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Show Fridav. February 18. 1983 THE HERALD, Provo; Utah, - Page Bridge Building Juab Youth Withstands Contest Pressure; Wins By MYRNA TRAUNTVEIN - Nephi Correspondent NEPHI David Bronson, a Juab High School junior, built a balsa wood bridge that withstood 764 pounds of pressure to win first place in the school's annual bridge building contest sponsored by Brigham Young University's Civil Engineering Department. Each year students at the school build model bridges for the contest from standard kits which contain strips of balsa wood, a small strip of poster board, four tiny blocks of wood, and a little tube of model glue. Using the standard kit, Scott Woodard, a junior at the time, built a bridge in 1979 that withstood 1,639 pounds of pressure before it collapsed. This year's bridges are not holding the same amount of pressure before cracking, explained Dr. Don Budge, a BYU Civil Engineering professor who manages the annual contest. The hydraulic ram was redesigned in 1982 and the configuration was changed, says Norman Hale, civil engineering technician who runs the ram for the school. Hale says the pistons on the ram were changed at that time. Each bridge is tested on the ram which places pressure on the bridge until the bridge cracks. The machine measures the bridges weight capacity at its breaking point, Hale says all five pistons used p Bronson (right) and Hale discuss the bridge Bronson built. The bridge withstood to apply the same pressure but now two and four apply .272 force or 27 percent of the pressure while the other three pistons apply .152 force or 15 percent of the pressure. He said 1,856 pounds of pressure is the maximum capacity of the machine. So far this year, a student from Mt. View in Orem has placed the highest with a bridge that withstood 911 pounds of pressure, said Budge. The hydraulic ram is taken throughout the state to each of the 25 participating high schools. Last year, more than 1,000 bridges were tested and the department expects to test more than that this year, says Budget. However, fewer students at Juab High School participated this year than did last, says Jay 764 pounds of pressure. Woodard, school advisor for the project. Last year, there were 60 participants and this year there were 48. Hale says the configuration of the testing ram was changed because students had pretty well optimized the engineering design possibilities. With the new stress points, he says, students have to redesign and that gives them an opportunity to see how math can be applied to solving problems in practical ways. There are many types of beam structures and engineering designs possible. Bracing is important and the methods used to create a strong bridge call up the creative imaginations of the participants, says Budge. Top bridge builder in the state last year was a Lehi student who built a bridge withstanding 1,221 pounds even with the new configuration. Other winners in the Juab Contest this year were: Paul Neilsen whose bridge withstood 697 pounds; Robert Allred with a bridge which withstood 684 pounds; Lynette Christensen whose bridge held 655 pounds; and David Oliver whose bridge withstood 649 pounds of pressure. Woodard says students have had many strange things happen on the way to the contest while he has been advisor for the Juab High group. One boy put the bridge in the oven to speed the drying process. Unfortunately, he joked, the bridge burned to a crisp which is a new turn on the story. Another student set his bridge on the porch to dash in the house for a forgotten item and the family dog chewed up the completed masterpiece. Diet Leader Speaks at lY' On Tuesday Sybil Ferguson, founder of Diet Center, Inc., will speak at Brigham Young University on Tuesday as part of the Executive Lecture Series sponsored by the School of Management. Her lecture, "Diet Center, the American Dream," is scheduled at 4; 10 p.m. in 151 Tanner Builid-ing- . The lecture is open to the public and there is no charge. Ferguson, after losing her own weight problem earlier in life, developed the weight control method she built into Diet Center, Inc. It is now one of the largest franchise operations in the nation. She operates the corporation's nutritional program, directs its advertising and public relations, edits its monthly magazine, and is a teacher and director at the Diet Center Dietology School in Rexburg, Idaho. Her husband, Roger, handles the business and financial end of Diet Center operations. It is a family business which also involves their five children. Ferguson is not only founder and (with her husband) of Diet Center, Inc., she is also of several other family businesses. These include: Ferguson Laboratories, one of the largest Class A pharmaceutical plants in the West; Ferguson and Associates Advertising Agency; Sybil's Inc.; The Print Livestock, Shop; International Inc.; a 100,000-acr- e sheep and cattle ranch; a 6,000-acr- e potato farm; and a championship golf course. She is active in civic and business affairs through a number of organizations. She is a member of the Advisory Board for the Ricks College Department of Business, a member of the Board of Directors for the Boise State University Community Health Sciences Division, and a member of Founding Member Committee of 200, which includes the top 200 women business executives the nation. 0 1M A CNM ... in Now theTaos Instruments home Curtis Mathes! computer is only Computer Curtis Mathes is proud to announce the new low price of $249.95 on Texas Instruments 994A home computer. 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