PCI Announces 2016 Big Beam Contest Results

CHICAGO — The Judging Committee recently selected the winners of the Engineering Student Design Competition, also known as the Big Beam Contest. PCI’s Student Education Committee (Dr. Sergio Breña, Chair) organized the Big Beam Contest (sponsored by SIKA Corp., PTAC, and ASPIRE Magazine) and assigned the judging committee (Dr. Richard Miller, Chair). The objective is for teams of students to fabricate and test a precast/prestressed concrete beam with the help of local precast concrete PCI Producer Members. Prizes are awarded to the top twenty (20) performers in consideration of efficient design, highest load capacity, and other categories.

 

Entries were ranked by total number of points earned per the contest rules and the first place team, for the second year in a row, was from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

 

Overall Results

 

First place: University of Notre Dame; Notre Dame, Ind. (Zone 4)

Faculty advisor: Yahya Kurama, PhD, PE

PCI producer: StresCore, Inc.; South Bend, Ind. (John Reihl)

Student team: Megan McKeon, Luis Gabriel Muñoz Dispa, Tyler Thompson, Thomas Sweeney, Anna Spatz, Molly O’Toole, Ryan Shea

Points: 62.25

Award: $2000, plus other prizes

 

Second place: Saint Martin’s University; Lacey, Wash. (Zone 1)* Faculty advisor: Jill Walsh, PhD PCI producer: Concrete Technology Corporation; Tacoma, Wash. (Austin Maue)

Student team: William J. Miller III, Micaylla O’Leary, Madeline Knecht, Jessica De Boer, Anthony Merlino, Kyle Howlett

Points: 58.25

Award: $1750

 

Third place: Oregon State University; Corvallis, Ore. (Zone 1)

Faculty advisor: Keith Kaufman, PhD, PE

PCI producer: Knife River – Prestress; Harrisburg, Ore. (Keith Kaufman)

Student team: Tyler Oathes, Cody Tibbits, Neil Schweitzer, Taylor Kiefel, Anh Nguyen, Jonathan Kopp

Points: 56.25

Award: $1500

 

Fourth place: University of South Florida [Team 2]; Tampa, Fla. (Zone 6) Faculty advisor: Rajan Sen, PhD, PE PCI producer: Standard Concrete Products; Tampa, Fla. (Ryan Cartwright)

Student team: Arlind Aliaj, Tanya Anisimova, Nelson Figueroa, Daniel Hagerman, Andrew Williams

Points: 54.75

Award: $1250

 

Fifth place: Missouri University of Science and Technology; Rolla, Mo. (Zone 3)

Faculty advisor: John Myers, PhD, PE

PCI producer: Coreslab Structures, Inc (Missouri); Marshall, Mo. (Jim Myers)

Student team: Eli S. Hernandez, Hayder Alghazali, Saipavan Rallabhandhi

Points: 54.5

Award: $1000

 

Sixth place: University of South Florida [Team 1]; Tampa, Fla. (Zone 6)

Faculty advisor: Rajan Sen, PhD, PE

PCI producer: Standard Concrete Products; Tampa, Fla. (Ryan Cartwright)

Student team: Sandra Buitrago Gutierrez, Mohammed Alamri, Amjed Salhabaltamimi, Luiz Antonio Braga Jacintho

Points: 54.25

Award: $1000

 

Seventh place: University of Alabama [Team Jelly Beam]; Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Zone 6)

Faculty advisor: Sriram Aaleti, PhD

PCI producer: Gate Precast; Monroeville, Ala. (Mark Ledkins)

Student team: Vidya Sagar Ronanki, Saeid Hayati, David Burkhalter, Md. Kobir Hossain

Points: 53.25

Award: $1000

 

 

Eighth place: University of California, San Diego; La Jolla, Calif. (Zone 1) Faculty advisor: Jose Restrepo, PhD PCI producer: Oldcastle Precast, Inc.; Perris, Calif. (Jon Grafton)

Student team: David E. Duck, Farshad Alimohamamdi, Mohamed ElGabaly, Rainbow Lin

Points: 51.75

Award: $1000

 

 

Ninth place (tie): Iowa State University [Team 1]; Ames, Iowa (Zone 3) Faculty advisor: Sri Sritharan, PhD PCI producer: Forterra Pipe and Precast; West Des Moines, Iowa (Jeff Butler)

Student team: Michael Rosenthal, Nathan Scharenbrock, Anmol Pakhale

Points: 51.25

Award: $1000

 

Ninth place (tie): Lehigh University [Team 1]; Bethlehem, Pa. (Zone 5) Faculty advisor: Clay Naito, PhD, PE PCI producer: J&R Slaw, Inc.; Lehighton, Pa. (Robert Slaw)

Student team: Robin Hendricks, John Thompson

Points: 51.25

Award: $1000

 

Eleventh place: Lehigh University [Team 2]; Bethlehem, Pa. (Zone 5) Faculty advisor: Clay Naito, PhD, PE PCI producer: J&R Slaw, Inc.; Lehighton, Pa. (Robert Slaw)

Student team: Joseph Ingaglio, Carly Daitch, Rebecca Milano

Points: 48.25

Award: $1000

 

Twelfth place (tie): Western University [Team 1]; London, Ontario, Canada (Zone 7) Faculty advisor: Aiham Adawi, PhD, P.Eng. PCI producer: Prestressed Systems, Inc.; Windsor, Ontario, Canada (Anil Mehta)

Student team: Rob Kuehnen, Khalid Backtash, Li Hao Zhang, Brendon Tan, Erik Mahon, Alexander Riveros

Points: 45.5

Award: $500

 

Twelfth place (tie): Western University [Team 2]; London, Ontario, Canada (Zone 7) Faculty advisor: Ayman El Ansary, PhD, P.Eng. PCI producer: Prestressed Systems, Inc.; Windsor, Ontario, Canada (Anil Mehta)

Student team: Ahmed Elshaer, Zaid Al-Qaysi, AbdelRahman Fayez, Moustafa El-sawy, Fouad Elezaby, Ibrahim Ibrahim, Ahmed Shehata  

Points: 45.5

Award: $500

 

Fourteenth place: California State University, Sacramento; Sacramento, Calif. (Zone 1)

Faculty advisor: Eric Matsumoto, PhD, PE PCI producer: Clark Pacific; Woodland, Calif. (Glen Underwood)

Student team: Bryce Leuschen, Alex Switzgable, Alex Biaheza, Matthew James, Vince Anicich, Ivan Tulao, Jaber Tannous

Points: 43.25

Award: $500

 

Fifteenth place: University of Kansas [Team 4]; Lawrence, Kan. (Zone 3) Faculty advisor: Bob Lyon, PhD, PE PCI producer: Coreslab Structures; Kansas City, Kan. (Terry Fleck)

Student team: Brian Robertson, Triveni Mudaliar, Amin Dehghani

Points: 42.75

Award: $500

 

 

Sixteenth place: University of Windsor; Windsor, Ontario, Canada (Zone 7)

Faculty advisor: Amr El Ragaby, PhD, P.Eng. PCI producer: Prestressed Systems, Inc.; Windsor, Ontario, Canada (Anil Mehta)

Student team: Junaid Khan, Omar Albarazi, Majed Alkheriji, Alaeldeen Abdelmoneim, Sofia Tahat

Points: 40.5

Award: $250

 

Seventeenth place: University of Kansas [Team 3]; Lawrence, Kan. (Zone 3) Faculty advisor: Bob Lyon, PhD, PE PCI producer: Coreslab Structures; Kansas City, Kan. (Terry Fleck)

Student team: Shahedreen Ameen, Sean Cameron, Rezoana Islam

Points: 40

Award: $250

 

Eighteenth place: Iowa State University [Team 2]; Ames, Iowa (Zone 3) Faculty advisor: Sri Sritharan, PhD PCI producer: Forterra Pipe and Precast; West Des Moines, Iowa (Jeff Butler)

Student team: Michailina Hadjiyiangou, Chetan Swarn, Satyam Mandloi, Praveen Rajasekar

Points: 39.75

Award: $250

 

Nineteenth place: University of Kansas [Team 1]; Lawrence, Kan. (Zone 3) Faculty advisor: Bob Lyon, PhD, PE PCI producer: Coreslab Structures; Kansas City, Kan. (Terry Fleck)

Student team: Sajed Huq, Ryan Landreneau, Kelly Lowe

Points: 39

Award: $250

Twentieth place: University of Kansas [Team 2]; Lawrence, Kan. (Zone 3) Faculty advisor: Bob Lyon, PhD, PE PCI producer: Coreslab Structures; Kansas City, Kan. (Terry Fleck)

Student team: Alexander Weber-Kamin, Zahra Andalib, Meredith Megaffin, Mahesh Mediboyina

Points: 38.5

Award: $250

 

Best Report

 

The judging committee considers the overall presentation of the report when deciding on a best report winner. In addition to verifying the report contains all the requested sections and required signatures, judges look for clear presentation of data, professional look and formatting, and an overall well-written report.

 

University of Alabama [Team Jelly Beam]; Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Zone 6)

Faculty advisor: Sriram Aaleti, PhD, P.Eng.

PCI producer: Gate Precast; Monroeville, Ala. (Mark Ledkins)

Student team: Vidya Sagar Ronanki, Saeid Hayati, David Burkhalter, Md. Kobir Hossain

Award: $500

 

Best Video

 

Contest requirements include a video taken of the beam being tested. Teams are encouraged to be as creative as they wish when preparing the final video. Videos with a storyline related to the big beam competition are clear standouts and the judging committee may elect an entry to receive a best video award.

 

Iowa State University [Team 1]; Ames, Iowa (Zone 3) Faculty advisor: Sri Sritharan, PhD PCI producer: Forterra Pipe and Precast; West Des Moines, Iowa (Jeff Butler)

Student team: Michael Rosenthal, Nathan Scharenbrock, Anmol Pakhale

Award: $500

 

            Honorable Mentions

 

Western University [Team 1]; London, Ontario, Canada (Zone 7) Faculty advisor: Aiham Adawi, PhD, P.Eng. PCI producer: Prestressed Systems, Inc.; Windsor, Ontario, Canada (Anil Mehta)

Student team: Rob Kuehnen, Khalid Backtash, Li Hao Zhang, Brendon Tan, Erik Mahon, Alexander Riveros

 

University of California, San Diego; La Jolla, Calif. (Zone 1) Faculty advisor: Jose Restrepo, PhD PCI producer: Oldcastle Precast, Inc.; Perris, Calif. (Jon Grafton)

Student team: David E. Duck, Farshad Alimohamamdi, Mohamed ElGabaly, Rainbow Lin

 

 

All videos are posted online on PCI’s Big Beam Channel on Youtube. Simply visit www.youtube.com and search PCI Big Beam.

 

 

PCI has 12 regional affiliate organizations throughout the United States to support its members at the local level. These organizations provide numerous services, such as continuing education, marketing, various resources, precast design assistance and resources and university support.
About PCI

Founded in 1954, The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) is the technical institute for the precast concrete structures industry. PCI develops, maintains, and disseminates the body of knowledge for designing, fabricating, and constructing precast concrete structures. PCI provides technical resources, certification for companies and individuals, continuing education, as well as conducts research and development projects, conventions, conferences, awards programs and much more. PCI members include precast concrete manufacturers, companies that provide products and services to the industry, precast concrete erectors, and individual members such as architects, consultants, contractors, developers, educators, engineers, materials suppliers, service providers, and students.  To learn more, visit www.pci.org or email Alex Morales at [email protected].

2016 Big Beam Contest pci Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute