Competition on at Quaker Square
By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Friday, Oct 30, 2009
More than 100 college students and faculty members from throughout Ohio and neighboring states whipped out their measuring tapes and toured the site of a proposed titanium pedestrian bridge in Akron.
They represented 17 teams from 11 higher education institutions who are competing to design the bridge, a project promoted by the Defense Metals Technology Center (DMTC) in North Canton and the University of Akron.
The bridge will help solve a logistical problem at UA's Quaker Square Inn, which serves as a university residence facility and as a hotel and conference center.
The complex is separated from the main campus by railroad tracks, forcing pedestrians to use remote bridges to access the main campus.
Titanium is the proposed material because it weighs much less than steel while being just as strong, does not rust, and is corrosion-resistant to sea water and chlorine.
Also, titanium is a chief focus of the DMTC, a U.S. Army Center of Excellence established in 2007 with a mission to find innovative, cost-saving techniques for the use of specialty metals for both the military and America's economy. Federal, state and local funding will be sought to build the bridge after the competition ends.
The competing students who toured the site Thursday are majoring in engineering, architecture and industrial design. In addition to UA, they came from Ball State University, Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University, Miami University, Purdue University, Stevens Institute of Technology, the University of Detroit Mercy, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Pittsburgh and Youngstown State University.
The DMTC will provide scholarship money to students on the first- and second-place and honorable- mention teams, and provide grants to the winning institutions for the studyof specialty metals in commercial applications. Winners will be announced in May.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.
