Future engineers battle for top bridge title

The local chapter of the Professional Engineers of Ontario hosted the 6th annual Bridge Building Contest Friday at St. Joseph – Scollard Hall Catholic Secondary School.

The event, which coincides with National Engineering Month, is part of the local chapters outreach to schools initiative. The initiative seeks to foster innovation by introducing and discussing the real life technical issues faced by modern engineers.

Students were challenged to construct a bridge that would be judged for craftsmanship, dimensional conformity to contest guidelines, engineering content, and load carrying ability.

Using only carpenter glue and a supplied balsa wood kit 35 students from four area schools (Mother St. Brides (MSB), St. Joseph, St. Joseph - Scollard Hall (SJSH), and Sunset Park) from grades 5 through 12 turned out for the opportunity to meet with local engineers in a relaxed fun-filled atmosphere and to see if their constructions could stand up to the pressure.

The engineers critiqued each bridge before testing bridge’s strength.

Junior Results
1. Evan Ragner @ 54:1 (MSB)
2. Jordan O'Ronike @ 42:1 (MSB)
3. Hayden Kelso / Connor Burke / Greg Bowens @ 36:1 (Sunset Park)

Intermediate Results (There were no grade 9/10 entries)

Senior Results
1. Alex Zimbalatti / Nathan Cerilli @ 96:1 (SJSH)
2. George Quinby / Kevin Kosturik @ 60: 1 (SJSH)
3. Bridget Donnelly / Peter Feige @ 51:1 (SJSH)