May 19, 2023
University of Missouri College of Engineering students recently won awards at the 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers Mid-America Student Conference.
The steel bridge and concrete canoe teams competed against colleges from the Mid-America region. The steel bridge team placed second in construction speed, second in economy, third in overall lightness and tied for third in aesthetics. The concrete canoe team placed sixth out of 12 teams.
“I’m proud of how well everyone on the team performed,” said Emily Kramer, the steel bridge team president. “Not only during the competition but also in the months leading up to it. Our goal this year was to avoid disqualification after the build portion was over and to come home with awards. We exceeded these goals by placing in four categories.”
Before the timed competition, teams are judged on aesthetics and have an opportunity to view other teams’ bridges. Teams also must ensure bridge pieces fit within a box of specified dimensions. Then, each team takes turns building their bridge as quickly as possible. Finally, teams are judged on horizontal and vertical deflection, or how much the bridge moves when weight up to 2,500 pounds is loaded onto it.
The concrete canoe competition consists of a project proposal, technical presentation, final project prototype and races.
“There hasn’t actually been a race at competition in 5 years due to weather,” said Velissia Perez, president of the concrete canoe team. “Nobody at the competition had ever raced a concrete canoe, so it was really cool to finally be able to row.”
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