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Standing from left: Nargiss Majrooh, Christine Josties-Heinrich, Jay Pastor, Dr. Nazaret Dermendjian, Tony Coscia, David Van Vokinburg, Andy Hawgood, Jerry Perser, Prof. Thang Le, Sal Ramirez, Jay Youn (captain), Henry Andrino. Sitting from left, Joe Castogna, Eric Sotto, Lester Geronga, Kurt Van Volkinburg, Ivan Mendez[/img]

It looks like a giant red erector set, but weighs about 120 pounds and is actually a scaled bridge. It placed third in the regional Steel Bridge competition in April, sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers and held at Cal Poly Pomona. That ranking was enough to guarantee CSUN’s team a slot at the international competition at Clemson University in South Carolina, held May 25 and 26. Part of the ASCE annual conference, the 2012 competition marked the eighth time a CSUN team had qualified for the national event, which attracts top teams from the U.S. and internationally.

“Just being invited to the national competition in itself is an achievement,” says Nazaret Dermendjian, chair of the Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Management. “Out of all universities teaching engineering, only 47 went. That in itself says a lot. All the teams were very high-end.”

The entries are evaluated on such factors as construction speed, lightness, display, stiffness, economy and efficiency. CSUN’s successful bridge unfortunately suffered damage to one of its connections in transit to South Carolina, requiring the team to weld it onsite. As a result, the repaired piece fell 1/8” outside the contest’s allowable limits, incurring penalties that pushed the bridge to the middle of the pack, where it came in 24th. If it had arrived intact, it would have likely placed in the top ten.

“The students were very enthused,” says Dermendjian. “It was a good group and a learning experience for next year.”