Kyle Keane adds another weight while Omar Almagri looks on. Photo by Will Kirk / HIPS

By Phil Sneiderman
Homewood

Freshmen enrolled in an introductory class called What is Engineering? used pasta, glue and ingenuity to compete in the Whiting School's 13th annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition, held recently in the Glass Pavilion at Homewood. Teams of two or three students were required to build bridges, using only spaghetti and glue, spanning one meter and weighing less than 750 grams. The bridge that supported the most weight before breaking won $100. Below, Dana Rampulla checks a connection on her team's structure. At right, Kyle Keane carefully adds weight during a test of his team's bridge, as teaching assistant Omar Almagri, a sophomore, looks on. The winning bridge, Tacoma Narrows, was built by Ellen Berlinghof, Rory O'Rourke and Graham Belton. Before breaking, it held a net load of 67 kilograms, setting a new student record.

Dana Rampalla checks her team's bridge before weights are added. Photo by Will Kirk / HIPS

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