May 7, 2013 - Geneva College
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May 7, 2013

Picture of May 7, 2013

steel_bridge_team.jpgThe Geneva College Steel Bridge Team recently performed at high levels in the 2013 American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Student Regional Steel Bridge Competition at Cleveland State University in Ohio. The team′s mission was "to design, fabricate, and build a scale model steel bridge which satisfies the given ASCE/AISC criteria for the 2013 competition."

Overall, the Geneva team placed fourth out of 14 teams in the competition. Geneva is in the Ohio Valley Region, and the team competed against such schools as Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, Ohio State University, the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville.

The team placed second in speed of construction with a time of 13 minutes, 58 seconds, and placed third in construction economy. The team also took second in display and third in stiffness, with an aggregate deflection of 0.439 inches. The actual weight of the bridge was 221pounds.

The seven team members included senior engineering majors Andrew Fischer, Brett Hutira, Vince Larson, Dustyn Steckman, Joshua Tanis and Scott Tousignant. Junior engineering major Zach Wisniewski was also a member and wrote the team′s technical paper.

"I enjoyed being a part of the team because it helped me to bring together all the skills and tools I′ve learned at Geneva and use them on one project that I got to see come to life," said Hutira. "I feel like I have learned things from this project that cannot be learned in the classroom. The project has helped me prepare for the real world."

Faculty advisor and engineering professor Robe Liljestrand supervised the team, which completely designed and fabricated the bridge along with help from some fellow students.

For more information about the team and its experience, click here.

Geneva College invites students to accept the challenge of an academically excellent, Christ-centered education. Offering nearly 40 undergraduate majors, an Adult Degree Completion Program with fully online and campus-based options, and seven graduate degrees, Geneva has programs that place students at the forefront of higher learning. Adhering to the inerrancy of scripture, the liberal arts core curriculum fosters a breadth of knowledge through the study of humanities, social and natural sciences, and experiential learning.

May 7, 2013