2000 Steel Bridge Austin .

LAMAR CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDENTS WIN STATE COMPETITION AND DEFEAT TEAMS FROM UT AND A&M IN STEEL BRIDGE COMPETITION

11/9/99

Students in Lamar University's civil engineering program proved the best in the state, competing with 10 teams in the 2000 Texas/Mexico Region Steel Bridge Competition held Nov. 6 in Austin. Lamar students, members of the LU chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), not only took first in the competition, but also captured two individual awards, a first place for stiffness and another first place for efficiency. Criteria included lightness, construction speed, stiffness, efficiency, economy, aesthetics and overall performance. The bridge with the lowest score wins the competition. The aesthetics score is used as a tiebreaker if necessary. The win gains Lamar the right to compete for scholarships with other first and second place winners from the top 40 colleges in the nation at the national competition in May 2000. The chapter is also awarded a plaque and a traveling trophy resides on Lamar University's campus until next year's competition. "Our students have access to high_quality facilities. We have two civil engineering labs and the equipment they need to test designs. That isn't the case at other universities," said Hani Tohme, instructor of engineering with Lamar's Department of Civil Engineering. The intercollegiate competition requires students to design, fabricate and construct a scaled_down model of an actual bridge. Lamar University competed with nine other teams: TexasA&M University, Texas A&M Kingsville, Texas Tech University, University of Texas Arlington, University of Texas Austin, University of Texas San Antonio, University of Houston, Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and Universidad La Salle. "We had a feeling we would do well, but none that we would win. This is the first steel bridge competition Lamar has entered since 1992. We put alot of effort into it. New parameters were established for this year which means everybody started on a level playing field," Patrick Donart, a junior civil engineering student from Charleston, S.C., said. Lamar named its winning design the William E. Morgan Bridge in memory of the Lamar University professor of civil engineering who passed away this fall. Among other parameters, competitors had to creatively address the restriction of a 14-foot no-step zone, meant to proportionally simulate a waterway. Lamar students devised a human hoist system to erect the bridge, rather than opting to construct a temporary pier at a cost of $50,000. Bridge materials, construction techniques and personnel costs -- $1,000 per person for each minute of work -- are assigned equatable real-world price tags and are figured into the scoring. Erection of the bridge is also timed, which was a deciding factor in Lamar's victory -- they completed the bridge in 23 minutes. In addition to Donart, nine other Lamar civil engineering students participated on the construction team: Brian Alcott, senior, Buna; David Barthelemy, senior, Nederland; Steven Beadle, junior, Beaumont; Chevin Hutchison, senior, Sweeny; Paul Jungen, senior, Bridge City; John Peterson, junior, Denbury; Ben Sherrod, senior, Vidor; Jason Waldrep, junior, Orangefield; and Travis Williams, junior, Bridge City. Project participants include Tiffany Allison, freshman, Orangefield; Chris Braneon, freshman, Beaumont; Brett DeBord, senior, Alvin; Mike Graham, senior, Vidor; Christina Jackson, senior, Silsbee; Brian Kramer, senior, Victoria; Kelton Lemons, senior, Dallas; Aaron McGee, freshman, Orange; Kent Stahl, Port Neches, Lamar Institute of Technology student; Amy Toltzien, senior, Niceville, Fla.; Amber Welty, senior, Nederland; and several members of the Lamar chapter of the America Gulfco Steel donated the materials for the bridge. Several underwriters enabled Lamar's participation in the contest: Arceneaux & Gates, Beaumont Engineers, Carroll & Blackman, Fitz and Shipman Inc., Dr. and Mrs. E. Koehn, Schaumburg & Polk, Seabreeze Culvert, Bob Shaw, and Sigma Engineers Inc. The annual event is sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction and co-sponsored by ASCE, the American Iron and Steel Institute, the James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation, the National Steel Bridge Alliance, Nucor Corporation and Chaparral Steel.