Steel bridge competition develops skills
PLATTEVILLE- The University of Wisconsin-Platteville is known for its excellence in the field of engineering, contributing to this is the success of the American Society of Civil Engineers Steel Bridge Team.
The steel bridge competition is an ASCE competition where each team designs a bridge to specifications drawn up by the ASCE National and American Institute of Steel Construction Inc. (AISC). Teams compete first in their region then the top two teams from the region go on to nationals.
The competition this year was part of the regional spring conference, held Feb. 26-28. The conference, which was hosted by the University of Minnesota-St Paul/Minneapolis, included speakers, sessions, the Daniel Mead Paper competition, and the steel bridge competition.
Planning for the competition started as soon as the new rules and specifications were posted in August. The team members spent the fall semester designing, ordering materials and raising funds. The bridge itself was built in one weekend at PanelTek, a local shop. The team spent winter break and up until the competition date refining the bridge and practicing.
The team from UWP sent 24 students and two advisors to the conference. The team came up against some fierce competition from large engineering schools such as the University of Iowa, Iowa State, and North Dakota State University. UWP placed eighth out of nine.
Adam Faris, ASCE co-chairman for Steel Bridge, and team captain, reflected upon the benefits of working on the Steel Bridge Team saying, "The steel bridge competition helps engineering students in many ways. First and foremost you meet new people, build friendships and networking. It also gives students a chance to apply what has been learned in the classroom to something practical. Students build their group work skill and learn new skills."
Anyone interested in joining the team next year may contact one of the advisors for the team: Dr. Meyers, Dr. Parker, Dr. Curras or Dr. Roberts in the civil engineering department, or e-mail the team at uwpsteelbridge@yahoo.com .
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