The team put together a 21 1/2-foot-length bridge that weighed 218.5 pounds in 2 minutes and 46 seconds.

"The CSUN team reached the nationals by placing third at a regional competition held at UC Irvine in April. During that time, teams from 178 universities across the country were also competing to get to the University of Wisconsin national contest," said Edward Larson, professor for civil engineering and advisor for the steel bridge team.

The team consisted of civil engineering students, Theresa Cooper, Carlos Cueva, Eladio Lopez, Jaime Munoz, Christopher Solis and John Taylor.

"I have done this for several years and the students get a practical experience by learning how to built a bridge out of steel after they have designed it," Larson said. "They've learned overall cost is very competitive and leads to winning of a contract. This type of experience is normally not available in their classroom experience and they get to gain this knowledge in the field by competing with other schools."

"This group of students is very proud of being ranked 6th overall out of 178 universities teaching the same material," Larson said.