Steel Bridge Competition
OSU Captain Kileigh Shea runs a lateral brace to the construction site. [Photo by Hannah Gustin]
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) put together a Pacific Northwest Student Conference the weekend of April 25-27 at Oregon State University. Events included a concrete canoe competition, a technical paper competition, and an engineering knowledge competition, among others.

McAlexander Fieldhouse was filled with excitement on the final day of the conference as 17 schools from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska, and Montana participated in the steel bridge competition. Each team practices and then brings their skills to see who can build the lightest bridge in the least amount of time. After the bridge is complete, 2,500 pounds of weight is put on it. The bridge that fares best under the massive weight is considered the better model. University of Alaska Fairbanks came in first place while Oregon State took fourth place. The contest is a great opportunity for some friendly competition, networking, and a little showing off between civil engineers from different universities.

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Over spring break, six students from the Oregon State chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) swapped rest and relaxation for networking and professional development at the 39th annual NSBE convention in Indianapolis. Under the leadership of OSU NSBE President and Industrial Engineering senior, Nathan Okorley, the chapter set out to increase Oregon State’s profile at NSBE through service on regional executive board and professional development. Continue reading

By Thuy T. Tran

Bringing fresh, clean water to a parched community is like offering a song that lifts the spirit — one that affects the giver as much as the receiver. A new documentary film titled Kel Wer, which means “to bring song” in Dholuo, documents the journey of five Oregon State University members of Engineers Without Borders-USA to Lela, Kenya, to help provide access to safe water.  Continue reading

By Staci Van Norman

Staci Van Norman
Staci Van Norman

Energy is a constant topic of debates locally, nationally and internationally. The discussion about where and how we should obtain energy to maintain our way of life is an important issue. Clean, domestic, accessible, sustainable and economical; new and existing energy systems are being vetted every day based on these criteria. I am just one of the many people working toward a balanced new solution to our energy needs.

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By Jason Evans

Emily and Jarvis Caffrey are partners in more ways than one. The husband and wife duo are also research colleagues at Oregon State University’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics (NERHP) and recent ARCS scholars — Emily for her master’s thesis measuring radiation doses in marine organisms, and Jarvis for his work aboard one of the only research vessels allowed inside the containment area of the Fukushima crisis, where he took radiation measurements with equipment developed at NERHP.

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