A pair of students from Missouri University of Science and Technology won first place in a recent “black box” competition in which they had to figure out the electronic circuitry hidden within the box. Two other Missouri S&T students finished third in the competition.

Lawrence Crosier of Kansas City, Mo., a senior in electrical engineering, and, Mark Langle of Ash Flat, Ark., a senior in computer engineering, took first place in the IEEE Black Box Competition, held Nov. 14 on the Missouri S&T campus. The event is sponsored by the St. Louis Section of IEEE, the professional organization for electrical engineers.

Finishing third in the event were S&T students, J.D. Fenech of Rolla, a senior in physics, and Jie Zhao of St. Louis, a senior in electrical engineering. A total of 11 teams from area universities participated in the event.

The competition requires students to use their electrical and computer engineering knowledge to determine the internal workings of an electronic device.

Dr. Jagannathan Sarangapani, the Rutledge-Emerson Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Missouri S&T, coordinated this year’s competition.