UT’s chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) won first place overall at the American Society of Civil Engineers Southeast Conference and will compete for a national title.’
The conference took place on the Tennessee Tech University campus from March 24 through 26 and featured schools like Vanderbilt University, the University of Florida and the University of Auburn.
“Overall, we were able to bring home nine trophies, including first place in concrete cubes,” Marianne Hutson, UT conference chair, said.
The events included concrete cubes, an environmental competition and a surveying competition, most of which UT placed first or second in.
“There are many events that make up the competition,” Hutson said. “The different events include a transportation quiz competition, steel bridge and concrete canoe, among others.”
UT, which finished third in the steel bridge event, will also join Florida and Southern Polytechnic University, which finished first and second, respectively, at the national steel bridge championship. The competition will take place at the Texas A&M campus on May 20 and 21.
The steel bridge challenge required civil engineering students to design, fabricate and construct a steel bridge.
Steel bridges are judged on construction speed, as well as bridge economy, in which UT finished second and third, respectively.
Besides competitions, members of UT’s chapter of ASCE met and traveled with members of Tongji University, from Shanghai, China, at the conference.
“Another aspect of our conference experience has been working so closely with the Tongji University students,” Hutson said. “Many of our faculty have ties with the university and have invited them to join our students and compete in the competition. Each year the Tongjis meet and travel with the UTK Conference team.”
Tongji University also did well in the competition, placing third overall, first in the T-shirt competition and second in visual display and hydrology.
Both UT and Tongji University also placed within the top 10 in the mystery event.
“Each team consists of three students who are initially kept separate,” Hutson said. “The first student is given written instructions and is told to draw what they interpret. The drawing is given to the second student, who gives verbal instructions to the third student, who has building supplies (Play-Doh, Popsicle sticks, etc.). Communication is strictly limited to these media, and the team with the most correct structure and best communication wins.”
The UT College of Engineering is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 engineering programs in the nation, and with a first-place finish at the regional competition, many students felt the program lived up to its expectation.
“Being an engineering major, it’s great to see that our (ASCE) chapter can compete and win against schools like Vanderbilt or Florida,” Brian Daniel, junior in engineering, said.
