Lakehead University wins award

Thunder Bay, June 1, 2001

Lakehead University Civil Engineers placed 16th overall in the prestigious national championship of the American Institute of Steel Construction/American Society for Civil Engineering Student Steel Bridge Competition, held at Clemson University in late May. Over the two days of the competition, Lakehead competed against 42 of the top universities from across the U.S. The top three place teams in the competition were Clemson University, University of Florida and University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Dr. Tony Gillies, Faculty Advisor of the team is very pleased with the result. He saw a “keen competition and great spirit displayed amongst the competitors” at Clemson University. “To get to the final national competition that started out with 187 teams was quite an accomplishment.”

Six Canadian teams competed in the regional competitions, but Lakehead was the sole Canadian qualifier at the national level.

Lakehead was invited to the national championship following a first place win, the third time in as many years, at the Mid-West Regional competition in February.

The competition challenges Civil Engineering students to design, fabricate and construct a steel bridge based on a problem statement. Criteria for excellence are represented by the award categories of stiffness, lightness, construction speed, aesthetics, efficiency and economy. Standards for strength, durability, constructability, usability, functionality and safety reflect the volumes of regulations that govern the design and construction of full-scale bridges.

TEAM MEMBERS: Shaun Gill, Victor Hong, Alex Ramos-Espinoza, Kris Lima, Douglas Lee, Tim Stubgen, Michael Schnase

FACULTY ADVISORS: Dr. Claude Johnson, Dr. Tony Gillies