Chris Ramseyer is a self-described "steel guy."

Not to be confused with a certain other man of steel, Ramseyer isn't a superhero. He's a structural engineer.

But his love of steel and keenness for concrete have exhibited themselves in some super ways. As director of the Fears Structural Engineering Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma, he oversees giant machines made especially to break impressive structures like bridges and roads.

The staff and faculty at the Fears Lab conduct research to come up with the best and most economical means of building roads and bridges, and then test them out with special machines. Like the giant vacuum chamber that can put up to 16,000 pounds of stress on a structure placed within. Or the machine that pounds concrete until it breaks to reveal weaknesses in construction.

But Ramseyer isn't just messing around with concrete and steel for fun. At the Fears Lab, OU faculty, staff and students conducted about $900,000 worth of research last year.

Private construction companies and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation pay the lab to research, consult on and test new building methods.

There's more to constructing bridges than just putting up steel beams and pouring concrete. For example, there isn't just one kind of concrete, Ramseyer said.

"We can make a concrete that's almost as strong as steel and we can make a concrete that's strong enough to drive on in (only) 45 minutes," he said. A slight tweak in the materials used to make bridges, buildings and roads can make all the difference in the world.

The research at the lab provides valuable tools for government and industry, Ramseyer said.

In turn, students also get important practical experience in their chosen field.

"The Fears Lab is probably where the students get the most hands-on applications," said Robert Knox, director of the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science.

One civil engineering class that uses the lab, for example, requires students to build two concrete columns, one with steel to reinforce it and one without, Knox said. Then students use a machine to pound the columns.

"So the students can see how the columns perform with and without the reinforcing steel," Knox said.

The lab is a helpful resource for companies all around the state through research. It's the only one in the state and one of the few of its caliber located at a U.S. university, Knox said.

"It's an incredible facility," he said. "There's nothing like it around the state."