Albany State University will host the 13^th Southwest Georgia Regional Model Bridge Building Competition at 9 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 28, in the ASU Sanford Gymnasium located on the campus. The ASU Department of Natural and Forensic Sciences holds the competition each year in celebration of National Engineers Week.

The event is sponsored by the Georgia Space Grant Consortium, an organization created and wholly funded by NASA, to increase high school students’ participation in science and engineering careers. The consortium also seeks to increase the number of university students in aerospace research, which helps NASA’s future workforce development project.

Dr. Atin Sinha, competition coordinator and ASU professor and director of Engineering, said the Model Bridge Building competition provides an opportunity for students in the region to solve realistic engineering problems by designing and constructing structurally efficient balsa wood bridges to stringent specifications. The efficiency of each bridge is measured by the ratio of the breaking load to the weight of the bridge. A panel of judges from industry and research organizations will test the bridges and declare the winners.

The 2014 competition featured 159 students in 59 teams representing 4 middle and 5 high schools. Cardinal Fields Home School group won in the high school category and Miller County took home the champion's trophy in the middle school category.  Miller County also won the champion's trophy and plaque by winning  two out of the first three places.

The competition is open to all high-school and middle-school students; schools may enter as many teams as they like. 

The top three teams in each category are awarded commemorative prizes. A plaque is awarded for the best overall performance in each category. All participants (students and teachers) receive free T-shirts. 

Please visit www.asu-engineering.org/bridge/Synopsis.htm to obtain the detail specifications, registration forms, and to view photographs and videos of past contests.

For more information about ASU’s model bridge-building contest, contact Sinha at (229) 430-4820 or e-mail [email protected].