Amr ElRagaby

Students pose with their popsicle stick bridgeThe winners of last year’s popsicle sticks bridge competition—Josh Mailloux, Ismaeel Babur, Eric Sylvestre and Evan Reidel—show off their arched design, which held more than 4800 newtons (almost 1,100 pounds) while weighing just over 1100 grams.

Model competition to test engineering students’ bridge-building skills

The public is invited to watch engineering students test the strength of their model bridges on Wednesday.

Engineering students hear from parkway designer

Students in Amr ElRagaby’s graduate course in bridge engineering really dug deep Thursday, as guest lecturer Biljana Rajlic discussed her work as the lead structural engineer and design team project manager of the Right Honourable Herb Gray Parkway.

The 11-kilometre, $1.4 billion project will connect Highway 401 to Interstate 75 in Michigan via a new bridge across the Detroit River.

Rajlic discussed the parkway’s design challenges, providing an overview of the roadways, utilities, geotechnical, structural, traffic management, landscaping and environmental design.

Bridge-building exercise proves educational for engineering students

Learning by practice is always the best, says civil engineering professor Amr ElRagaby.

That’s what makes a contest to design and build a bridge from popsicle sticks a valuable experience for his students.

“They can understand the principles, but when the have a chance to apply the theories, they learn something they will never forget,” he said Wednesday, as members of his class in Finite Element for Analysis and Design tested the load-bearing capacity of their structures.