UAF steel bridge team places 6th in nation

Submitted by Leroy Hulsey
Phone: (907) 474-7816
06/02/05

A team of UAF civil engineering students finished sixth among 43 teams competing in the 2005 National Student Steel Bridge Competition in Orlando, Fla., May 27-28, 2005. The team won the right to compete at the national level after taking first in the regional competition in April hosted by Montana Tech in Butte, Mont.

The teams are required to adhere to a set of complicated rules as they design and assemble their creations. UAF placed third in lightness and seventh in efficiency. Other categories judged include stiffness, economy and aesthetics.

The construction team for UAF included Garrett Thatcher, Brian Johnson, Brian Sweeney and Adam Caswell. Accompanying support members for research and design included Liz Binnell, Alicia Braham, Curtis Nordin, Wilhelm Muench, Pauline Fusco, Roy Craft, Ben Townsend and Josh Chaney. Other student support included Yevette Lancaster, Martin Woodrow, Lindsey Dewhurst, Robert Casey and Matt Shawcroft.

The UAF team has competed at the national level a number of times. Their impressive success rate includes first place in 1993, fourth in 1995, tying for first in 1996 and placing sixth in 2003. The competition is sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction and co-sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

CONTACT: Leroy Hulsey, team advisor at (907) 474-7816 or e-mail ffjlh@uaf.edu for more information or visit http://www.nssbc2005.org/links.htm for more information.