S&T’s Steel Bridge team wins regional event, will compete at nationals

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On April 15, 2019 Posted in News

Scene from the 2016 Steel Bridge competition.

Missouri S&T’s Steel Bridge Design Team recently won first place at a regional American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Mid-Continent Student Conference and will now put their bridge engineering and construction skills to the test at the national level.

The national finals competition will be held May 31-June 1 at the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. This is the second year in a row that Missouri S&T has won the regional competition and qualified for the national event.

During the regional competition held in April, Missouri S&T’s team earned three awards, including first place in construction economy scoring, first place in construction speed and first place overall.

At the national competition, Missouri S&T’s Steel Bridge Design Team will compete against other collegiate teams from around the country to construct a scale-model bridge as fast as possible. The competition is scored based on a dollar amount rather than a points system. This scoring simulates the accounting process involved in determining the budget for an actual bridge construction project.

The bridge is scored on its weight and rigidity, construction speed and the number of team members building the bridge. Penalties are assessed for infractions like dropping bolts, holding two pieces of the bridge at once and stepping over designated lines. Each bridge is also “load tested” to see if it can hold a required amount of weight.

The Student Steel Bridge Competition is designed to supplement a civil engineering education with a comprehensive student-driven project experience from conception and design through fabrication, construction and testing. The result should be a steel structure that meets client specifications and optimizes performance and economy. The competition also increases awareness of real-world engineering issues like spatial constraints, material properties, strength, safety, esthetics and cost.

The Steel Bridge team is one of the 20 student-run groups in Missouri S&T’s Student Design and Experiential Learning Center (SDELC). The SDELC, housed in the Kummer Student Design Center, provides teams with computer design laboratories, a manufacturing shop, office space and logistical support. Design teams mirror small start-up companies that plan large-scale projects, organize into departments, raise funds, communicate their ideas and solve open-ended design challenges. Almost every team competes annually at an event against other collegiate teams from around the country and the world. For more information about the teams, visit design.mst.edu.

The following S&T students are a part of the team:

Lonnie Boutwell, a freshman in undergraduate studies from Warrensburg, Missouri

Shane Burkdoll, a senior in civil engineering from Stockton, Missouri

Claire Croley, a sophomore in architectural engineering from Springfield, Missouri

Krista Deffenbaugh, a senior in civil engineering from Lee’s Summit, Missouri

Ben Dyhouse, a junior in civil engineering from Olathe, Kansas

Nikkolas Edgmond, a graduate student in civil engineering from Labadie, Missouri

Scott Geisinger, a senior in civil engineering from Gladstone, Missouri

Brendan Judge, a senior in mechanical engineering from Eureka, Missouri

Jon Kuchem, a graduate student in civil engineering from Augusta, Missouri

Hollis Long, a junior in metallurgical engineering from Fulton, Missouri

Erin McKinney, a junior in mechanical engineering from Swansea, Illinois

Ana Messmer, a senior in civil engineering from Festus, Missouri

Brett Murray, a senior in civil engineering from Bolivar, Missouri

Lucas Ochs, a senior in mechanical engineering from Lee’s Summit, Missouri

Paige Oursler, a senior in mechanical engineering from Columbia, Missouri

Steven Puder, a senior in architectural engineering from Waterloo, Illinois

Jordan Pugh, a junior in civil engineering from Pacific, Missouri

Brendan Schmidt, a sophomore in civil engineering from St. Peter’s, Missouri

Alex Schull, a senior in civil engineering from Washington, Missouri.

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Posted by

On April 15, 2019. Posted in News

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