YSU Steel Bridge Team Places Second in National Competition

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown State University’s steel bridge team made program history by placing second overall in the National Steel Bridge Competition.

The second-place finish is the highest achievement of any YSU civil engineering steel bridge team at the national level.

During the competition at the University of California, San Diego, on June 2-3, teams were tasked with designing, fabricating and constructing a conceptual scaled steel bridge to serve as a hypothetical crossing in the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge. The bridge had to be able to support the weight of pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians as well as maintenance and park vehicles. Students also had to respect the existing habitat and take into account that no construction activity could take place within the river.

In addition to finishing second overall, the YSU team took first in aesthetics and third in economy at the competition.

Headed into the national competition, the steel bridge team placed first in the past seven regional contests.

The YSU team includes members Nathan Chalus, civil engineering major, Homestead, Pennsylvania; Zachary Glavic, civil engineering, Canfield, Ohio; Jacob Huzyak, STEM first-year engineering major, North Canton, Ohio; Michael Sandora, electrical engineering major, New Castle, Pa.; Marshall Sarisky, civil engineering major, Youngstown, Ohio; and Klea Shehu, first-year engineering major, Tirana, Albania. Anwarul Islam, professor of civil engineering, is the faculty advisor.

Pictured at top: From left are YSU steel bridge team members Klea Shehu, Nathan Chalus, Jacob Huzyak, Zachary Glavic, Marshall Sarisky and Michael Sandora.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.