 "Photo: Courtesy Alex Hinkle")
UCF civil engineering students secured a second place overall victory at the American Society of Civil Engineers 2010 Southeastern Student Conference at Auburn University March 19 and 20.
The UCF ASCE student chapter won first place in the steel bridge competition, which is sponsored by the American Institute for Steel Construction, and third place in the concrete canoe competition.
This was the highest overall ranking UCF students have received at the conference, and the students are now eligible to enter the 2010 National Student Steel Bridge Competition.
Because the UCF ASCE chapter received $17,370 in funding from SGA, a steel bridge sponsorship from Kiewit and many local businesses, 50 students were able to attend the conference, according to UCF ASCE president Alex Hinkle.
Hinkle, a civil and construction engineering major, said students from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Puerto Rico and China participated in the conference.
“Their programs are a lot more established than ours,” said SGA Vice President-elect Taylor Lochrane, a civil engineering doctoral student and former president of ASCE. “It’s just amazing how our school can compete at a national level.”
According to Hinkle, the conference consists of 15 competitions. Over the course of the year, the 150-member UCF ASCE chapter needs every member to help with tasks such as concrete sample testing, structural analysis, cylinder pours, strength tests and speed.
According to ASCE.org, the score of the concrete canoe competition is based on the engineering design and construction, reports on the canoe plans, formal presentation and the canoe’s performance in the five face events.
The canoe is poured three and a half weeks before the conference so that the concrete can dry, Hinkle said. The students then paint the canoe right before the competition.
For the steel bridge competition, students are responsible for the design and fabrication of a bridge that they practice building before the competition. Judges consider the appearance, construction and weight load of the steel bridge.
“The bridge is in pieces when we get to the conference, kind of like Legos,” Hinkle said. “Even though it is huge compared to Legos.”
The team is scored on its quick and efficient assembly of the bridge by a panel of judges.
“Competing in the conference helps to get the university’s name out there,” Hinkle said. “That was the biggest thing for me, realizing that UCF is really competitive when it comes to the civil, environmental and construction engineering department.”
The engineering students are not letting the possibility of winning scholarship money at the 2010 National Steel Bridge Competition outweigh preparation for next year’s regional competition.
“We’ve been back this week and the concrete canoe team is already deciding who the main players will be for the team,” Hinkle said. “Next year is first place for us. We have the drive, have the will and have the education to get first place.”
The students will travel to Purdue University to compete in the 2010 National Student Steel Bridge Competition, held May 28 and 29.
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