A steel bridge-building competition will highlight the 2017 American Society of Civil Engineering Midwest Regional Student Conference scheduled March 30-April 1 at North Dakota State University.
More than 200 engineering students, faculty members and professionals from a five-state area and Canada will travel to Fargo for the conference. The event, hosted by NDSU’s chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the NDSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, also will feature guest speakers from the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, City of Fargo, Houston Engineering Inc., Sandman Structural Engineers and KLJ.
Bridge building will be the main conference event, with the top two teams advancing to the national competition at Oregon State University, May 26-27. The competition first began in 1992 at Michigan State University and grew quickly in popularity and participation. NDSU won the national competition in 1995, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010.
The steel bridge construction and judging is set for Saturday, April 1, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. The event is free and open to the public.
Teams from each participating school will build a 20-foot steel bridge, spanning a 7-foot river, as quickly and efficiently as possible. The bridge must support 2,500 pounds without deflecting more than three inches. Teams will be judged on construction technique, construction time, lightness, aesthetics, stiffness, economy and structural efficiency.
The Student Steel Bridge Competition provides design and management experience, opportunity to learn fabrication processes, and the excitement of networking with and competing against teams from other colleges and universities.
As a student-focused, land-grant, research university, we serve our citizens.
March 29, 2017