May 27, 2011 - Geneva College
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May 27, 2011

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Geneva College civil engineering students placed 26th overall at the National Student Steel Bridge Competition (NSSBC) held at Texas A & M University on May 20-21, 2011. Of the original five team members, four students - Matt Curry, Leyenda Sleight, Brandon Sopko and Grant Werner - made their way to Texas to build a bridge in 16 minutes, 11 seconds. Build times for the other 47 teams ranged from 4.74 minutes to 51.33 minutes including time penalties.

"Once again this team performed wonderfully," proclaimed engineering professor and team advisor Robe Liljestrand. "They made minor modifications, practiced several more times and managed to cut their overall performance (lowest score wins) from $6,389,230 at the regional competition to $5,526,295 at the national competition. I could not be more pleased and proud of these students. We very much appreciate the support the team has received from the college and from special donors who cheerfully made it possible for us to attend nationals."

The sponsors of the NSSBC include American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), Union Pacific, Hirschfeld Industries, the National Steel Bridge Alliance, the Steel Structures Education Foundation and the American Iron and Steel Institute. A record 48 schools attended this year′s national event. They represented the best of 201 bridges built this year in the 18 regional student conferences of ASCE from across the US, Canada and Mexico.

The national champion for 2011 was Lakehead University. Michigan Technological University took second place and SUNY College of Technology at Canton, third. All the detailed results of this year′s competition can be found here.

Geneva College is a comprehensive Christian college of the arts, sciences and professional studies. Founded in the tradition of the Reformed Christian faith, Geneva prepares students to serve Christ in all areas of society: work, family and the church. Geneva College′s philosophy of education is based on the Foundational Concepts of Christian Higher Education. Geneva is a founding member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU).

May 27, 2011