ISU students hope to outbuild competition in Alaska

A team of eight engineering students from Iowa State University is spendingthe Memorial Day weekend in Alaska for a final exam of sorts. They’re takingpart in the National Student Steel Bridge Competition. Team leaders saythere are all sorts of rules they’ll have to follow.Co-captain Scott Ingersoll, a junior from Richland, says the constructionpart of the competition is also timed. He says the goal is to build thestrongest, lightest bridge the fastest. Ingersoll says the I-S-U bridgedesign is unique — as all other two-truss bridges have looked the same.The bridge has to weigh less than 40 pounds but be able to support25-hundred pounds. Ingersoll says there’s no scholarship or money to win,just the national recognition — which he says is more than enough.The bridge-building competition begins today and continues through tomorrowin Anchorage.