Championships keep rolling in for University of Florida ASCE chapters, as student teams won first place overall earlier this month at the ASCE Southeast Student Symposium in Athens, Ga.
“UF took first out of 19 universities,” noted ASCE student chapter advisor Mark Newman, Ph.D. “Our students also made more history as the first university in the region to win first place in Steel Bridge, Concrete Canoe, and Overall three years in a row. This means that both our Steel Bridge and Concrete Canoe teams will be advancing to nationals.”
That is big news because those two UF teams are the reigning national champions, taking seven out of the last 10 national championships across the two competitions. The steel bridge team has won six titles – 1997, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The concrete canoe team has won four titles – 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2024.
About 65 UF engineering students competed in the competitions hosted by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The ASCE student chapter falls under the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment (ESSIE) in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.
“All of ESSIE should be very proud as our ASCE student chapter made history becoming the first school to ever three-peat as the overall champions at the annual ASCE Southeast Student Symposium,” Newman noted in an announcement about the wins.
The concrete canoe team won with their new vessel Reptilia, a nod to a fragile Florida ecology disrupted by invasive species. The steel bridge team took home first in the stiffness, lightness, and efficiency categories, leading to first overall. Other competitions at the Symposium highlighted the broad impact of the civil and environmental engineering profession with society-wide professional competitions consistent across all ASCE regions, such as Professional Paper. Other, more light-hearted competitions, such as Concrete Cornhole, are chosen by the host school.
UF results from the Symposium:
First place: Overall, Concrete Canoe, Steel Bridge, Professional Paper, Construction Institute, 3D Printed Bridge and Audrey’s Traffic Control – named in honor of the late UF graduate and transportation engineer Audrey Peralta Stewart
Third place: Geowall
“Our students work hard and take these competitions seriously but also balance their work with fun,” said Taylor Rawlinson, Ph.D., a faculty adviser and lab director for the Steel Bridge, Concrete Canoe and other ASCE chapter teams.
“Winning competitions across many facets of civil and environmental engineering demonstrates how well-rounded we are as a program and how practical our students are as they prepare to become professionals,” he added.
“While there is pressure to win, the environment is very supportive,” said student competitor Adina Birnholz, who serves as conference chair with Kieran McInerney. “I have never been in an environment that sees so much success and is so uplifting for everyone. We are very lucky to be supported by Dr. Newman and Dr. Rawlinson, who encourage us at every step.”