For a record-breaking fifth consecutive year, student engineers at the University of Florida were crowned the John M. Parucki National Champions in the 2025 Student Steel Bridge Competition, placing in five categories and taking home $8,000 in scholarships.
This year’s national finals at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, brought together 43 qualifying teams from colleges and universities across North America. The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) offer the Student Steel Bridge Competition to give future engineers hands-on steel design knowledge beyond the classroom.
Participants took on the challenge of designing, fabricating, and constructing a scale-model steel bridge that would span a river corridor passing through a wildlife conservation area—with the additional obstacle of constructing around a protected sandbar. Competitors found innovative ways to navigate new rules and challenging assembly constraints, including a height restriction to minimize impact on the surrounding landscape and a minimum clearance to ensure the safety of paddlers passing underneath the bridge.
In addition to winning the overall prize, the University of Florida placed first in stiffness and efficiency, placed second in lightness and economy, and came in third for cost estimate. They pulled off a 9:37 assembly time with only two builders on the floor.
Lafayette College came in second overall, winning first place in economy and taking home $6,000 in scholarship funds.
Virginia Tech won third place overall, earning them $4,000 in scholarships. They placed first in aesthetics, second in efficiency, and third in lightness and stiffness.
The SSBC planning committee also announced that University of Texas at El Paso is the official host of the 2026 SSBC National Finals (May 22 and 23 in El Paso, Texas).
The final results of the 2025 competition are as follows:
Overall
University of Florida
Lafayette College
Virginia Tech
Construction Speed
Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg
University of California, Davis
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Lightness
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
University of Florida
Virginia Tech
Aesthetics
Virginia Tech
Université Laval
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
Stiffness
University of Florida
University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Virginia Tech
Cost Estimate
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Kennesaw State University
University of Florida
Economy
Lafayette College
University of Florida
Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg
Efficiency
University of Florida
Virginia Tech
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Team Engagement Award
University of California, San Diego
Robert E. Shaw Jr. Spirit of the Competition Award
Lincoln Memorial University
Frank J. Hatfield Ingenuity Award
Kennesaw State University
John M. Yadlosky Most Improved Team Award
Clemson University
Video Award
New York University
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
University of British Columbia
