For the second year in a row, the NCSU student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Steel Bridge Team earned an invitation to participate in the ASCE National Competition. This year’s competition was held at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, in May 2017. The invitation came after an outstanding performance in April at the Carolinas Conference, where the team finished in second place and had the top ranking in several individual categories including construction, speed, stiffness, economy and display.

The team made some structural enhancements and minor modifications based on their evaluations from the regional competition, and in May, they were one of 41 teams chosen to compete from the original field of 251 colleges and universities.

The steel bridge competition represents hours of planning, design, and construction, which begin each August as students return to campus for Fall semester. “They held meetings, recruited members, established schedules, and remained diligent throughout the process of design, fabrication, and practice of the bridge construction,” says CCEE Lecturer Steve Welton. Welton advises the NCSU student chapter of ASCE, along with CCEE Lecturer Ben Smith.

Khiya Armstrong, a senior studying construction engineering, was one of six students on the team who traveled to Oregon. “Going to nationals was very inspiring and we learned a lot from the other teams. I’m proud of our hard work and effort that our team invested this year. Qualifying for nationals was a huge accomplishment and I hope we can achieve it again next year,” Armstrong said.