IIT to Host 2008 International Bridge Building Contest

Science students from high schools throughout the world will compete in the 2008 International Bridge Building Contest beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 26 at Illinois Institute of Technology’s (IIT) Siegel Hall, 3301 South Dearborn, Chicago.

The contest, which promotes the study and application of fundamental principles physics, allows high school students to gain “hands-on” experience in what it is to be an engineer and challenges students to design, construct and test the most efficient model bridge within specifications. The models are constructed out of basswood as simplified versions of real-world bridges, which are designed to accept a load in any position and permit the load to travel the entire length of the bridge. The model bridge with the greatest structural efficiency will be declared the winner. In order to participate in this contest, students must have placed first or second in a regional bridge building competition this year.

The International Bridge Building Contest was started over 20 years ago by Roy Coleman of Morgan Park High School in Chicago. Under the leadership of IIT professors John Kallend and Carlo Segre, who serve on the International Bridge Building Committee, the university hosts both regional and international contests.

For more information about the International Bridge Building Contest, visit the contest’s website, bridgecontest.phys.iit.edu

Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting university with more than 6,700 students in engineering, sciences, architecture, psychology, design, humanities, business and law. IIT's interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum is designed to advance knowledge through research and scholarship, to cultivate invention improving the human condition, and to prepare students from throughout the world for a life of professional achievement, service to society, and individual fulfillment.