WKU News

WKU Student Steel Bridge team members are (from left) Nate Bruner, Cole Hollinsworth, Justin Elms, William Pemperton, Nathan Cates (co-captain), Dakota Harrison, Elijah Knight (co-captain), Bradley Herman, Jeremy Jordan, Jack Barton and Professor Shane Palmquist (faculty advisor). (Not pictured: Team members Cameron Dunn, Luke “Ben” McElroy, Jared Brewster and Logan Kauffman.) 

Western Kentucky University civil engineering students competed in the 2024 National Student Steel Bridge Competition on May 31 and June 1 at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana.

Over 3,000 civil engineering students from across the nation and world, including the United States, Canada and Mexico, built approximately 220+ steel bridges. A total of 20 regional conferences were held, where civil engineering student teams competed in hopes of qualifying for the National Steel Bridge Competition. In early April, the WKU Steel Bridge Team competed in the Indiana-Kentucky Civil Engineering Student Symposium, hosted by Purdue University Northwest, which includes student teams from 12 engineering colleges and universities from across Kentucky and Indiana. WKU finished in second place overall in the regional event, earning a spot at the national competition.

At the National Steel Bridge Competition, WKU finished 39^th overall, out of 49 schools competing. The WKU Steel Bridge was a sleek beam structure that proved to be structurally strong with adequate stiffness and was quick to assemble with minimum bracing needed. WKU finished 42^nd for stiffness, which is a measure of the strength of the bridge. For structural economy, which is a measure of the construction cost of the bridge, WKU finished 40^th. WKU finished 35^th and 17^th in construction speed and lightness, respectively. For structural efficiency, WKU finished 40^th. This category represents a measure of the total net cost of the bridge, where the lowest cost wins.

The student bridge team from University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, won the competition. More: Results from the 2024 National Student Steel Bridge Competition

WKU Steel Bridge Team advisor, Professor Shane Palmquist, said: “The students this year wanted to design and fabricate a competitive beam bridge that was light and strong and return to the national competition. With patience and dedication, they accomplished this mission. I am proud of their hard work this year.”

WKU Steel Bridge Team members included team co-captains Nathan Cates of Russellville and Elijah Knight of Calhoun; and team members Jack Barton of Beaver Dam, Nate Bruner of London, Jared Brewster of Campbellsville, Cameron Dunn of Mount Washington, Justin Elms of Morgantown, Dakota Harrison of Scottsville, Bradley Herman of Bowling Green, Cole Hollinsworth of White House, Tennessee, Jeremy Jordan of Glasgow, Logan Kauffman of Eddyville, Luke “Ben” McElroy of Madisonville, and William Pemberton of Edmonton.

The team would like to thank staff engineer Tyler Baker and civil engineering coordinator and instructor Jason Wilson for their assistance and guidance throughout this project.

The 2025 National Steel Bridge Competition will be held on May 30-31 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.