UCF’s student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) competed alongside other aspiring engineers to solve complex civil engineering challenges at the ASCE National Championships in West Virginia.
Led by Jacob Quiones, chapter president, and chapter member Gabbi Doherty, they took exceptional results back home to the CECS Knights.
This year marks the first time in 30 years the Concrete Canoe competition has qualified for nationals. The Concrete Canoe race, led by Quiones, placed top 10 among all racing categories.
And with a notable fifth place in the Concrete Canoe Design Paper competition, Quiones’ team leaves West Virginia triumphant in their success.
“It felt incredibly rewarding,” he says. “It represents hundreds of hours of design, construction and testing that were put into this project over the past year. To see it place so high on the national stage makes us all incredibly proud.”
This also marks the first time the chapter has attended two competitions in the same year. The Sustainable Solutions team, led by Doherty, placed first in presentation and placed third overall.
“It felt amazing to see all of our hard work recognized,” she says. “We took a risk by structuring our presentation differently from many of the more experienced teams, which made it especially rewarding to see how positively the judges responded.”
The Sustainable Solutions team has some edge that only comes with experience. This is the second time the team has attended in just four years.
Consequently, in addition to placing third overall, their cooling system was a standout, winning the Best Cooling System Award.
“We made an effort to work directly with industry professionals that specialize in this type of cooling infrastructure and used their input to develop a comprehensive design,” Doherty says. “While several teams explored adiabatic cooling, I think ours stood out because it was the most realistic and the best suited for a real-world application.”
And real-world application is exactly what Doherty believes it’s all about.
“Sustainable Solutions is one of the best competitions for preparing students for a career in civil engineering because it mirrors how real projects are developed,” she says. “It has helped our members build technical land-development skills, improve their AutoCAD drafting abilities, and understand how multiple civil disciplines must work together from the initial concept of a project through final design.”
Doherty and Quiones encourage engineering students to see what ASCE has to offer this upcoming fall semester.
“The UCF chapter offers so many opportunities for students to develop themselves professionally, academically, and even personally,” Quiones says. “The 20 different competitions that we participate in give students hands-on experience and skills in all disciplines of civil engineering, serving as not just a resume booster but also teaching important concepts and knowledge that can benefit them in classes.”
- Written by Ziya Amaker