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THE THEME AT TODAY'S NATIONAL STUDENT STEEL BRIDGE COMPETITION
IS "GO BIG OR GO HOME," AND TODAY, WE'RE GONNA FIND
OUT WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT.
YOU GOOD WITH THAT?
I'M GOOD ON MATERIALS.
ALL RIGHT.
TODAY, WE'RE HERE WITH JOE MUELLER.
NOW, JOE, YOU'RE THE CAPTAIN OF PURDUE'S TEAM.
WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF TODAY'S EVENT?
THE PURPOSE OF TODAY'S EVENT IS
TO GIVE STUDENTS PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE
AND PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE WITH STEEL BRIDGES,
GIVE THEM SOME EXPERIENCE, NOT JUST IN THE CLASSROOM,
BUT OUT IN THE REAL WORLD, BUILDING THINGS,
DESIGNING THINGS WITH THEIR OWN TWO HANDS.
TODAY'S EVENT IS -- IT MIRRORS WHAT WE DO IN CLASS.
WE TAKE WHAT WE LEARN IN CLASS AND DIRECTLY APPLY IT
TO THE BUILDING OF THE BRIDGES AND THE CONSTRUCTING
OF THE BRIDGES, SO YEAH, IT'S A GREAT EXPERIENCE.
THIS EVENT ENCOURAGES TEAMWORK AND GROUP BUILDING,
AND IT'S REALLY TIME MANAGEMENT, AS WELL.
THESE TEAMS ARE WORKING ALL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR,
AS WELL AS STUDYING, AND THEY HAVE TO DESIGN THEIR BRIDGE
AND THEN FABRICATE IT, SO IT'S A REALLY COOL EVENT,
AND YOU FINALLY GET TO SHOW WHAT YOU'VE WORKED ON ALL YEAR.
BASICALLY, THE COMPETITION'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY
TO APPLY YOUR CIVIL ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE
TO REAL-LIFE SITUATIONS.
THE BRIDGE SHOULD BE LIGHT, STIFF, FAST TO CONSTRUCT.
WELL, THE BRIDGES YOU'RE SEEING TODAY ARE BASICALLY JUST
SCALED-DOWN MODELS OF WHAT'S IN THE REAL WORLD.
I MEAN, WE USE THE SAME TOOLS
AND THE SAME DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES FOR THESE BRIDGES.
IT MAY BE MODIFIED JUST A LITTLE BIT FOR THE COMPETITION,
BUT IN THE END, IT'S THE SAME.
TODAY IS THE MAIN COMPETITION,
AND THEY HAVE THE CONSTRUCTION PART OF THE COMPETITION
WHERE THEY'RE RACING AGAINST THE CLOCK TO BUILD THEIR BRIDGE,
AND THEN THEY MOVE OVER TO THE LOADING PORTION
OF THE COMPETITION.
THE LOADING PORTION -- THEY LOAD EACH BRIDGE WITH 2,500 POUNDS,
AND THEY MEASURE THE AGGREGATE DEFLECTION, HOW MUCH IT DEFLECTS
AT THREE DIFFERENT POSITIONS OF THE BRIDGE UNDER THE LOADING,
AND THAT BECOMES PART OF THEIR SCORE.
ON A LARGE SCALE, THIS EVENT IS IMPORTANT
BECAUSE WHEN WE ARE LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM, WE'RE SEEING IT
ON PAPER AND WE'RE DOING CALCULATIONS AND WHATNOT,
AND THEN WE COME AND WE BRING IT AND WE APPLY IT TO THIS.
AND SO WHEN WE TAKE IT OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD
AND WE'RE DESIGNING THE BRIDGES THAT YOU DRIVE OVER EVERY DAY,
WE CAN USE THE KNOWLEDGE WE'VE LEARNED --
"OH, YES, WE KNOW THAT PUTTING THIS HERE WILL AFFECT THE
OVERALL DEFLECTION THIS WAY, AND DOING THIS LIKE THIS IS GOING
TO AFFECT THE BRIDGE IN THIS WAY AND MAKE IT STRONGER
AND MAKE IT LIGHTER AND MORE EFFICIENT."
AND JUST ALL THE THINGS THAT COME TOGETHER IN BRIDGE DESIGN,
YOU ARE REALLY IMPLEMENTING IN HERE
IN THE DESIGN OF OUR BRIDGES TODAY.
I THINK IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY AND A REALLY EXCITING TIME
TO MEET ALL THE KIDS FROM ALL THE OTHER SCHOOLS
FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY.
PURDUE HAS SUCH A GREAT HISTORY WITH ENGINEERING.
IT'S A PERFECT PLACE TO HOLD AN EVENT LIKE THIS.
OUR SCHOOL'S ENGINEERING TO THE CORE, AND THIS IS ENGINEERING
TO THE CORE, SO THEY GO WELL TOGETHER.
BRIDGES ARE A NECESSITY, AND IT'S GREAT
TO SEE THESE BRILLIANT MINDS HERE WORKING ON THEM TODAY,
EVEN IF IT'S ON A SMALLER SCALE.
I'M ANTHONY LEAHY FOR "BOILER BYTES."