Term Review - Lester

I learned a lot throughout the course of this Section. Writing the weekly blog posts helped me realize just how much we explored each course deliverable in the Goals section. As a team project, teamwork was inevitable. I became proficient in navigating the West Point Bridge Designer interface, learning its many useful functions and how to interpret the test results. I was able to apply force analysis calculations to joints and members on our bridge design. I also learned how precise one must be when making a physical and computer model of a design.

Knowing how to computer these force calculations, as well as the ones on WPBD, will be useful in the future, especially for Civil engineering jobs that are very calculations-oriented. Learning how to use new modeling programs like West Point Bridge Designer will help me adapt to new programs with even more speed in the future. Working as a team to create the K’nex bridge was beneficial; our group worked well together, and as we learned new skills we were able to bounce ideas off each other to maximize the efficiency of our design. Also, I know more about the structure of trusses and how they differ from other bridge structures like suspension bridges. Not to mention that the instructors knew what they were doing and were always available when problems arose.

Although I enjoyed the project, I would have liked it more oriented towards problem solving. It would have been very interesting to have the class based on a scenario where certain needs had to be met. Such as a walking overpass on a busy highway that could not be shut down for construction, or a temporary truss to transport a high volume of cars over a newly formed stream created from flooding of a nearby river. These kind of scenarios bring constraints to the table ad force us to think critically to keep certain factors in priority. This bridge competition project did have some constraints and was geared towards creating a truss with a low cost to strength ratio. However, the constraints were very broad. This is good in that it allowed for creative freedom, but also complicated because we had to consider a great number of factors and often resorted to trial and error type designing.

I would have also liked to have even more lectures on past bridges, which ones failed and which didn’t, and which ones could be transcribed into a physical model with materials like K’nex or other materials like steel rods of even thin wooden sticks. Unfortunately, I realize that there is not enough time in a 10-week freshman design course to go into a wide range of materials.