Cloverdale students participate in Purdue event

Zak Osburn, a junior at Cloverdale High School, watches intently as the bridge he built is tested for loading efficiency at the 30th annual Bridge Bust contest March 6 at Purdue University. (Photo courtesy Purdue News Service)

WEST LAFAYETTE -- Students from Cloverdale High School were among students from 10 high schools from throughout North Central Indiana that participated in the 30th annual Bridge Bust event at Purdue University on March 6.

The competition, administered by the Purdue Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, was held in the Purdue Memorial Union South Ballroom.

Teams assembled bridges from 20 sticks of balsa wood and bottled glue. Most bridges were about two feet long and eight inches high. They were judged on loading efficiency, aesthetic qualities and structural concepts.

Loading efficiency was determined by pouring sand into buckets that hung from the bridges.

"I participated in a similar competition in my high school physics class and had a lot of fun with it," said David Papineau, the Purdue senior and civil engineering major who chaired the event. "It was one of the key events that led me to engineering and Purdue."

Other competing teams were from Benton Central, Oxford; Andrean, Valparaiso; Centerville; Kokomo Area Career Center, Logansport; Noblesville; Plymouth; Rochester; South Vermillion, Clinton; and West Central, Francesville.

Students from Kokomo Area Career Center, Benton Central and Andrean won awards at the competition.