The Defense Metals Technology Center (DMTC) of North Canton, Ohio, US and the nearby University of Akron are sponsoring a unique academic competition for the design of a pedestrian bridge at the University to be made of titanium. Qualified to participate in the design competition are schools and departments of Civil Engineering, Architecture, and Industrial Design from institutions in what the DMTC calls America’s Metals Heartland – Ohio, Pennsylvania, eastern Indiana, SE Michigan, northern Kentucky and northern West Virginia. The selection committee, composed of NE Ohio business and civic leaders, recently held its first meeting on the Akron campus. Designing the bridge will help solve a logistical problem at the Quaker Square Inn at the University of Akron, which serves as a dormitory, hotel, and conference center. The complex is fenced-off from the main campus by CSX railroad tracks. This forces pedestrians to use remote bridges that access the main campus. As competition incentive, the DMTC will provide scholarship money to students on the First and Second Place and Honorable Mention teams. Likewise, it will convey grants to the winning institutions for the study of specialty metals in commercial applications. Applications must be submitted by 2 October 2009.