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- Bridges Crushed at Colorado State High School Bridge Building Competition
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Bridges Crushed at Colorado State High School Bridge Building Competition
Media Contact:
Peter Soeth, 303-445-3615, psoeth@do.usbr.gov
For Release: February 23, 2008
The bridges have been broken and the winners have emerged at the 41st Annual Colorado High School Bridge Building Competition. In all, 62 high school students from around the State of Colorado had their bridges tested in today's event held at the Bureau of Reclamation's laboratory in Lakewood.
In Region 1, Danny Nguyen, a student at the Denver School of Science and Technology, won when his 22.63 gram basswood bridge held 151.73 kilograms. That is more than 6704 times its own weight.
Other students who placed in Region 1 are: Second, Sam Kalish of Denver School of Science and Technology; Third, Rebecca Travers of Center Academy; Fourth, R.C. Willenbrock of Cherry Creek High School; and Fifth, Kyle Guerra of Lincoln High School.
In Region 2, Cameron Misegadis, a student at Coronado High School in Colorado Springs, won when his 21.54 gram bridge held 127.75 kilograms. That is more than 5930 times its own weight.
Other students who placed in Region 2 are: Second, Eric Poling of Cheyenne Mountain High School; Third, Robert McAllister of Cheyenne Mountain High School; Fourth, Tyler VanEeckhaut of Cheyenne Mountain; and Fifth, Alex Vaske of Coronado High School.
In the team competition from Region 1, Denver School of Science and Technology finished first when their three bridges held more than 16,116 times their own weight. Other teams from Region 1 are: Second, Lincoln High School; Third, Cherry Creek High School; Fourth, Ponderosa High School, and Fifth, Center Academy.
In the team competition from Region 2, Cheyenne Mountain High School of Colorado Springs finished first when their three bridges held more than 12,491 times their own weight. Other teams from Region 2 are: Second, Coronado High School; Third, Rangely High School; Fourth, Centauri High School; and Fifth, Rifle High School.
This year students designed a simplified version of a real-world bridge. The bridges were built with basswood and glue. The winning models were determined by the structural efficiency ratio, which is the maximum load divided by the weight of the bridge.
The state is divided into two regions, northern (Region 1) and southern (Region 2), with winners determined from each region. The first and second place winners from each region will be invited to compete in the international competition to be held on April 28, 2008, in Chicago, Ill.
The contest is jointly sponsored by the Professional Engineers of Colorado, the American Council of Engineering Companies of Colorado, and the Bureau of Reclamation.
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