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Lakehead steel bridge team wins regionals, prepares for U.S. national competition

THUNDER BAY – Lakehead University has fielded many competitive teams over the years.
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Lakehead University steel bridge team students assemble their structure at the Agora on Saturday. (Matt Vis, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY – Lakehead University has fielded many competitive teams over the years.

Most people are aware of the achievements of the hockey, basketball and other sports squads but the university is host to a group of civil engineering students that are off to a national championship later this year.

The school’s Steel Bridge Team captured a regional championship earlier this month, when they hosted the competition in the CJ Sanders Fieldhouse.

The Lakehead University bridge scored top marks in structural efficiency, construction economy, stiffness and lightness as it captured the overall crown against a field that included the University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, University of North Dakota and the University of Manitoba.

That victory earns them a sport in the U.S. National competition which will be held at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

“The nationals are really a great, exciting opportunity,” team captain Adam Petrycki said. “We’re going to be competing against 50 plus schools, a lot of them really world leaders in civil engineering field. To be able to compete against schools like MIT and UC-Davis is a great opportunity.”

Dr. Tony Gillies, the team’s faculty advisor, said the success of steel bridge teams, which won the U.S. National title in 2011, has helped put the school and the program on the map.

“We always suffer from somewhat of an inferiority complex. Most Canadians have no clue where Lakehead University is,” he said.

“It seems we have to earn our recognition by building our reputation. I have a lot more pride when you get known for performance than simply by name.”

Preparations for this year’s team began last summer and continued through the school year, leading to busy times for the fourth-year students.

It only intensifies as they prepare to advance to the next stage.

“The amount of effort that goes into this project is quite substantial. Students work long hours, over holidays and in the last few weeks pulled a couple of all-nighters,” Gillies said.

“Now they’ve qualified for the national competition, these students are in the graduating class, are going to delay taking permanent jobs and staying in the month of May to fine tune the bridge.”

The bridge, which supported a weight of 2,500 pounds, was assembled in 25 minutes after months of design study to create an optimal structural integrity.

With the extra time the students are going to look to push even further.

“Since we have an extra amount of time we’re going to be looking at improving both the bridge itself and the construction time, whether that means practicing more or changing the way members connect or each other,” Petrycki said.

Lakehead was been involved in steel bridge competitions since 1998, faring strongly almost every year.

With past students Gillies has seen the educational value of the team building and competitions.

“There are so many elements that make it look like a real construction project. I think it takes engineering from a theoretical exercise into something they can visualize and very practical,” Gillies said.





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