February 23, 2009

Aspiring engineering students to make, break bridges

The competition, administered by the Purdue chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union South Ballroom.  The event is free and open to the public.

Bridge designer Jeremy Hunter will address the teams at 10 a.m. Competing high schools include:

* Benton Central in Oxford,

* Andrean in Valparaiso,

* Centerville

* Cloverdale

* Kokomo Area Career Center in Logansport

* Noblesville

* Plymouth

* Rochester

* South Vermillion in Clinton

* West Central in Francesville

Teams will assemble the bridges from 20 sticks of balsa wood and a bottle of glue. Most bridges are approximately 2 feet long and 8 inches high. They will be judged on loading efficiency, aesthetic qualities and structural concepts.

Loading efficiency will be determined by pouring sand into buckets that will be hanging from the bridges. The bridge that can hold the most weight wins that category.

Event chairperson David Papineau, a Purdue senior from Indianapolis who is majoring in civil engineering, said the event is an ideal way to get high school students interested in science and engineering.

"I participated in a similar competition in my high school physics class and had a lot of fun with it," Papineau said. "It was one of the key events that led me to engineering and Purdue."

Plaques will be awarded to the winners in each category.

Writer: Marydell Forbes, (765) 496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu

Source: David Papineau, dpapineau@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: The media are invited to take photos and video footage of the competition. Bridge breaking will take place from 10:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.

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