A team of three students from the United States Military Academy won the National Championship Award in the 2008 Engineering Design (Big Beam) Competition
A team of three students from the United States Military Academy won the National Championship Award in the 2008 Engineering Design (Big Beam) Competition sponsored by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI). Also among national winners were teams representing Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and the University of South Florida.
Organized by PCI’s Student Education Committee, chaired by Pat Hynes of Knife River Corp. in Harrisburg, Ore., and sponsored by Lyndhurst, N.J.-based Sika Corp., the competition offers $25,000 in prize money to university student teams that excel in designing, fabricating, and testing a precast, prestressed concrete beam under the guidance of local producer members.
Honored in the most recent competition were 21 student teams. Winners honored, by category, include:
- National Championship Û United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.; Student team: Bailey Harrington, Aurimas Metrikis, and Ross Dula; Faculty advisor: Fred Meyer; and, PCI producer, Oldcastle Precast Building Systems in South Bethlehem, N.Y.
- Outstanding Report Û Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in Blacksburg, Va.; Student team: Nicholas Comforter, Stephanie Koch, and Mathew Swenty; Faculty advisor: Carin Roberts-Wollmann and Thomas Cousins; and, PCI producer, Shockey Precast Group in Fredericksburg, Va.
- Innovative Design Û University of South Florida in Tampa; Student team: Vladimir Simonovski, Lori Elkins, Julio Aguilar, Hida Bagheri, and Ashley Quaid; Faculty advisor: Rajan Sen; and, PCI producer Standard Concrete Products, Tampa.
Test reports for the 2009 Big Beam Contest are due at PCI by June 15. More information on the upcoming competition can be obtained by contacting PCI’s Paul Johal, 312/360-3213, [email protected]. Application materials and rules are posted for downloading at www.pci.org/education/big_beam/index.cfm.