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Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ's American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) team recently placed in the top seven at the 2016 ASCE Southeast Student Conference held at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL, March 10 through 12. Out of 28 universities in the Southeast region of the United States, as well as from Puerto Rico and China, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵplaced 7^th in the steel bridge competition and 10^th place in the concrete canoe competition, which are preliminary contests for the national event.

The ASCE Southeast Student Conference is supported by the American Society of Civil Engineers and hosted annually by universities that have chapter membership in their regions. Eighteen ASCE student conferences are held each spring where teams step outside the classroom and challenge themselves in a series of competitions that encompass every aspect of civil engineering while showcasing their knowledge, expertise and skills. The conference activities include a business meeting, professional/technical presentations, a variety of competitions (steel bridge, concrete canoe, surveying, technical paper presentations), social activities and an awards banquet. Students also had an opportunity to meet with industry representatives and learn more about job opportunities.

"Our students really took on the challenge to design and build their entries from scratch.  The ASCE student chapter reached out to majors outside of civil engineering to broaden their perspectives and formulate creative solutions.  This year’s team showed their Owl spirit and brought home two trophies," said Yan Yong, Ph.D., chair of the Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering. "I am very proud of the effort of our students to achieve their highest finish yet."

FAU's team was guided by faculty advisor Fred Bloetscher, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering. The 42-person team is made up of the following students: William Lacobs, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵASCE president; Chad Cole, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵASCE vice president;  Gaethan Amedee, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵASCE vice president; Elsa Gonzales-Soto, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵASCE fundraising chair; Leah Morris, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵASCE secretary; Paola Arroyave, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵASCE treasurer; Jonathan Danforth, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵASCE steel bridge captain; Maksim Kabaluk, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵASCE steel bridge co-captain; Megan Matson, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵASCE concrete canoe captain; Rick Joseph, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵASCE historian and concrete canoe co-captain; Thiago Ortiz, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵASCE marketing chair; Matt Drill, Nick Gubasta, Abdiel Munez, Lorenzo Gari, Dillion Klima, Brionna Ledford, Daniel Luvisi, Josh Jacobs, Katherine Acs, Alex Baki, Cristina Caceres, Daniel Castillo, Antonio Clement, Luis Correa, Gia DiRoberto, Mark Duque, Alyson Gage, Josh Garcia, Nitesh Goli, Daniel Gonzalez Moya, Daniela Herrera Cuello,  Gregory Kozina, Stanley Merantus, Lisandre Meyer, Gino Mora, Shamila Pant, David Prado, Jonathan Razo, Miguel Reto, Oscar Torrens and Teresa Villalon-Camacho.

"This conference gives our team the opportunity to learn many of the technical aspects of engineering not available in the classroom," said Lacobs. "As we compete on behalf of our university, and build bonds with students and professionals from all over the region, it is something that we look forward to every year."

Started in 1988, the ASCE Southeast Student Conference gives students the opportunity to apply textbook theories to real-world applications.