Schuyler Simpson of Pierce appeared to be joking when he said he ate a lot of popsicles to get enough sticks to build his wooden stick bridge in the recent sophomore bridge competition.
Regardless, Simpson had some serious design knowledge when the bridge he named, “Lots of Licks to Get These Sticks,” ended up winning the competition and resulted in the 10th place finish in all time Top 20 list.
The drafting program competition, held this year on April 30, is designed to demonstrate the structural integrity and structural design of the bridges that students spend weeks and months constructing. This was the 19th year for the event.
Schuyler is the son of Nate Simpson, who is an Electrical Construction & Control instructor at Northeast. He received $100 and a certificate from Nucor for winning.
There were two other students who competed this year, Andrew Quick of Benedict and Kysiah Rice of Coleridge. All three students exceeded the targeted weights for efficiency based on the weight of their bridges and the weight they held.
Simpson’s bridge held 515 pounds before collapsing. To view the competition, go to https://team1sports.com/northeastcc/ and click on the bridge competition on April 30.
The competition, organized by Michael Holcomb, Northeast structural CAD (computer aided design)/drafting instructor, has become a fun tradition at Northeast, with other students and faculty often watching the competition in person. It is now held at the Chuck Pohlman Ag Complex, and typically is held the last week of the academic year.
Simpson Add Weights
Schulyer Simpson of Pierce places weights on his bridge made of popsicle sticks and glue. Simpson won this year’s competition and cracked the Top 20 all time list, coming in at 10th place, which is measured by the ratio of the weight held by the weight of the bridge. (Northeast Community College)
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