Fifty drinking straws, one roll of masking tape, a pair of scissors and a ruler, Knox News reports. That’s all the rising high-school students participating in the Engineering Volunteers for Ninth Graders program at the University of Tennessee College of Engineering were given. In 45 minutes, groups of four were urged to construct a three-level tower with the strength to support six 200-gram weights while being shaken by earthquake-like tremors — oh, and the tower had to stay upright. This was just one of the many interactive projects the 32 participating students from throughout the Southeast will engage in during the week-long event…