Virginia Tech civil and environmental engineering student teams win regional competitions
Hundreds of civil and environmental engineering students came to Virginia Tech on March 28-30 for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Virginias Student Symposium. This event allows for students across Virginia and West Virginia to compete in civil engineering competitions, with the winners moving on to the national competitions.
Virginia Tech teams showcased their talents earning top ranks in most of the competitions throughout the weekend. Congratulations to the following teams and students:
Steel Bridge Competition: Virginia Tech secured first place with the team led by Ricky Wohlrab and Shannon Hodul. This competition challenges student teams to develop a scale-model steel bridge. The bridges are load tested and weighted. Competing teams are judged in seven categories: construction speed, lightness, aesthetics, stiffness, cost estimate, economy, and efficiency. The team will move on to compete at the national competition at Louisiana Tech University on May 31-June 1.
Concrete Canoe Competition: Virginia Tech won first place overall, with wins in both the men’s and women’s slalom races. The competition provides students an opportunity to gain hands-on, practical experience while testing their skills with concrete mix designs and project management challenges through the racing of concrete canoes. The team will compete at the national competition at Brigham Young University on June 19-24.
Sustainability Competition: Virginia Tech won first place, led by team captain Nichole Dorn and team members Brooke Dashiell, Alex Price, and Ethan Valera. Graduate advisors Lucas Alexander and Natalie Romero contributed to the win. During this event, students submitted a proposal to revitalize a waterfront area using sustainability framework. The team will compete at the national competition at Brigham Young University on June 19-24.
Transportation Competition: Virginia Tech won first place with team members AJ Joseph, Johnny Stern, and Ashlyn O’Neill. The team was given a multi-purpose development and was tasked with creating a design for a bid to be used to adapt road development infrastructure to accommodate new traffic loads.
Surveying Competition: Virginia Tech secured first place with Liam Glennon as team captain and team members Jaelynn Holloway, Walter Seaberg, Eaton Wen, Andrew Donaldson, and faculty advisor Holly Casey. Students were required to use standard field equipment to solve common problems encountered in industry.
Construction Institute Competition: Virginia Tech secured second place. During this competition, students completed real-work construction challenges and provided written and diagrammatic responses to given tasks.
Hardy Cross Technical Presentation: Ted Balabanski won second place in this oral research presentation and earned a $250 cash prize.
ASCE VA Section Scholarship: Bryan Lagunas was awarded the prestigious scholarship in the amount of $2,750.
Thompson Awards: Ricky Wohlrab was awarded a $500 award. These are given to the most outstanding ASCE student graduate from each Virginia school.
These outstanding achievements demonstrate Virginia Tech’s excellence in civil engineering through innovation and sustainability in a competitive environment. The teams aim to continue that success as they compete in the national competitions.
