AMHERST, Mass. – A team of student engineers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst placed third in a category at the recent American Institute of Steel Construction’s Student Steel Bridge Competition.
The UMass team, competing virtually, placed third in the Public Vote category, and it was the first time a UMass team competed in the national finals of the competition. More than 1,000 students from 102 colleges and universities competed.
The UMass team was advised by Kara Peterman, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. The team members were Kevin Brooks and Aidan Provost, both seniors; Kitty Lovell and Faye Kuszewski, both sophomores; and graduate students Michael Kamlarz and Daniel Ankiewicz.
UMass Amherst was among the teams competing virtually in the Compete from Campus finals. Instead of meeting at regional or national events, Compete from Campus teams individually assembled their bridges under the same competition regulations that would have applied at an in-person competition. Industry experts volunteered their time to actually visit campuses and judge the bridge builds; other aspects of the Compete from Campus competition were judged remotely. The University of Florida won the top prize in the Compete from Campus finals.