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Students to Test Engineering Innovation With Spaghetti Bridges

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Finishing up the monthlong “Engineering Innovation” summer program to learn what it takes to be an engineer, 57 high school students from the region, the country and abroad will compete in the Spaghetti Bridge Contest from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, July 22, in Titan Student Union Pavilion.

Students will put their engineering skills to the test by designing and building “spaghetti bridges” — using only pasta and glue. The goal is to build a bridge that can carry the heaviest load while meeting engineering specifications.

In addition to Orange County teens, the program has international students from China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Korea, France and Spain. The instructors are Binod Tiwari, Garrett Struckhoff and Beena Ajmera, all civil and environmental engineering faculty members. Teaching fellows are Kevin Dwyer, a physics teacher from Cypress High School; Minh Vu, an engineering teacher from Valley High School, Santa Ana; and Jasmin Jamal, a CSUF graduate student studying environmental engineering.

Through the program, a partnership between CSUF and Johns Hopkins University, students interested in pursuing college studies and careers in engineering get the opportunity to think and problem-solve like engineers while earning JHU credit.

For more information, contact Jaime Dance,
 College of Engineering and Computer Science summer programs coordinator, 657-278-3813, or visit online

Media Contacts:

Binod Tiwari, Civil and Environmental Engineering, 657-278-3968
Debra Cano Ramos, 657-278-4027