Biology

WKU civil engineering students competed in the National Student Steel Bridge Competition May 31-June 1 at the University of Washington.

The WKU steel bridge team participated in the 2013 national competition in Seattle. Team members are: (front row, from left) Liz Chang, Yulizza Henao Barragan, Omar Ramadan, Luiz Pego, Michael Doyel, Leonardo Calheiros, Jacob Martin, and co-captain Dylan Ward; (back row) advisor Dr. Shane Palmquist, co-captain Clayton Cook, Joshua Rodgers and Joshua Clemmons.

The WKU steel bridge placed fourth in the nation for stiffness, fifth for display, 25^th for structural efficiency and 37^th overall. The display category refers to the appearance of the bridge, proportion, elegance and finish while structural efficiency is a measure of the cost of the structure.

WKU steel bridge student team members include: co-captains Clayton Cook of Owenton and Dylan Ward of Hartford; Joshua Clemmons, Michael Doyel and Omar Ramadan, all of Bowling Green; Joshua Rodgers of West Point; Yulizza Henao Barragan of Medellin, Colombia; Jordan Begley of Somerset; Jacob Martin of Shelbyville; Leonardo Calheiros of Sao Luis, Brazil; Luiz Pego of Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Liz Chang of Louisville.

“The students have raised the bar this year, designing and building a steel bridge that well represented WKU at the national competition,” said team advisor Shane Palmquist, associate professor in the WKU Engineering Department. “The team is pleased with their accomplishments and plans to do better next year.”

WKU qualified for the national competition after a third-place finish this spring in the regional competition. Approximately 3,000 civil engineering students from across the nation built 214 steel bridges and competed in regional events in hopes of qualifying for the 2013 national competition in Seattle.

The 2014 National Steel Bridge Competition will be held at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.

Contact: Shane Palmquist, (270) 745-2461.