Lakehead University Civil Engineering Students Win in International Competitions

This past weekend, 18 Lakehead University Civil Engineering students, including the five-member Steel Bridge Team, traveled to Minnesota State University, Mankato, to participate in the Annual ASCE Mid-West Regional Conference and 20th Annual AISC/ASCE Student Steel Bridge Competition. And they left a mark on the conference by taking first place in a paper competition and second place in the bridge-building competition.

Janice Mills, a third-year civil engineering student, took home first place in the Student Paper Competition for her paper on "Eminent Domain and the Engineer's Ethical Responsibilities." "Eminent domain" is known as expropriation of property in Canada. Students were required to prepare a 2000-word formal technical paper and present the paper at the conference. Judging was based on an assessment of the written paper and on the quality of the presentation.

Mills beat out nine other participating universities in this competition. Her argument used as a case study the experience of the neighbourhood of Poletown in Detroit where, in 1981, city officials expropriated 1,300 homes, 140 businesses, 6 churches, and a hospital in order for General Motors to build a new factory. The development never came to fruition, and in 2004 the US Supreme Court voted unanimously to overturn the eminent domain ruling.

Steel Bridge Team Places Second At 20th Annual AISC/ASCE Student Steel Bridge Competition, Mid-West Region

The Lakehead University Steel Bridge Team placed second overall in the annual competition. The students on the only Canadian team in the competition are: Will Bamsey, Troy Hengen, Amanda Krueger, James Lee, and Tom Lovric, with faculty advisors Dr Timo Tikka and Dr Tony Gillies.

The goal of the bridge competition is to design and fabricate a 1/10 scale model for the replacement of a century-old bridge that spans a river and adjacent floodway. The models, approximately 21-feet long, are erected under simulated field conditions and then load tested. The specification for the bridge changes from year to year, constantly challenging the engineering skills of Civil Engineering students from universities all over the United States and Canada. The rules mirror what it would be like to build a full-sized version of the bridge, taking into account the materials cost (weight), labour cost (construction time), traffic load (simulated test load), and performance (measured deflection under load). Not only does the event test the students' structural design capabilities, it also challenges them to fabricate and construct their design.

The bridge is designed and the components fabricated at the University by the students prior to the competition. At the competition, the spectators watch as the teams assemble their bridges as quickly as possible. After construction, each assembled bridge is weighed to determine the lightest bridge in the competition. To test strength and stiffness each bridge is then loaded using 25lb lengths of steel angle to simulate a loaded truck crossing the bridge with a total of 2500 lbs of weight. The placement of the loading was determined by the roll of a dice. The team had to design their bridge by examining thirty-six possible load cases.

"Our team faced strong competition from eight other teams from universities in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin," says Dr. Gillies. "This is an excellent standing, and an earned reward for the many hours that the students have devoted to their project. I'm very proud of our students' efforts."

The 2nd place ranking qualifies Lakehead for the U.S. National Steel Bridge Competition for the9th consecutive year. There will be about 45 teams at the National Competition which will be held at California State University, Northridge in Los Angeles on May 25-26. Lakehead teams have an excellent record at the national level, placing 2nd in 2002 and 5th in 2003 and 2006. They are looking forward to the upcoming National Competition.

The Lakehead students attending the conference were also recognized with the "Person-Mileage" trophy, which is awarded to the university with the greatest total of the registered students times distance traveled to the competition.

The students appreciate the support from local companies to assist in meeting the costs to participate in the competition. The team would welcome additional sponsors for their upcoming competition in Los Angeles in May. Anyone interested can contact the team's faculty advisors Tony Gillies at 343-8755 or Timo Tikka at 343-8560.

Members of the media: Interviews are available with Dr. Gillies or Dr. Tikka at the above numbers. Interviews may also be set up with the students by contacting Dr. Gillies or Dr. Tikka. Photos are available.