Chrome Ollie Earns 2nd Place Overall at the 2007 NSSBC
UC Davis Steel Bridge placed 2nd Overall at the 2007 National Student Steel Bridge Competition hosted by California State University, Northridge over Memorial Day weekend. Following their Mid-Pacific victory where they won six out of seven 1st Place honors including Lightness, Structural Efficiency, Construction Speed, Construction Economy, Display and the Overall, the Aggies were poised to go into the 2007 NSSBC in hopes of getting back among the nation's Top 3. They did not disappoint as they finished 4th in Structural Efficiency and right behind the University of Texas for the best truss design Construction Economy. Defending 2006 National Champion, North Dakota State, took home the first back-to-back NSSBC Championships, while the University of Wisconsin, Madison earned third place honors for the second year in a row. The competition was extremely close as only minor penalties separated the top 5 finishers. Being penalty free during construction proved to be the deciding factor as the UC Davis Aggies and the NDSU Bison each committed no errors during their runs.
Team Chrome Ollie 007 stands
in front of their 2nd Place Overall Steel Bridge following their
portion of assembly and load testing. Back Row: Matt Turner, Alex Wong,
Mike Lordan, Amy Benson, Rishi Patel, Chris Mar, Jessica Revell, and Phil
Weeks. Front Row: Jeff Spiro, Ashley Zollinger, Jessica Adams and Chris
Quon
Special recognition goes out to the 2007 Chrome Ollie Captains: Project Manger Jessica Revell and Head of Fabrication Phil Weeks. The Mid-Pacific Conference and NSSBC Assembly Teams of Amy Benson, Mike Lordan, Rishi Patel, Chris Quon and Jessica Adams also deserve a ton of credit for putting in countless hours practicing this season. Utility Team members Alex Wong, Chris Mar, Charmine Solla, Jeff Spiro and Ashley Zollinger were also heavily involved this season. The Aggies look to continue their winning ways in 2008 where they will help host the 2008 Mid-Pacific ASCE Student Conference right here in Davis! The 2008 National Student Steel Bridge Competition will be hosted by the University of Florida in Gainesville over Memorial Day Weekend once again. Any UC Davis students out there willing to work their way into the swampy Gator Nation are invited to come out next fall and get involved.
Team Chrome Ollie 007 posing with their 2nd Place Overall Plaque following the Awards Banquet held at the Woodland Hills Marriott. Back Row: Alex Wong, Mike Lordan, Phil Weeks, Matt Turner and Rishi Patel. Front Row: Chris Quon, Ashley Zollinger, Jessica Adams, Jessica Revell, Amy Benson, Jeff Spiro and Chris Mar.
Q&A from Team Chrome Ollie members 2007:
Rishi Patel, junior, 2007 NSSBC Assembly Team Member.
Q: "What was the best part of this season?"
A: "The best part of this year was definitely all of our construction practices. Running construction is awesome because you get to see 8 months of work come together in less than 5 minutes."
Jeff Spiro, freshman, 2007 Team Member.
Q: "What do you get out of being on the Team?"
A: "I get hands on experience with real life engineering problems. As a freshman, I do not know what area of Civil & Environmental Engineering I want to specialize in yet, so this was a good way to experience what structural engineering was like. Also, I made friendships that I hope will last."
Amy Benson, junior, 2007 NSSBC Assembly Team Member.
Q: "What was your impression of the National Competition.?"
A: "Nationals was exciting because we got to see such a variety of creativity in terms of how people decided to adhere to specifications but make such unique bridges. I also enjoyed seeing efficient use of tools and different methods of how to assemble a design. You kind of get used to how your bridge looks and goes together and when you see another school do something completely different it can really be surprising and interesting."
Jessica Adams, junior, 2007 Mid-Pacific Assembly Team Member.
Q: "Are you returning? If so, are you looking forward to next season at a possible trip to Florida?"
A: "Yes, can't wait to compete and hopefully earn a trip to Florida for the first time. The possibility of getting eaten by an alligator is kind cool!"