with-trebuchet\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Peay State University\u2019s Bryan Gaither flings flaming pumpkins with trebuchet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – Bryan Gaither, dressed in his trademark blue lab coat, slid on a pair of latex gloves and proceeded to inject chemicals into a pumpkin. Nearby, on the front lawn of the Austin Peay State University (APSU) Dunn Center, Clarksville firefighters put on their protective gear.<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University’s Bryan Gaither and a Sacramento State pumpkin. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

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It was a bright Thursday afternoon \u2013 Gaither\u2019s birthday \u2013 and the APSU physics, astronomy and engineering lab manager was about to launch a flaming pumpkin hundreds of feet into the air.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the year, Gaither \u2013 known around Austin Peay State University as the \u201cMad Scientist\u201d \u2013 built a trebuchet as an outreach tool for the University\u2019s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). A trebuchet is a type of catapult that uses a swinging arm to throw a projectile.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted it designed this way so that our students actually can model this, so they can model the forces, they can model the release angles, and get real-world data,\u201d Gaither said in October.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The pumpkin shortly after landing. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

But on Thursday, it was all about the joy of flinging flaming pumpkins into the air. Earlier in the week, Gaither and Dr. Karen Meisch, interim dean of the APSU College of STEM, decided to use the trebuchet to drum up support both for Giving Tuesday and for Austin Peay State University\u2019s upcoming playoff football game against Sacramento State.<\/p>\n

If the public supported the College on Giving Tuesday, Meisch promised that Gaither would \u201cnot only launch the Sacramento State pumpkin \u2013 but also a pumpkin that will be on FIRE.\u201d<\/p>\n

[320left]A little after 2:00pm on Thursday, a pumpkin with the Sacramento State logo flew through the air, spinning against the deep blue sky. When it crashed against the ground, the orange fruit crumpled and then flung pieces of gooey shrapnel across the grass. Then, it was time for the main event.<\/p>\n

Gaither and his crew, looking like NASA engineers prepping a rocket, marched slowly to the trebuchet and secured the pumpkin, filled with chemicals, into its harness. The firefighters moved into position and several drones lifted into the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as I light this, I\u2019m going,\u201d Gaither said.<\/p>\n

People standing near the trebuchet were instructed to move back a safe distance. Gaither grabbed a blowtorch and squatted next to the machine.<\/p>\n

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