The annual National Student Steel Bridge Competition challenges engineering students to design, fabricate, and construct a functional and efficient 1:10 scale bridge. Last year, around 200 teams participated from around the country, with 41 of those teams qualifying for the NSSBC. Bridges are scored in structural efficiency and construction economy. Structural efficiency considers the deflection of the bridge under a predetermined load compared to the weight of the bridge. Construction economy is scored based on the time to construct the bridge and the number of builders used. These two scores are put together to determine overall rankings.
This year the challenge revolves around constructing a bridge for a frisbee golf course. The bridge should be designed to avoid interference with frisbee paths and act as a pedestrian path over a river. This competition will challenge the team to adapt and apply our engineering knowledge in order to produce new and innovative ideas. We are looking to improve on our results of last year and increase our membership.
Your donation will go towards helping us meet our yearly operating budget goal. We break down the budget into three major components: steel, subsidized competition travel costs, and new equipment. This year in particular we are hoping to receive enough funding to finish paying off our steel, replace our hard hats, and buy new impact drivers, drills, and grinders. In addition, we would like to purchase the materials needed to build new testing equipment that will allow us to evaluate our bridge’s performance. Your support is crucial to our success. A donation is an investment in the future engineers of America. Thank you for considering a gift to the University of Wisconsin Steel Bridge Student Organization.