The Iowa State Steel Bridge Team, as part of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) chapter, celebrates their best place yet at the National Student Steel Bridge Competition. They placed fifth in the 2013 contest, held June 1 at the University of Washington (Seattle).
Iowa State was in good company as a top-five finisher: University of California, Berkeley, placed first; Massachusetts Institute of Technology placed second; University of California, Davis, placed third; and Michigan Technological University placed fourth. The Ames-based team placed highest among teams that competed in the Midwest Regional Steel Bridge Competition in March – 2013 Midwest regional winner Lakehead University placed 10th in the national contest. Read more about that regional contest in a March 20, 2013, College of Engineering news release.
The national place was a composite of ranks in six categories: No. 4 in structural efficiency, No. 7 in lightness, No. 7 in construction speed, No. 10 in stiffness, No. 15 in aesthetics and No. 20 in construction economy. Ranks compared to those of other teams put Iowa State fifth overall out of 49.
“The scores were pretty close among the top contenders, and we were very close to finishing in the top three,” said Tim Ellis, associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering and faculty advisor of the ASCE Iowa State chapter.
The competition was primarily one of speed. “The construction crew worked extremely fast, posting their fastest run of the year at five minutes,” said Andrew Faust, spring 2013 civil engineering graduate and captain of the Iowa State Steel Bridge Team. The crew built their bridge about three minutes faster in the national contest than in the Midwest competition, where they placed second.
“The steel bridge team allows students many chances to solve engineering problems,” Faust said. “We rely on teamwork and collaboration of ideas to be successful. It is very rewarding to put forth this effort and be successful at a national level.”