University at Buffalo: Reporter

Bridge Builders:
Alaska Teams top winners;
UB wins individual honors

By ELLEN GOLDBAUM
News Services Editor

MAYBE IT WAS THE DISTANCE they traveled that made them so determined to win. Out of a field of 40 teams from all over the U.S., civil engineering students from two campuses of the University of Alaska won first and second prizes in the 1996 National Steel Bridge-Building Competition, held at UB on May 25.

The competition required teams to design, fabricate and construct a model steel bridge spanning 18 feet and standing up to a weight of more than a ton, and to erect it as fast as possible. In just 3.24 minutes, the Alaska-Anchorage team constructed a 52.4-pound steel bridge that withstood a vertical force of 2,500 pounds and a lateral force of 100 pounds.

The team from the Alaska campus at Fairbanks initially tied for first place with Anchorage, erecting a bridge in just 2.33 minutes. Aesthetics served as the tie-breaker. Third-place winner was Southern College of Technology, Marietta, Ga. First prize was &3,000, second, &2,000 and third, &1,000.

UB won a second place and a third in individual categories.

In individual categories, winners were:

· Construction speed: Temple University, first; Utah State University, second, University of Cincinnati, third.>
· Lightness: University of Alaska at Anchorage, first; University at Buffalo, second; University of Alaska at Fairbanks, third.
· Stiffness: San Diego State University, first; Utah State University, second; University of Maryland, third.
· Efficiency: University of Alaska at Anchorage, first; University of Alaska at Fairbanks, second; University at Buffalo, third.
· Economy: Temple University, first; Michigan State University, second; Oregon State University, third.
· Aesthetics: Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, first; Southern College of Technology, Marietta, Ga., second; University of New Orleans, third.

The event was hosted by a UB student committee that involved engineering alumni, local officials and industry representatives. Stuart Chen, associate professor of civil engineering, is the group's faculty advisor.

The national competition coincided with the 50th anniversary of the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, established in 1946.

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