Regional competition winners advance to compete in the ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championships in June at University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Reston, Va. — The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2023 Mid-South Student Symposium took place at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga March 30 – April 2, 2023, in Chattanooga, TN. At the event, civil engineering students from 14 universities in Arkansas and Tennessee put their academic and project management knowledge to the test, participating in annual Society-wide competitions including the ASCE Concrete Canoe, ASCE/UESI (Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute) Surveying Competition, the AISC (American Institute of Steel Construction)/ASCE Student Steel Bridge Competition, and the ASCE Sustainable Solutions Competition – Envisioning a New Downtown. Lipscomb University will advance to the Society-wide finals for the Concrete Canoe competition, ASCE’s flagship student event, where students compete to construct a canoe made entirely out concrete that is capable of floating and racing.

University of Tennessee at Knoxville will advance to the finals for the ASCE Sustainable Solutions Competition, where students are tasked with using sustainable practices to transform a fictional area into a gathering place for a community. University of Tennessee at Knoxville will also be advancing in the ASCE UESI Surveying Competition, which asks students to use standard field and office equipment and procedures to solve common problems encountered in industry, including a topographic mapping project and determining the depths of a proposed sewer line at different locations. Harding University won the Steel Bridge Competition, which requires students to develop a concept for a scale-model steel bridge spanning 20 feet and carrying at least 2,500 pounds.

These teams have qualified to compete at the Society-wide finals as part of the ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championships June 10-12 at University of Wisconsin-Platteville in Platteville, WI.  

“The hard work of all of the winners of the Mid-South ASCE Student Symposia competitions is inspiring for civil engineering students across the nation,” said Maria Lehman, P.E., President of ASCE. “These events help future civil engineers develop critical thinking and collaboration skills, in addition to encouraging students to think about innovative solutions to complex problems. ASCE is proud of their accomplishments both at competitions and in the classroom, and we wish them the best at the upcoming Society-wide competitions.”

The first ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition was held in 1988, but the history of Concrete Canoe goes back to the 1960s, when a small number of ASCE Student Chapters began holding intramural concrete canoe races. The competition requires students to construct a seaworthy canoe made entirely of concrete. The competition challenges civil engineering students to apply the engineering principles learned in the classroom to a real-world task, while utilizing project management and team building skills. The Concrete Canoe program consists of both athletic and academic events, designed to test the knowledge, creativity and stamina of each team. The competition evaluates teams on design and construction, a technical proposal, an enhanced focus area, a formal business presentation, and five different races—men’s and women’s slalom races, men’s and women’s sprint races, and a co-ed sprint race.

The ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championships is organized by ASCE and hosted annually by a university student chapter, thanks in part to funds provided by the ASCE Foundation. 

The following schools were represented at the ASCE Mid-South Student Symposium: 

  • Arkansas State University
  • Bryan College
  • Christian Brothers University
  • Lipscomb University
  • Tennessee State University
  • Tennessee Tech
  • University of Arkansas
  • University of Arkansas at Little Rock
  • University of Memphis
  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
  • University of Tennessee at Knoxville
  • University of Tennessee at Martin
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Harding University (Guest school)

About the American Society of Civil Engineers

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel.