Civil & Environmental Engineering students gather wins at ASCE conference

Students in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System, brought home three firsts, two seconds, one third and one fourth in recent American Society of Civil Engineers competition at the virtual ASCE Southeast Student Conference.

"The success of the students in the ASCE competitions highlights a dedication to the practice of civil engineering and the ability to take what is taught in the classroom and transfer that knowledge to real projects," says Dr Michael Anderson, CEE department chair and associate dean of graduate education and research.

Dr. Anderson assists in the advising of the UAH ASCE Student Chapter with Dr. Ashraf Z. Al- Hamdan, a clinical associate professor of Civil Engineering focusing on geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering.

The awards:

First – USEI Surveying

Teams performed surveying tasks and calculations based on provided information.

Leader: Zeb Maze

Members: Alden Gordon, Conner Twyman

First – Sustainable Conference

Teams developed and presented ideas on improving the sustainability of future ASCE

Student conferences.

Leader: Connor Moore

Members: Nate Brinkman, Rebecca Ibsen, Kait Neese

First – Pykrete

Teams created pykrete (ice and fiber composite) samples, which were tested in compression and bending to evaluate strength. A report explained the choice of fiber and percentage used in the composite, as well as preliminary testing data.

Leader: Nate Brinkman

Members: Sarah Puchner, Callahan Diercks, Connor Moore

Second – Concrete Cornhole

Teams designed and constructed a concrete cornhole board and played a virtual cornhole tournament with this board. A report was created explaining the concrete mix design and showed rule compliance.

Leader: Conner Twyman

Members: Connor Moore, Callahan Diercks, Luke Childress

Second – Concrete Horseshoes

Teams designed and constructed four concrete horseshoes with the durability required for actual game play. Information regarding the concrete mix design, aesthetics, construction process and results of play were presented in a report.

Leader: Alden Gordon

Members: Sarah Puchner, Kelly Campo

Third – Virtual City Design

Students developed their ideal city through the digital game Cities: Skylines with functional and efficient transportation, zoning, electricity, water and sewage infrastructure.

Leader: Jonathon Wade

Fourth – AISC Steel Bridge

Teams cut and welded members to create a steel bridge that supported 2,500 pounds within the required deflection limit. Teams assembled the bridge as quickly as possible.

Leader: Cameron Miller

Members: Lane Arnold, Callahan Diercks, Jonathon Wade, Luke Childress, Jared Manteussel

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