Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute's (PCI) Student Education Judging Committee recently announced winners of the Engineering Student Design Award program, also known as the Big Beam Contest. The contest consists of a zone competition and a national competition. First place winners of the zone competitions move on to the national competition to be judged against one another and national entries to determine the national champion.
Organized by PCI's Student Education Committee, and sponsored by Sika Corp., the Big Beam Contest entails fabrication and testing of precast, prestressed concrete beams by student teams under the guidance of local PCI producer members. Prizes are awarded for most efficient design, highest load capacity, and best report, among multiple categories. Oguzhan Bayrak serves as the Faculty Advisor for the UT students involved in the contest.
Zone 2 Competition - First Place
National Competition - Second Place
Student team: James Foreman (FSEL), Jeff Gauthier, Ashley Heidenreich, Amy Heilig, Nancy Larson (FSEL) , Stephen Pool (FSEL) and Nicholas Richman (FSEL).
PCI producer: Coreslab Structures (Texas) Inc., Cedar Park, (Zachary Webb)
Zone 2 Competition - Second Place
Student team: Khanh Chau, Samuel Covey, Kristen Donnelly (FSEL) , Stephen Foster (FSEL), Tapan Thakur, Arnaud Thibonnier and Jason Varney (FSEL).
Zone 2 Competition - Third Place
Student team: Arcan Bundur (FSEL) , Anthony Bentivegna, Guillermo Huaco (FSEL), Le Pham (FSEL), Andres Stambuk, Rangsan Wogjerraphat (FSEL) and Ali Abu Yousef (FSEL).