Contact: Bob Ratliff
A solid foundation in their chosen profession and arching ingenuity combined to help Mississippi State civil engineering students finish atop the 2001 National Timber Bridge Design Competition.
The university's student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers recently received the event's Best Overall Design Award. The nine-member senior team also took second place in the best deck performance and most aesthetic design categories.
In addition to awards, the chapter received $2,350 for its treasury.
Students from 19 universities participated in the competition sponsored by the United States Forest Service, with additional support from the Southern Pine Council of the Southern Forest Products Association, Unit Structures LLC and Willamette Industries.
Brookhaven-based Southwest Mississippi Resources Conservation and Development Inc. coordinates the annual event. After a team designs, constructs and tests its creation on campus, all documentation is forwarded via the Internet for final review by a panel of judges.
The winning MSU design features a one-by-four inch tongue-and-groove deck supported by seven laminated longitudinal stringers, all of which is made of treated Southern yellow pine. Four steel cable assemblies are used to limit bridge tension.
"The use of the cables results in a lightweight structure that is economical to build," said civil engineering professor Ralph Sinno, chapter adviser and project mentor. "A cost-effective design is important because an objective of the competition is to promote interest in wood as a bridge construction material."
Other 2001 competition winners include the U.S. Military Academy, best deck performance and most practical design; and Virginia Tech University, most innovative design.
Sinno said the winning MSU project would be put to good use. "As we've done in the past, the bridge will be donated to an area school or municipality," he explained.
The MSU bridge builders include (by hometown):
ACKERMAN--Sheila C. Sanford, who graduated from Nanih Waiya High School in 1997 and East Central Community College in 1999.
BAY ST. LOUIS--Jason P. Chiniche, a 1997 St. Stanislaus High School graduate and the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Chiniche.
BROOKHAVEN--Ashley E. Parker, a 1997 Brookhaven High School graduate and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Parker.
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.--Tiffany M. Hill, a 1995 Northeast High School graduate and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hill.
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala.--Mary K. "Kate" Langley, a 1997 Guntersville High School graduate and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Langley.
MERIDIAN--William R. "Randy" Wedgeworth, a 1990 Northeast Lauderdale High School graduate and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Glynn Wedgeworth.
OCEAN SPRINGS--John M. Ludlow, a 1974 St. Stanislaus High School graduate and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Ludlow.
PURVIS--Hunter Andrews, a 1997 Purvis High School graduate and the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Andrews and Martha Toland.
TUPELO--John R. Heard, a 1994 Tupelo High School graduate and the son of Susan Heard.