2010 March - ASCE Richmond Newsletter

I NS I D E T H I S I S S U E
1 Annual Engineer’s Week
Popsicle Bridge Contest
2 Annual Engineer’s Week
Popsicle Bridge Contest
(cont.)
3 Meet the… Treasurer/
Secretary Tony Gaynord
4 Liquid Assets at the
Byrd, Upcoming Events



March, 2010 -Vol ume 3 I ssue 6
Ri chmond Br anch - ASCE
http: //www. ascevi rgi ni a. org
Younger Member Chair: Education Outreach Chair: College Liaison:
Denise Nelson , P.E. Mike Howell Chris Miller
President: President Elect: Vice President: Secretary/Treasurer:
Paul Hinson, P.E. Amanda Harmon , P.E. Craig Ponte, P.E. Tony Gaynord
On Sunday February 28th, approximately 150 Middle and High school
students from around the area joined ASCE at the Science Museum of
Virginia for the Annual Popsicle Bridge Contest. This year marked the
15th consecutive year that the Richmond Branch has hosted the event
and the largest turnout yet. The contest took place during the
Career’s in Engineering Field Day sponsored by the Richmond Joint
Engineer’s Council which brought together over a dozen local
engineering societies and college programs in an effort to educate
students about the engineering profession.

Annual Engineer’s Week Popsicle
Bridge Contest

As part of the bridge contest, students
competed for a variety of awards including the
Most Aesthetically Pleasing Bridge and the
Most Innovative Bridge. Additionally, one team
of students was able to beat the score of a
bridge designed by ASCE members for which
they received special recognition. Of course,
the bridges were also tested to determine the
maximum load that each could take before
failure. The winners were determined based on
an efficiency rating which factored in the
weight of the bridge in addition to its maximum
load capacity. Many of the bridges achieved
loads around 400 lbs which is quite impressive
considering that the bridges could only be
constructed of standard sized Popsicle sticks
and Elmer’s Multi-Purpose Glue.

A remarkable twenty-five ASCE members and
industry personnel volunteered to help

By Mike Howell, Education Outreach Chair

The bridge in the background was the ASCE Bridge
designed and built by Ed Darby of VDOT. The bridge
in the foreground belonged to Scott Werwath and
Henry Crowell of the Collegiate School. Scott and
Henry’s bridge was the only one to “Beat the Engineer”
by scoring higher than the ASCE bridge!

facilitate the event. In addition to judging and testing the projects, these volunteers also
helped educate the students at the event about what it is to work as a Civil Engineer. A
special thanks to everyone who volunteered to help with the event.

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ASCE Richmond Branch – March Newsletter
































Annual Engineer’s Week Popsicle Bridge Contest (cont.)

Left: ASCE Members Denise Nelson and Aislinn Creel work to
register the 70+ bridges at this year’s event. Right: Being able to
display the bridges in the museum Rotunda gave a very impressive
display for the other Career Day and museum attendees.
Middle School Winners:

1. Scott Werwath/
Henry Crowell
Collegiate School
Bridge Weight: 220g
Load Carried: 350 lbs
Efficiency Score: 1487.9

2. Teja Nakkanti/
Pranay Nuvvala
Moody MS
Bridge Weight: 297g
Load Carried: 349.8 lbs
Efficiency Score: 815.9

3. Thomas Darby/
Daniel Womack
Chickahominy MS
Bridge Weight: 270g
Load Carried: 162.2 lbs
Efficiency Score: 457.8


Additionally, several local engineering and construction firms
very graciously helped sponsor the event through financial
contributions. Their support made the event possible and
ASCE would like to thank them for their efforts. The
companies who helped sponsor the event include:

Above: Testing crew members Mike Hall,
Derek Overstreet, Tony Gaynord, Matt
Yakim, and Chris Ray stayed busy testing
bridges with the newly constructed testing
frame complete with a load cell and a digital
readout. This was also the first year that ASCE
was invited to use the Science Museum’s
2010 Popsicle Stick Bridge Winners

High School Winners:

1. Julia Innes/
Diana Dannouf
LC Bird High School
Bridge Weight: 232g
Load Carried: 108.6 lbs
Efficiency Score: 415.1

2. Daniel Helderman/
Barrett Rutledge
Cosby High School
Bridge Weight: 234g
Load Carried: 108.2 lbs
Efficiency Score: 406.6

3. Tara Dighe/
Sierra Greenwich
Cosby High School
Bridge Weight: 222g
Load Carried: 91.8 lbs
Efficiency Score: 383.2

Most Aesthetically Pleasing Bridge:
Chris Delaney/Patrick Delaney
St. Christopher’s High School
Most Innovative Bridge:
Kevin Quigley/ Lionel Williams
LC Bird High School

ASCE Richmond Branch -March Newsletter Page 3









This month we profile Treasurer/ Secretary Tony
Gaynord. Tony is a civil engineer for McKinney &
Company in Ashland. In addition to serving on the
Board, Tony is an all-star for the YM kickball team.

Where are you from and where did you go to
school?

I am originally from Manassas, Virginia and went on
to get my Civil Engineering degree from Virginia
Tech. Go Hokies!!!

Why did you become a Civil Engineer?

I became a Civil engineer because I have always
wanted a better understanding of why things are the


MEET THE…Treasurer/ Secretary Tony Gaynord
Tony Gaynord


way they are. From the ground to the building, I have always thought the way
things were designed was interesting and have wanted to be involved.

How did you get involved in ASCE?

I joined ASCE while at Virginia Tech and enjoyed the socials and staying connected
with other Civil Engineers. When I moved to Richmond, I became involved through
the younger member group activities such as the socials and kickball team. After
meeting lots of great people and learning about what ASCE did for the Richmond
area, I became more involved with the other aspects of ASCE and now I am the
Treasurer/Secretary.

What is your role on the board?

Currently my role is Treasure/Secretary. I am involved with most ASCE activities
in one form or another. As Secretary I recording and distributing minutes from
each meeting. As Treasurer I keep track of all finances and make sure that events
are and can be funded.








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ASCE Richmond Branch – March Newsletter








Date Speaker Topic Location
April 8-10 -
Virginias Conference
(college student
competition and
conference)
Catholic
University,
Washington, D.C.
April 20 -
Liquid Assets
documentary (Branch
meeting)
The Byrd Theatre
April 22 -
UVA Student Chapter
Spring Banquet (contact
[email protected]
For additional
information)
UVA


Schedule of Upcoming Richmond Branch and other Events
There is more great information about the above and other
events, go to
ascevirginia.org

Branch to show Liquid Assets at the Byrd Theatre
The Richmond Branch will be screening the documentary Liquid Assets at the Byrd
Theatre on the evening of Tuesday April 20, 2010. This will serve as our Branch
meeting for the month of April but will be open to the public. Admission to the event
is FREE.

Website http://liquidassets.psu.edu best summarizes the program: “Liquid Assets is a
public media and outreach initiative that seeks to inform the nation about the critical
role that our water infrastructure plays in protecting public health and promoting
economic prosperity.” Liquid Assets was created by public broadcast station WPSU in
State College, Pennsylvania. The origins of the documentary came from conversations
between the Penn State Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Penn State
Public Broadcasting. Nationally, ASCE is a major outreach partner for the program.

Liquid Assets has been shown on 94% of PBS stations but has not been shown in the
Richmond market. Members are encouraged to invite family, friends and neighbors.
This is a great opportunity to let your friends and family know the importance of the
elements of infrastructure that almost never go noticed until something goes wrong. The
recently released Report Card of Virginia’s Infrastructure gives a C- grade to Drinking
water and D+ grade to Wastewater.