Akron, Ohio– Alan Brubaker, P.E., P.S., Summit County Engineer, hosted the 13th Annual Miniature Bridge Building Competition on January 25, 2013 in the Student Union at the University of Akron. Thirty-four teams from area high schools built miniature bridges of their own designs, made out of balsa wood and according to strict guidelines. Portage Lakes Career Center Team 1 came in first place. Springfield High School Team 2 claimed the second spot. Portage Lakes Career Center Team 2 won the Aesthetics Award.
The competition is designed to encourage high school students to implement scientific and mathematical principles they have learned in the classroom. Along with Engineer Alan Brubaker, sixteen engineering consulting firms co-sponsor the annual event and offer scholarship opportunities for competition participants who choose a career in civil engineering. Arcadis, Burgess & Niple, CT Consultants, Euthenics, Hammontree & Associates, Jones-Stuckey Ltd, KCI, M-E Companies, ms consultants, Osborn Engineers, Richland Engineering, E.L. Robinson, URS, Michael Baker, Jr.,Inc., ljb inc., and Hatch Mott McDonald were the participating consulting firms this year. Representatives from all sixteen firms were on board with displays, handouts and words of encouragement to help bridge the gap from applied bridge design to a real life professional career in the field. Jim Tressel, Vice President for Strategic Planning for the University of Akron, stopped by to encourage students to pursue education and careers in engineering.
After about three hours of construction, the bridges were brought up on stage to be load tested until their ultimate demise. Bridge after bridge broke under the increased weight hanging from the center of the bridges. The winning team members from Portage Lakes Career Center are Chad Robertson, Howard Eubank, and Jared Williams. They were rewarded with a trophy and cash prizes for their impressive efforts. Second place winners from Springfield High School are Ty Bailey, Brad Cain, and James Williams. Evan Schoonover, Jake Logan and Garrett Masters, also from the Portage Lakes Career Center, won the Aesthetics Award.
Photos of the event are available upon request.
Participating high schools:
Akron Early College
Barberton
Coventry
Cuyahoga Falls
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
Firestone
Four Cities Educational Compact
Garfield
Green
Manchester
Mogadore
Norton
Portage Lakes Career Center
Springfield
Six District Engineering Academy
St. Vincent St. Mary
Western Reserve Academy
