Splinter the Supercar, a unique car constructed of wood and recently featured on the Discovery Channel's Future Cars, will be showcased at Virginia Tech on Thursday, Sept. 18, in celebration of Wood Week 2008.

“Cars are not made of wood today, if you had not noticed,” quipped Paul Winistorfer, head of the Department of Wood Science and Forest Products in the College of Natural Resources, which is hosting Wood Week. “If you are interested in design, materials, manufacturing, fabrication, and seeing someone tackle a difficult problem with passion and enthusiasm, then you won’t want to miss seeing this car. It is off the chart by all measures!” added Winistorfer.

The car was designed and is being built by 27-year-old Joe Harmon of Charleston, S.C., a graduate student in industrial design at North Carolina State University. Harmon’s dream is to land a job designing cars of the future and he started this project to showcase his design and ability to bring something to life in a unique way.

Splinter the Supercar will be on the Drillfield in the center of campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18, as part of the Wood Week 2008 Career Fair. Nearly 30 companies representing a broad spectrum of the forest products industries will be participating in the career fair, open to all Virginia Tech students. The fair will highlight careers, internships, and summer opportunities in the industry, as well as awareness of the wood science and forest products program. For information on the Wood Week 2008 Career Fair or Splinter the Super Car, contact Paul Winistorfer at (540) 231-8853.

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