Student Bridge Praised for Aesthetics, Presentation

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- "Spread Eagle," the 18-foot-long, five-foot-high steel bridge designed and built by a team of UB engineering students, earned praise for aesthetics and presentation at the National Steel Bridge Competition held recently in Anchorage.

Although the bridge did not win the competition -- it collapsed 25 pounds short of the 2,500-pound required load -- the students gathered information and ideas to incorporate into their entry next year, according to faculty adviser Stuart Chen, associate professor of civil engineering.

The students earned the right to enter the nationals by capturing second place in the regional event held in April at Cornell University.

Two other UB bridge teams also had competed in the regionals. "Alpha," captained by Collin Cook of Getzville, placed fifth, while "Leprechaun," captained by Benjamin Beardsley of Fillmore, took seventh place.

UB was the only one of more than a dozen colleges and universities competing in the regional event to enter more than one bridge.

The event was sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Institute of Steel Construction.

"Spread Eagle" was captained by Daryl Zbrzezny of West Seneca.

Other members of the team were Dita Bardhi of Valhalla, Joe Cannon of Buffalo, Michael Davidson of Slate Hill, Jim Guistina of Rochester, Merritt Hanson and Alison Staub of Hamburg, Jen Leibold of Lancaster, Jessica Moeller of Orchard Park, David Ruminski of Springville, Doug Smith of Lewiston, Nathan Stenz of West Winfield, Robert Tse of Brooklyn, Aaron Weiss of Castile and Keith Ying of Hong Kong.