Steel Strong

UT Tyler HEC Steel Bridge Team Celebrates Another Successful Season

Students with "Gamma" the Steel Bridge UT Tyler Houston Engineering Center students placed among the top 20 teams at the 2021 American Institute of Steel Construction National Steel Bridge Competition, after winning the regional meet. This was UT Tyler’s first appearance at nationals.

UT Tyler went on to place 16th out of 25 teams. The contest involves collegiate teams overseeing the design and fabrication of a 20-foot-long bridge to support up to 2,500 pounds. Read the article, Regional Champs.

The team’s success is the culmination of outstanding student leadership as well as hard work, collaboration and dedication, according to UT Tyler civil engineering lecturer Dr. Shariful Huq, the team’s faculty adviser. 

Logo designed on steel bridge “I’m very proud of our steel bridge team here at HEC – they represented the Department of Civil Engineering, COE and UT Tyler as a whole so well,” Huq said. “Also instrumental is the support that the team received from our sponsor Sean Hyslop with Stage 3 Separation, Dr. (Andres) Garcia and the HEC community. I am hoping that our future student body will take great pride in such achievement and strive to continue our participation and winning legacy.”

Read on to learn about the team’s past captain and UT Tyler alumnus, Taylor Knight.

Knight Builds Upon Team Successes 

KnightTaylor Knight’s engineering lessons started at an early age. His father, uncles and grandfather all are engineers. The Kingwood, Texas, native spent several years working at the family firm and eventually decided to finish his undergraduate education. He graduated in May 2021 from the UT Tyler Houston Engineering Center with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

Knight’s interest in bridges sparked when he won a pasta bridge competition while a Lone Star College student. When arriving at the HEC, Knight noticed the previous steel bridges on display. With his curiosity piqued, he joined the team. He volunteered to be captain in fall 2019, succeeding former captain Stuart Davis.

“Stuart Davis had done a great job previously, so I volunteered in order to maintain a high level,” Knight said. “Dr. Shariful Huq, Dr. Andres Garcia, and Sean Hyslop at Stage 3 Separation, have been excellent in supporting the steel bridge team. We couldn’t have done what we did without them.”

As the team’s faculty adviser, Huq said he enjoyed collaborating with Knight the past two years. He calls the alumnus a “willing and patient” leader. 

“Taylor has a good understanding of how to solve problems,” Huq said. “He applied that experience and guided his team in a manner that optimized participation and productivity. He also is a good listener and team builder who created an environment of inclusiveness.”

Knight is now a design engineer at Stage 3 Separation, the Houston-based company that has sponsored the UT Tyler HEC team since 2016.

“Because of COVID-19 restrictions, Stage 3 Separation allowed us complete access to facilities and equipment, and it became our unofficial campus,” Knight said. “I am proud of this team for taking us to a level that they can be proud of.”

Knight also appreciated the topnotch education and learning environment the HEC offers. 

“The UT Tyler HEC provided an excellent environment to collaborate with other engineering disciplines,” he added. “Civil, mechanical and electrical students do homework in the same lounge and share the same classrooms. This collaboration is one of our greatest advantages over other teams.”

Now a part of a multidisciplinary engineering team, Knight is excited to apply what he’s learned at the HEC in his position with Stage 3 Separation. And while his new job is keeping him busy, he said he is open to obtaining an advanced degree in the future.

Among hobbies, Knight enjoys building things and tinkering with power tools. Most of his family now resides in East Texas. His parents currently live on a ranch in Grapeland, and two of his five sisters are students at the Tyler campus.

#COE

Read more from the latest issue!