LSU’s CEE Steel Bridge Team Competes Nationally
The steel bridge team from the LSU American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter completed another successful placement at the 2010 National Student Steel Bridge competition at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.
The LSU steel bridge team, attending nationals for the eighth consecutive year, placed 14th overall out of the 46 schools invited to nationals, and among the 196 schools that competed at all combined regional competitions. The finished bridge product weighed a total of 280 pounds, deflected one inch when subjected to a 2500 pound load, and could be constructed approximately 7 minutes.
The 2010 team members are Mark Dunn (Captain), David Craft, Josh Porter, David Ziegler, Kristi Acuff, and Chris Sciortino, plus faculty advisor Dr. Ayman Okeil and staff advisor David Robertson.
Between the experience from team members on last year's team, and work put in by the new members involved, the team believes they have constructed one of the best steel bridges at LSU in recent years. Competing at this years' Deep South Regional Conference at UNO, LSU's steel bridge team placed first in stiffness, efficiency, construction speed, and second in efficiency. They also placed first overall in the competition.
Major sponsors for the team included: Prospect Steel Company6, Schrenk and Peterson Consulting Engineers, CSRS Architects Engineers, ASCE Baton Rouge Branch and ASCE Louisiana Section. Additional assistance from several other companies, various personal contributions, and LSU faculty and staff also aided the team and contributed to their success.
The 2010 National Student Steel Bridge competition is an inter-collegiate challenge that requires civil engineering students to design, fabricate and construct a steel bridge. The Student Steel Bridge Competition is sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction and in co-operation with the ASCE. This year marked the 19th anniversary of the National Student Steel Bridge Competition and the 23rd anniversary of the Conference Student Steel Bridge Competitions. This prestigious competition offered future structural engineers the opportunity to display their skills in steel design, steel fabrication, and teamwork.
The Deep South conference, a regional event sponsored by the ASCE and local engineering firms, is an annual conference which brings together ASCE Student Chapters from civil engineering programs from around the south. The conference gives ASCE student members a chance to gain valuable hands-on experience by competing in such events as a concrete canoe competition and steel bridge design and construction.
To learn more about the LSU ASCE student chapter, please visit their website at https://lsu.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/ascelsuedu.
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 139,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. For more information on ASCE, visit www.asce.org.
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Article by Julie B. Mueller, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, (225) 578-9170, jmueller@lsu.edu