Apr 23 2008
Westhampton Beach High School student Paul DiLandro won first place in Brookhaven National Laboratory's 2008 Model Bridge Contest. Over 150 students from 13 Suffolk County high schools entered their model basswood bridges in the contest with the goal of making the lightest bridge that held the most weight. DiLandro's bridge weighed 14.38 grams and held 83.7 pounds, or 2,640 times its own weight.
(From left) are 2008 Brookhaven National Laboratory Model Bridge Contest winners: Eric Mosoff, Carl Sarno, Michelle Shebroe and Paul DiLandro
Second- and third-place honors went to Center Moriches High School students Eric Mosoff and Carl Sarno, respectively. Mosoff's bridge weighed 19.51 grams and held 109.3 pounds, or 2,541 times its own weight. Sarno's bridge weighed 19.73 grams, and held 110.2 pounds, or 2,533 times its own weight. The aesthetic prize for designing the most attractive bridge went to Michelle Shebroe, a student at Patchogue-Medford High School.
Brookhaven Lab's Office of Educational Programs coordinated the Model Bridge Contest. The first- and second-place winners are eligible to enter the 2008 International Bridge Building Contest, which will be held in Chicago, Illinois, on April 26.