By WU Tie

Special to the Tsinghua News Center

Tsinghua’s 12th Structure Design Competition Final was staged at the Back Hall of the Main Building on December 2, bringing down the curtain on the two-month-long competition.

Mr. YUE Zhiguang from the Department of Civil Engineering and his two team-members’ wooden bridge, weighing only 66.1g, won the final by successfully supporting a 15 kg model car driven over it. Their bridge also won three more titles, including the Best Weight Bearing, the Best Structure Analysis, and the Best Making.

The 12th Structure Design Competition, curtained up on September 25, attracted around 200 students from 18 schools and departments to participate in the Funny Competition and 500 students from 15 schools and departments in the Professional Competition. Most competitors were undergraduate students and postgraduates from the School of Architecture, the Department of Civil Engineering, the Department of Hydraulic Engineering, the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, and the Department of Automotive Engineering.

The Structure Design Competition, launched 12 years ago, is a traditional science and technology competition at Tsinghua. It has become a showcase for students to demonstrate the creativity and durability of their structural designs.

Mr. XIONG Jun, presidium member of this competition, said that the competition is based on engineering practice and guided by a comprehensive knowledge of dynamics. Competitors initially created bridges with paper or tung wood and latex by applying the knowledge they had acquired in the classroom. The rationality and practicability of their works would be tested by the heavy model car. Through the competition, students consolidate their understanding of engineering practice, enhance their team spirit, and demonstrate their competence as future civil engineers.

(Photo by Guo Haijun)