NJIT Engineering Students Capture 2nd Place in Steel Bridge Competition

NEWARK, April 20- A 10-member student engineering team from NJIT recently captured second place in the Northeast Regional 2001 Steel Bridge Competition. The NJIT team received special recognition for the structural efficiency and aesthetics of their entry. As a second place winner, the team competes in the upcoming 2001 National Steel Bridge Competition at Clemson University this May. Columbia University was the overall first-place winner. Five teams competed.

"I've attended many of these competitions. It's exciting since the designs by the student teams are distinctive and creative," says John Schuring, Ph.D., chairperson, the department of civil and environmental engineering.

The NJIT team entry featured a low profile, segmented, wide-flange beam section that the students custom-fabricated in NJIT civil and environmental engineering department laboratories.
The judges used three criteria for evaluation. Bridges must carry a total test load of 2,500 lbs. while at the same time exhibit minimal vertical deflection. Students must minimize structural weight without sacrificing safety and efficiency. Judges evaluate economy of construction based on how much time students need to assemble the bridge.

NJIT structural team members include Nicholas Alcuri, Carlstadt; William Chandler, Brick; Mark Domingues, Kearny; Luke Dubas, Wayne; Stephanie Ann Dubyna, Clifton; Tanya Feliz, Passaic; Robert Laner, Fairfield; Frank Perrone, Fair Lawn; Chrissa Roessner, Hazlet; Rod Whitehead, Asbury. The team advisor is Frank Johansson, CEE Laboratory Supervisor; Schuring is the ASCE faculty advisor.

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) sponsors the annual competition. The activity fosters educational excellence among the civil engineering programs at universities around the nation. Each team designs and builds a reduced scale bridge with a clear span of approximately four meters. AISC furnishes a general set of material specifications and geometric requirements. Students have wide latitude in meeting the specifications.

For more information about the steel bridge competition or the winner team, contact the NJIT public relations department.

NJIT is a public research university enrolling over 8,200 bachelor's, master's and doctoral students in 80 degree programs through its five colleges: Newark College of Engineering, New Jersey School of Architecture, College of Science and Liberal Arts, the School of Management and the Albert Dorman Honors College. Research initiatives include manufacturing, microelectronics, multimedia, transportation, computer science, solar astrophysics, environmental engineering and science, and architecture and building science. According to Yahoo! Internet Life magazine rankings, NJIT has been America's most wired public university for three consecutive years.