Steel Bridge Team Places Seventh in the Nation

Lafayette placed seventh at the 2009 National Student Steel Bridge Competition at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in May. Under the direction of adviser Stephen Kurtz, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, the students advanced to the nationals by winning the mid-Atlantic regional competition.

The team included civil engineering seniors Paul Angelucci, Kyle DeFranceschi, Kyle Henning, Michael Lemken, and Sean McAuley, plus W. Thomas Barlow ’12. “They did a tremendous job and deserve praise for a design that was nearly flawless. They did hundreds of computer models, developed professional-quality drawings, and fabricated a nearly perfect bridge,” Kurtz says.

It’s the fourth time in the last five years that a Lafayette team has made it to nationals and the second-best finish ever to a No. 5 showing in 2007. At the nationals, Lafayette was pitted against 47 teams that qualified to compete by placing first or second in regional competitions. Sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction and the American Society of Civil Engineers, the contest attracts more than 200 engineering schools to 19 regional tests.