S&T Steel Bridge Design team wins fifth consecutive regional competition

The Missouri S&T Steel Bridge Design Team won first place at the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Mid-America Student Symposium for the fifth consecutive time. The competition was held at Kansas State University April 13-15.

The Steel Bridge Design Team designs and builds a one-tenth scale model bridge according to a real-world problem set by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). This year teams had to design a bridge that could handle everything from pedestrians to service vehicles in the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge. Teams are judged in categories including construction speed, efficiency and the weight of the bridge.

“It was almost a full sweep,” says Krysta Swartz, a senior in civil engineering and project manager for the team. “We placed first in aesthetics, stiffness, cost estimation, construction speed, construction economy, and structural efficiency, and placed second in lightness.”

The team, advised by Dr. Nicolas Libre associate teaching professor of civil, architectural, and environmental engineering at S&T, hopes to put their bridge engineering and construction skills to the test at the national competition June 2-3 at the University of California-San Diego. And they’ll be both defending champions and hosts next year, when the regional 2024 Mid-America Student Symposium takes place at Missouri S&T.

The team wishes to recognize the continuing support of Dr. Roger LaBoube, the founding advisor of the steel bridge team. LaBoube is a Curators’ Teaching Professor emeritus of civil, architectural, and environmental engineering and director of the Center for Cold-Formed Steel Structures. The team also wishes to thank the CArEE department, the Kummer Student Design Center, official team sponsor Lexicon, and its donors. They are accepting sponsors and judges for the 2024 competition in Rolla, Mo. If you are interested, please contact Kyle Bryan (kabng6@mst.edu).

With a driving passion for designing bridges, team leader Krysta Swartz’s background and experiences will take her far in the field of structural engineering. She also won the Daniel Mead essay contest for the Mid American Region.

Website: steelbridge.mst.edu