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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.
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