Iowa
State University Alumni Association| online edition | winter 2004
WINTER 2004
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Story:
>>Bridges: Designing, Building, Preserving
- Preserving the Romance
- The Legacy of Conde B. McCullough
- Bridging the Iowa River Greenbelt
- The Artistry of the Bow Bridge
- Building Better Bridges
- Walk This Way
- Stiff Competition
- Bridge Mix
- Frosty Brrridge Research
- Safe Passages
Feature:
Celebrating 125 Years
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STIFF COMPETITION
Quick! Build a 150-lb., 20-inch-high, 25-foot-long bridge
that can hold a 2,500-pound load. Ready? Build!
That’s what the ISU student Steel Bridge Team does each year at
regional competition.
“You have to build a bridge that can be put together, torn apart,
and withstand a load,” said Julie Maher, a senior civil engineering
major from Imogene, Iowa, who, along with Chris Bauer, a junior civil
engineering major from Washington, Iowa, is co-chair of this year’s
team. The 70-member student team, part of the American Society of Civil
Engineers ISU Student Chapter, is judged on the time it takes to construct
the bridge during competition, the aesthetics of the bridge, the structure’s
load-bearing capacity, and the amount of deflection (sagging) it has under
a load.
The ISU team has been successful in regional and national competition,
but if team members are tempted to build the same winning bridge year
after year, the judges nix that idea right away.
“They have a new 30-page rule book every year,” Maher said.
Read
on | Bridge Mix