Popsicle Bridge Contest 2 Annual Engineers Week Popsicle Bridge Contest (cont.) 3 Meet the Treasurer/ Secretary Tony Gaynord 4 Liquid Assets at the Byrd, Upcoming Events
March, 2010 -Vol ume 3 I ssue 6 Ri chmond Br anch - ASCE http: //www. ascevi rgi ni a. org Younger Member Chair: Education Outreach Chair: College Liaison: Denise Nelson , P.E. Mike Howell Chris Miller President: President Elect: Vice President: Secretary/Treasurer: Paul Hinson, P.E. Amanda Harmon , P.E. Craig Ponte, P.E. Tony Gaynord On Sunday February 28th, approximately 150 Middle and High school students from around the area joined ASCE at the Science Museum of Virginia for the Annual Popsicle Bridge Contest. This year marked the 15th consecutive year that the Richmond Branch has hosted the event and the largest turnout yet. The contest took place during the Careers in Engineering Field Day sponsored by the Richmond Joint Engineers Council which brought together over a dozen local engineering societies and college programs in an effort to educate students about the engineering profession.
Annual Engineers Week Popsicle Bridge Contest
As part of the bridge contest, students competed for a variety of awards including the Most Aesthetically Pleasing Bridge and the Most Innovative Bridge. Additionally, one team of students was able to beat the score of a bridge designed by ASCE members for which they received special recognition. Of course, the bridges were also tested to determine the maximum load that each could take before failure. The winners were determined based on an efficiency rating which factored in the weight of the bridge in addition to its maximum load capacity. Many of the bridges achieved loads around 400 lbs which is quite impressive considering that the bridges could only be constructed of standard sized Popsicle sticks and Elmers Multi-Purpose Glue.
A remarkable twenty-five ASCE members and industry personnel volunteered to help
By Mike Howell, Education Outreach Chair
The bridge in the background was the ASCE Bridge designed and built by Ed Darby of VDOT. The bridge in the foreground belonged to Scott Werwath and Henry Crowell of the Collegiate School. Scott and Henrys bridge was the only one to Beat the Engineer by scoring higher than the ASCE bridge!
facilitate the event. In addition to judging and testing the projects, these volunteers also helped educate the students at the event about what it is to work as a Civil Engineer. A special thanks to everyone who volunteered to help with the event.
Left: ASCE Members Denise Nelson and Aislinn Creel work to register the 70+ bridges at this years event. Right: Being able to display the bridges in the museum Rotunda gave a very impressive display for the other Career Day and museum attendees. Middle School Winners:
1. Scott Werwath/ Henry Crowell Collegiate School Bridge Weight: 220g Load Carried: 350 lbs Efficiency Score: 1487.9
3. Thomas Darby/ Daniel Womack Chickahominy MS Bridge Weight: 270g Load Carried: 162.2 lbs Efficiency Score: 457.8
Additionally, several local engineering and construction firms very graciously helped sponsor the event through financial contributions. Their support made the event possible and ASCE would like to thank them for their efforts. The companies who helped sponsor the event include:
Above: Testing crew members Mike Hall, Derek Overstreet, Tony Gaynord, Matt Yakim, and Chris Ray stayed busy testing bridges with the newly constructed testing frame complete with a load cell and a digital readout. This was also the first year that ASCE was invited to use the Science Museums 2010 Popsicle Stick Bridge Winners
High School Winners:
1. Julia Innes/ Diana Dannouf LC Bird High School Bridge Weight: 232g Load Carried: 108.6 lbs Efficiency Score: 415.1
2. Daniel Helderman/ Barrett Rutledge Cosby High School Bridge Weight: 234g Load Carried: 108.2 lbs Efficiency Score: 406.6
3. Tara Dighe/ Sierra Greenwich Cosby High School Bridge Weight: 222g Load Carried: 91.8 lbs Efficiency Score: 383.2
Most Aesthetically Pleasing Bridge: Chris Delaney/Patrick Delaney St. Christophers High School Most Innovative Bridge: Kevin Quigley/ Lionel Williams LC Bird High School
ASCE Richmond Branch -March Newsletter Page 3
This month we profile Treasurer/ Secretary Tony Gaynord. Tony is a civil engineer for McKinney & Company in Ashland. In addition to serving on the Board, Tony is an all-star for the YM kickball team.
Where are you from and where did you go to school?
I am originally from Manassas, Virginia and went on to get my Civil Engineering degree from Virginia Tech. Go Hokies!!!
Why did you become a Civil Engineer?
I became a Civil engineer because I have always wanted a better understanding of why things are the
MEET THETreasurer/ Secretary Tony Gaynord Tony Gaynord
way they are. From the ground to the building, I have always thought the way things were designed was interesting and have wanted to be involved.
How did you get involved in ASCE?
I joined ASCE while at Virginia Tech and enjoyed the socials and staying connected with other Civil Engineers. When I moved to Richmond, I became involved through the younger member group activities such as the socials and kickball team. After meeting lots of great people and learning about what ASCE did for the Richmond area, I became more involved with the other aspects of ASCE and now I am the Treasurer/Secretary.
What is your role on the board?
Currently my role is Treasure/Secretary. I am involved with most ASCE activities in one form or another. As Secretary I recording and distributing minutes from each meeting. As Treasurer I keep track of all finances and make sure that events are and can be funded.
Page 4 ASCE Richmond Branch March Newsletter
Date Speaker Topic Location April 8-10 - Virginias Conference (college student competition and conference) Catholic University, Washington, D.C. April 20 - Liquid Assets documentary (Branch meeting) The Byrd Theatre April 22 - UVA Student Chapter Spring Banquet (contact chris.miller@timmons.com For additional information) UVA
Schedule of Upcoming Richmond Branch and other Events There is more great information about the above and other events, go to ascevirginia.org
Branch to show Liquid Assets at the Byrd Theatre The Richmond Branch will be screening the documentary Liquid Assets at the Byrd Theatre on the evening of Tuesday April 20, 2010. This will serve as our Branch meeting for the month of April but will be open to the public. Admission to the event is FREE.
Website http://liquidassets.psu.edu best summarizes the program: Liquid Assets is a public media and outreach initiative that seeks to inform the nation about the critical role that our water infrastructure plays in protecting public health and promoting economic prosperity. Liquid Assets was created by public broadcast station WPSU in State College, Pennsylvania. The origins of the documentary came from conversations between the Penn State Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Penn State Public Broadcasting. Nationally, ASCE is a major outreach partner for the program.
Liquid Assets has been shown on 94% of PBS stations but has not been shown in the Richmond market. Members are encouraged to invite family, friends and neighbors. This is a great opportunity to let your friends and family know the importance of the elements of infrastructure that almost never go noticed until something goes wrong. The recently released Report Card of Virginias Infrastructure gives a C- grade to Drinking water and D+ grade to Wastewater.