ASCE-UTSA Steel Bridge Team Advances to Final Competition
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the ASCE-UTSA Steel Bridge Team. This year the competition brought together eleven universities from Texas and Mexico to test their structural engineering capabilities. In this annual event, engineering students from more than 100 colleges and universities design, build, and test 1:10 scale bridges in a competition that emphasizes the importance of construction economy and bridge strength. This year an eleven member team from the University of Texas at San Antonio has advanced to the National finals to be held in Las Vegas, NV. The team won its national bid by taking second place in the Texas/Mexico Regional Competition in January.
In that contest, held at College Station, the team placed in five out of six categories including two first place trophies in aesthetics and economy. Brad Banks, manager for the steel bridge team, says the team is ecstatic over the win and is looking forward to Las Vegas. “The team has worked very hard for this. We’ve been working on the bridge since August. I’m hoping for a top 10 finish in Las Vegas, but no matter what, I’m excited that UTSA will be competing amongst the top engineering schools in the nation.”
Judges will evaluate the team on the construction speed of the bridge, weight, deflection, and overall presentation of the bridge. Team member Trang Nguyen says the contest is an opportunity for students to test their knowledge of structures and materials as well as construction planning and management. “It is a good experience no matter what field of engineering you will be going into because it teaches you about working as a team to find solutions in engineering.”
The team members are undergraduate engineering students, between the ages of 17 and 26. Their professional interests range from transportation to structural engineering. But engineering isn’t the only reason these students participate. They also have fun doing it.