Home-Schooled Student Wins Brookhaven Lab's Model Bridge Contest
April 5, 2005
UPTON, NY - Benjamin Coburn (second from right in photo below), a home-schooled student from Center Moriches, won first place in Brookhaven National Laboratory's 2005 Model Bridge Contest. Over 225 high school students from 15 schools in Suffolk County entered their model basswood bridges in the contest with the goal of making the lightest bridge that held the most weight. Coburn's bridge weighed 22.5 grams and held 99.44 pounds, or 2004.71 times its own weight.
Jeddy Chen (third from right), Ward Melville High School, won second place with a bridge that weighed 22.6 grams and held 67.38 pounds, or 1,352.37 times its own weight. Third-place honors went to David Abruzzi (left), Walt Whitman High School, whose 21.3-gram bridge held 55.73 pounds, or 1186.81 times its own weight. Justin Milillo (right), Comsewogue High School, won the aesthetic prize for creating the most attractive bridge.
Joining the winning students is Mel Morris, a member of Brookhaven's Office of Educational Programs and organizer of the contest. Each of the four winning students received a trophy, and the two top winners are eligible to enter the 2005 International bridge Building Contest, which will be held in Chicago, Illinois, on April 22 and 23.
2005-10298 | INT/EXT | Newsroom
