El Monte, California – October 14, 2026: The University of Southern California (USC) Advanced Composites Design Lab, advised by Prof. Bo Jin earned four awards at the 2026 SAMPE (Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering) International Composites Bridge Contest held in Seattle, Washington on April 29, 2026.
TGC Chairman and CEO Stephen Gill, TGC R&D Director Betty Huang, and USC Prof. Bo Jin
The contest gives university students the opportunity to design, manufacture, and test composite structures under defined competition rules and loading requirements. Supported by The Gill Corporation (TGC), students apply their composites knowledge to real engineering problems while developing practical design, analysis, manufacturing, and testing experience.
The 2026 USC awards were:
- 1st Place – Category H, Sandwich Beam
- 2nd Place – Category H, Sandwich Beam
- 3rd Place – Category E, Glass Fiber Square Beam
- 3rd Place – Category G, Open Design
The USC–TGC collaboration provides students with valuable exposure to industry materials knowledge, technical discussion, and professional training. In accordance with SAMPE competition requirements, the student teams independently completed the design, manufacturing, and testing of their competition entries. The collaboration helps students connect academic engineering methods with the standards, practices, and expectations of the aerospace composites industry.
The SAMPE International Composites Bridge Contest brings together student teams from universities in the United States and abroad. USC students continue to use the competition as a hands-on learning platform for structural design, composites manufacturing, testing, and design optimization.
Congratulations to the USC student team, and Fight On!
ABOUT THE COLLABORATION: USC and The Gill Corporation have a collaborative relationship that goes back several decades. M. C. Gill and his wife, Ellen Gill, the founders of TGC, Stephen Gill, Chairman and CEO, and Jennifer Gill, VP, are USC alumni. In 2001, the Merwyn C. Gill Foundation donated $7 million to USC, establishing the Merwyn C. Gill Foundation Composites Center. More than two decades later, USC and TGC continue to work together to advance composites education, student training, and industry engagement.
Press Contact:
Holly Nguyen
Marketing Communications Specialist
Phone: 626-258-2720
Email: hnguyen@thegillcorp.com
