Young Minds Converge on IIT Main Campus for 2015 Chicago Regional Bridge Building Contest
Bright young minds with an interest in STEM gathered on the IIT Main Campus on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 for the 2015 Chicago Regional Bridge Contest. The students, who represent several Chicago area high schools, set out to build the most efficient balsa wood bridges as part of their physics classes.
Each student is given a standard kit to build from and are only allowed to use conventional adhesives. During the competition, bridges are tested for efficiency by adding weight to each bridge until they reach their breaking point.
The Gacher Trophy was awarded to the students listed below, who built the most efficient bridge from each region. The most efficient bridge overall was build by Ryan Hastings from Lincoln-Way West High School. He will represent the Chicago Region at the 2015 International Bridge Building Contest to be held at the Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Oregon on April 25, 2015.
The competition is sponsored by Illinois Institute of Technology and hosted by Carlo Segre, Duchossois Leadership Professor; Professor of Physics; Deputy Director of Materials Research Collaborative Access Team (MRCAT); Director of the Center for Synchrotron Radiation Research and Instrumentation (CSRRI) and Deputy Director of BioCAT and John Kallend, Associate Dean of Accreditation for Armour College of Engineering and Professor of Materials Engineering.
Alumnus George Krupa (CE ‘72, M.S. SE ‘77) was in attendance to judge the competition. Another alumnus, Bob Johnson (CE ‘69, M.S. CE ‘71), a longtime supporter of the competition, was on hand to take photos. All images used in this article were shared by him.
2015 Gacher Trophy Winners
NameSchoolRegionBridge Mass (g)LoadEfficiencyBenjamin BenedictWhitney Young High SchoolChicago City18.27402189Tara WilsonFenwich High SchoolNorth Suburbs22.79472062Ryan HastingsLincoln-Way West High SchoolSouth Suburbs13.17372809For a complete listing of scores click here.
Top Scoring Students
Photo credit: Bob Johnson
