2014 WKU Steel Bridge team finishes 34th overall in nation

WKU civil engineering students competed in the 2014 National Student Steel Bridge Competition May 23-24 at the University of Akron.

Caption: WKU Steel Bridge team members (from left) Sean Danehy, Carson Joyce, Matt Groves, John Jacoby, Jacob Martin, Chris Sivley, Dalton Hankins and Dr. Shane Palmquist (advisor). The students who constructed the bridge during the 2014 national competition are wearing WKU hardhats.

Approximately 3,000 civil engineering students from across the nation built 215 steel bridges and competed in regional competitions in hopes of qualifying for the national event. The WKU Steel Bridge team earned a spot in national competition by finishing third in behind Youngstown State University and the University of Akron in April’s regional competition.

At the National Steel Bridge Competition, WKU finished 34^th overall, up from the team’s 37^th-place finish in 2013, and finished ahead of Akron, which placed 40^th.

WKU’s steel bridge finished 19^th for construction economy, which is a measure of the speed of construction and the number of builders used to construct the bridge, and finished 20^th and 21^st in the nation for construction speed and lightness, respectively.

“The students worked hard and put a valiant effort in during the weeks leading up to the regional and national competitions, and this made all the difference,” said Dr. Shane Palmquist, Steel Bridge team advisor.

Steel Bridge team members include: co-captains Jacob Martin of Shelbyville and John Jacoby of Paris; Carson Joyce and Chris Sivley, both of Hopkinsville; Nicholas Miller of Bowling Green; Sean Danehy of Libertyville, Ill.; Matt Groves and Dalton Hankins, both of Greenville; and Noufissa Chbihi of North Haven, Conn.

The 2015 National Steel Bridge Competition will be held at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Contact: Engineering Department, (270) 745-2461.