Nick’s Award

Nick’s love of bridges was made a bit more public recently when he won a paper competition run by the Institute of Structural Engineering. The essay prompt was to write in 4 pages why structural engineers should want to design bridges. Since Nick’s career path has been like an after-school special about the kid who dreamed about making bridges ever since he was a little boy, he figured he had to enter. As the competition winner, Nick got to miss a day of work and go down to an IstructE meeting in London to give a presentation on his paper (in a ringing Yankee accent!) and accept his prize. His paper will be published in a future issue of the Institute magazine as well. To whet your whistle, here is the paper’s introduction below.

Bridges: they are a symbol, a metaphor, an icon, a sculpture, a monument, and a way to get from A to B. They are photographed, painted, eulogized, crossed, and climbed. But with bridges meaning many things to many people, what drives their creators? What draws structural engineers of all ages and backgrounds to these ancient and iconic structures? No doubt the drive of each bridge designer is unique, but rarely are structural engineers given more opportunity to overcome complex challenges and meet the needs of a growing society through such daring, elegant, and creative solutions. Because a bridge is not called to offer shelter or habitation like a building, its structural skeleton is not hidden by architectural additions that can distort space and proportion. Bridges are defined not by what is added to the essential load-bearing structure but by the simple purity of that structure itself. Bridge design provides a unique opportunity for structural engineers to prominently exhibit their creative skill in overcoming nature to provide human transport.

If that intro leaves you with an insatiable desire to read more, let Nick know--but remember, he is only human and may not be able to cope with the overwhelming demand =).