Student Steel Bridge Competition

The American Institute of Steel Construction Student Steel Bridge Competition is a student contest based on teams in the field of structural engineering where the students design a bridge. Some schools may work with a commercial fabricator. The students can coordinate with the fabricator. The bridges must follow the specifications worded out in the rule book.

History

The competition began as a miniature bridge design competition using balsa wood to see which competitor's bridge is the best. Robert E. Shaw Jr., Associate Director of Education for the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), initiated the steel bridge competition in the spring of 1987 and was honored by the AISC in 2000.

The first teams to compete were Lawrence Technological University (who hosted the competition), Wayne State University, and Michigan Technological University. In 1988, the competition grew to four regional conference competitions: North Central at the University of Detroit, Great Lakes at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Carolinas at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Ohio Valley at the University of Louisville. In 1992, Fromy Rosenberg, who was the Director of AISC College Relations, began the first National Student Steel Bridge Competition.

Past champions

The following are past champions.

Year	Host	Champion
1992	Michigan State University	Michigan State University
1993	Southern Polytechnic State University	University of Alaska Fairbanks
1994	San Diego State University	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
1995	University of Florida	North Dakota State University
1996	SUNY Buffalo	University of Alaska Fairbanks
1997	California State Polytechnic University, Pomona	University of Florida
1998	Colorado State University	University of Southwestern Louisiana
1999	University of Alaska Anchorage	University of Nevada, Reno
2000	Texas A&M University	California State University, Chico
2001	Clemson University	Clemson University
2002	University of Wisconsin, Madison	North Dakota State University
2003	San Diego State University	University of Michigan
2004	Colorado School of Mines	North Dakota State University
2005	University of Central Florida	University of California, Davis
2006	University of Utah	North Dakota State University
2007	California State University, Northridge	North Dakota State University
2008	University of Florida	University of California, Berkeley
2009	University of Nevada Las Vegas	SUNY Canton
2010	Purdue University	North Dakota State University
2011	Texas A&M University	Lakehead University
2012	Clemson University	University of California, Berkeley
2013	University of Washington	University of California, Berkeley
2014	University of Akron	University of California, Davis
2015	University of Missouri, Kansas City	University of Florida
2016	Brigham Young University	École de Technologie Supérieure
2017	Oregon State University	École de Technologie Supérieure
2018	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	Lafayette College
2019	Southern Illinois University Carbondale	Lafayette College
2020	Canceled due to COVID-19
2021	Canceled due to COVID-19	University of Florida
2022	Virginia Tech	University of Florida
2023	University of California, San Diego	University of Florida

Scoring

The different criterias in the competition that will be judged are:

1. The appearance of the bridge, identification of the school on the bridge, and the poster that explains the thought process. (Display is only used as a tiebreaker; however, the lack of information either on the poster or on the bridge itself will result in an added weight penalty to the bridge).
2. A formula is devised to calculate a dollar amount based on the number of builders, the time of the assembly, and the use of temporary piers. The team with the lowest dollar amount wins this category.
3. The team that constructs the bridge with the quickest time (including time penalties).
4. The team that constructs the bridge the lightest (including weight penalties).
5. The team with the lowest aggregate deflection.

The overall winner has the lowest sum from the construction economy and structural efficiency categories.

Regional advancement

Getting to the National Competition—teams compete at regional conferences around the United States. The top teams from each region are invited to compete at the National Competition each year.

• In a region of 1–4 teams, the top competitor advances to nationals.
• In a region of 5–10 teams, the top two competitors advance to nationals.
• In a region with 11 or more teams, the top three competitors advance to nationals.

See also

• List of engineering awards

External links

AISC Student Steel Bridge Competition