UC BERKELEY STUDENTS TRIUMPH IN NATIONAL STEEL BRIDGE COMPETITION
Engineering students from the University of California at Berkeley were awarded first place in this year’s National Student Steel Bridge Competition, the final round of which was held at the University of Florida in May.
The competition is supported by local and national sponsors, including ASCE and the American Institute of Steel Construction, and is designed “to supplement the education of civil engineering students with a comprehensive, student-driven project experience from conception and design through fabrication, erection, and testing, culminating in a steel structure that meets client specifications and optimizes performance and economy,” according to the contest rules.
The teams received a problem statement informing them that their state department of transportation (DOT) wanted them to construct a scale model of a new bridge as part of a proposal that would replace a century-old bridge. “Your company’s design/build proposal is among those that the DOT has deemed responsive, and winning the contract would be a step toward becoming a leader in the bridge replacement market,” the problem statement reads.
Engineering students from around the country designed and fabricated 1:10 scale models of steel bridges on their campuses. The entries were judged on the basis of structural efficiency and construction economy, with attention also given to weight, stiffness, appearance, and construction speed. Structural engineers, contractors, and experts from the steel fabrication industry judged the competition and named the Berkeley engineering team the winner, marking the university’s first win in the 17-year competition.
The Berkeley team won second place in the categories of construction economy and construction speed and first place in the areas of efficiency and lightness. The teams from the University of Florida and the University of California at Davis finished second and third overall. Plaques were awarded to the winning teams at a banquet held on May 24.
To qualify for the national competition, teams must place first, second, or third—depending upon the number of competitors—in regional competitions, which are held in conjunction with ASCE student conferences. For more information about this year’s competition, visit www.2008steelbridge.com/competition_info.html. Information about next year’s competition may be obtained by visiting the American Institute of Steel Construction’s Web site (www.aisc.org) and clicking on “Competitions & Awards.”
Reno Engineering Students Paddle Concrete Canoe to Victory
The University of Nevada at Reno is savoring its first victory in ASCE’s National Concrete Canoe Competition, the final round of which was held in Montreal June 19–21. Composed of engineering students, the Reno team won through their design and presentation of the canoe as well as through their racing prowess. Christened Argentum, the white, blue, and silver canoe was constructed of lightweight concrete. It was 19.5 ft (5.9 m) long and weighed 160 lb (72.5 kg).
The members of the Reno team prevailed in a trying three-day racing competition after spending a year designing and fabricating their canoe. The Wolf Pack defeated teams from top engineering schools from around the country and ended the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s five-year winning streak.
“Over the past three days, these intrepid civil engineering students have shown that technical skills combined with an innate sense of creativity can turn a seemingly impossible task into a reality,” said ASCE’s president, David G. Mongan, P.E., F.ASCE. “With the innovative thinking we’ve seen in Montreal, I can’t wait to see what’s to come from these students in the future as they begin their professional careers.”
The team’s closest competitors were the University of California at Berkeley and the host school, the École de Technologie Supérieure. The Berkeley team paddled into second place with VoCal, a gray, black, and red canoe that weighed 229 lb (104 kg) and was 19.9 ft (6 m) long, and the École de Technologie Supérieure finished a close third with Toutatis, a gray, green, and black canoe 20 ft (6.1 m) long and weighing 170 lb (77 kg). The top three teams received respectively $5,000, $2,500, and $1,500 in scholarship funds.
The endurance and sprint races counted for only 25 percent of the overall scores. The remaining 75 percent was based on several factors, including a paper outlining the technical design and describing the planning, development, testing, and construction of the vessel. Team members also made a formal oral presentation, detailing their canoe’s design, construction, racing ability, and other innovative features. The teams then had to defend their choices to the judges during a question-and-answer session. The racing canoe and project display were judged on the basis of aesthetics and presentation.
Funds for the competition were donated by the American Concrete Institute; Baker Concrete Construction, of Monroe, Ohio; BASF, of Ludwigshafen, Germany; Bentley Systems, Inc., of Exton, Pennsylvania; ASCE’s Construction Institute; Holcim (U.S.), Inc., of Waltham, Massachusetts; ICS Penetron, of Long Island, New York; Kiewit, of Omaha, Nebraska; and U.S. Silica Company, of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.
AAWRE Honors New Diplomates and Offers Sessions at EWRI Congress
Nearly 300 environmental and water resources engineering professionals convened on May 13 to honor approximately 50 individuals who had met the requirements for certification as water resources engineers set by the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE). The ceremony and reception formed part of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute’s 2008 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, which was held in Honolulu. Those who seek diplomate status as water resources engineers include water engineering experts from academia, public service, and private practice. The status requires a master of science or a doctorate.
ASCE’s president, David G. Mongan, P.E., F.ASCE, participated in the ceremony, which was held to honor all who had met the requirements for certification since the fall of 2007. Mongan emphasized the importance of postlicensure specialty certification for civil engineers. The AAWRE conferred a special award on Major General Steven Abt, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE, of Colorado State University, in recognition of his engineering work in Iraq. It also recognized its most recent honorary diplomates: Asit K. Biswas, Ph.D., Hon.D.WRE, from the Third World Centre for Water Management, based in Mexico; Rafael L. Bras, Sc.D., P.E., Hon.D.WRE, F.ASCE, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Paul Boulos, Ph.D., Hon.D.WRE, M.ASCE, from MWH Soft, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado.
The AAWRE also organized sessions as part of the congress. Three two-hour sessions provided AAWRE diplomates and other attendees a convenient opportunity to fulfill annual professional development hour (PDH) renewal requirements. The sessions were organized as interactive short courses, which encouraged group discussions. They were presented by Steve K. Starrett, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, M.ASCE, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Kansas State University, and were facilitated by Alicia Karwoski, P.E., M.ASCE, a manager in ASCE’s professional activities department. All participants earned two PDHs for attending one full session. Because ethics figures prominently in the AAWRE’s specialty certification program, the organization plans to offer engineering ethics sessions in the future.
The opportunity to become a diplomate in water resources engineering is ASCE’s first voluntary, postlicensure specialty certification program. The AAWRE diplomate program began in October 2004, and since then more than 400 professional engineers have met its requirements. The AAWRE is a subsidiary of ASCE and was founded by practicing water resources professionals who were members of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute to improve the practice and elevate the standards of water resources engineering and to raise the stature of the field. For more information about the AAWRE, visit www.aawre.org.
ASCE Volunteers Help Celebrate Brooklyn Bridge Anniversary
Volunteers from ASCE’s Metropolitan Section manned information booths along the Brooklyn Bridge as part of a five-day celebration of the historic structure’s 125th anniversary. The office of Brooklyn’s president and the New York City mayor’s office invited ASCE to provide information about the structure to the many visitors who were expected for the celebration.
Designed by John A. Roebling, the Brooklyn Bridge is considered to be among the most innovative and daring engineering feats ever undertaken. Completed on May 24, 1883, it set the pattern for all suspension bridges subsequently built. At its grand opening, President Chester A. Arthur referred to it as the eighth wonder of the world.
“The Brooklyn Bridge really has been the stuff of dreams, a New York City icon, and an enduring symbol of America’s greatness,” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg during a speech at the celebration. Brochures and laptops in the ASCE information booths displayed facts about the bridge’s construction and engineering. Those visiting the bridge included descendents of the Roebling family and civil engineers from Europe and Asia.
Raymond Paul Giroux, A.M.ASCE, the chair of the committee set up by ASCE’s Metropolitan Section to oversee the anniversary, spoke at a meeting of the Brooklyn Historical Society as well as at a gathering convened at Brooklyn’s Surrogate’s Court. He discussed the roles of John Roebling and of his son Washington, who at the age of 32 oversaw the construction of the bridge after his father’s untimely death. Giroux also paid tribute to Emily, Washington’s wife, who assumed much responsibility for completing the bridge after her husband had been incapacitated with caisson disease, now known as decompression sickness or the bends. “Nearly fifty years before women gained the right to vote in America, she had the courage to become her husband’s presence in the field and communicate his vision,” Giroux stated.
The celebration ran from May 22 to May 26 and included lectures, films, musical performances, art exhibitions, tours of the bridge, and fireworks. The bridge is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has been formally recognized in ASCE’s Historic Civil Engineering Landmark Program.