Students from high schools throughout the world will compete in the 2013 International Bridge Building Contest on IIT’s main campus on Saturday, April 27 in Siegel Hall Auditorium.  The competition starts at 10:30 am and is expected to conclude around 1:30 pm.

The contest, which promotes the study and application of fundamental principles physics, allows high school students to gain “hands-on” experience in what it is to be an engineer and challenges students to design, construct and test the most efficient model bridge within specifications. The models are constructed out of basswood as simplified versions of real-world bridges, which are designed to accept a load in any position and permit the load to travel the entire length of the bridge. The model bridge with the greatest structural efficiency will be declared the winner. In order to participate in this contest, students must have placed first or second in a regional bridge building competition this year.

The International Bridge Building Contest was started more than three decades ago by IIT alumnus Roy Coleman of Morgan Park High School in Chicago. Under the leadership of IIT professors John Kallend and Carlo Segre, who serve on the International Bridge Building Committee, the university hosts both regional and international contests.  The Chicago Regional Contest was held at IIT on February 25, 2013.