ST. PAUL, Minn., January 22, 2026 – Four University of Northwestern – St. Paul Engineering students and alumni placed third out of 16 nationwide competitors at the KEEN Undergraduate Bridge Competition, placing behind the New York Institute of Technology, first, and Carnegie Mellon, second. The bridge, made entirely of paper and staples, supported the heaviest load in the competition at nearly 3kg, ranking third overall for the load-to-weight ratio.
Entering in the competition started as an extra credit class project for Statics, a course focused on forces, equilibrium and how these principles apply to buildings, bridges and machines. Although the class completed in late December, students continued working to improve their project for the January 21 competition. Over the course of the project, students increased the load-to-weight ratio from 4 to 14.6, with 20 being the practical limit. This ratio demonstrates the strength of the bridge compared to its weight. The higher the value, the stronger the bridge with more efficient use of material.
Dr. Siu-Yue Tam, Associate Professor of Engineering and Director of the Northwestern Center for Innovation and Research, reflected, “I am very proud of them, in their technical achievement and their extraordinary motivation and commitment.”
Participants are pictured left to right, Dr. Siu-Yue Tam, Joseph Nyagaka (‘28), Clay Kroehnert (‘27), Nate Yang (‘25), and Emmy Rens (‘28).
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University of Northwestern – St. Paul (UNW) is a nondenominational, Christian university in St. Paul, Minn. With a Biblical worldview integrated into all programs, UNW provides a unique educational experience for students who want to combine faith and education. Northwestern offers more than 50 areas of study, including five master’s degrees, and online and early college programs. Northwestern Media, a ministry of the university, owns and operates 105 radio signals throughout the Midwest across 13 states with a total listenership of more than 2 million listeners. Visit unwsp.edu for more information.
