Georgia Southern engineering students win multiple awards at ASCE Southeast Symposium
Georgia Southern University’s American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter clutched several top finishes, including multiple first place honors for engineering at the 2024 ASCE Southeast Symposium held in Orlando in March.
The Symposium is an annual event that gathers civil engineering students from universities across a designated region to compete, collaborate and learn. It features a series of competitions designed to challenge students in practical and theoretical aspects of civil engineering.
“By partaking in this hands-on and competitive event, students practice the application of engineering principles, theory and best practices,” said Gustavo Maldonado, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Civil Engineering & Construction and faculty advisor. “They gain valuable experience in structural design, advanced computational structural analysis, fabrication processes, construction planning and organization, project management and teamwork.”
At the event in Orlando, Georgia Southern students competed against — and outperformed — students from other prestigious universities in Georgia and Florida, including Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, University of Miami, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and more.
Georgia Southern took first place in two categories in the Steel Bridge competition, in which students designed, fabricated and constructed a scale model of a steel bridge. The model was tested for structural efficiency, lightness, stiffness, construction speed and aesthetics among other criteria.
Anu Pradeep, ASCE student chapter president, was a member of the winning steel bridge team and says the experience has been irreplaceable in her career growth.
“ASCE has been my gateway to so many individuals, whether it’s through networking or by finding like-minded individuals within my major,” Pradeep said. “If Anu from two years ago could look at herself now, she would be extremely proud of the consistent growth displayed in all aspects of her life. Each victory isn’t just a personal achievement, but a testament to the woman I am and my dedication to engineering.”
The team also included students Ana Lanza Hernandez, Georgia Brown, Evan Hall, Trenton Clover, Dale Lee and Hunter Smallwood.
Georgia Southern students David Anderson, DJ Lee, Hunter Smallwood and Ethan Dent also took first place in the UESI Surveying competition, in which students performed precise surveying tasks using tools and techniques like total stations and GPS.
“This competition requires students to know how to survey, develop topographs, conduct measurements using pacing and the total station, along with having adept problem-solving skills related to actual issues engineers encounter in the field,” said Pradeep. “Moreover, they are required to present their pre-competition tasks, and perform field surveying the day of competitions.”
In the Concrete Canoe Competition, a long-term symposium project, students construct and race a functional canoe made of concrete. ASCE members Bennet Toci, Grant Grosch, Stefon Persaud, Ryan LaPradd and Noble Langston took second place out of 18 schools for their project proposal.
“Our students were able to test samples in the fall, and eventually started the mixing process and laid out the concrete on the mold in February, which typically needs a curing process of 28 days,” said Pradeep. “However, due to our materials arriving late, we did not get the full 28 days. Instead, we were only able to cure for around 21 to 24 days. Then the canoe was painted, the stands for it were made, and we headed to Orlando.”
This isn’t the first time that Georgia Southern’s ASCE chapter has been honored at the ASCE Southeast Symposium. The student chapter also earned several awards at the 2022-2023 symposium, the first year back after the COVID-19 pandemic. In that year, the students ended up winning first in Surveying, second in Steel Bridge Aesthetics, third in Steel Bridge Lightness, National Top Ten for Geo-Wall and third in Mystery. The team also created one of our best quality produced concrete canoes, GS Southern Rock III.
This year’s symposium was a huge accomplishment for the chapter, as many of the awards received were first-time awards for Georgia Southern.
“It was our first time successfully completing the Timber-Strong project and our first-ever win for the Concrete Canoe in the university’s recent history,” Pradeep said. “Even our professors can’t remember the last time we won anything for the canoe.”
The ASCE student chapter plans to attend the Southeast Symposium again in 2025, and its student members are working to continue to grow the organization. For more information contact gasouthernASCE@gmail.com.
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