Competitions

ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition

Since the early 1970s, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapters have competed to be the best at designing, constructing, and racing concrete canoes. During that time, canoe mixtures and designs have varied, but the long-established tradition of teamwork, camaraderie, and spirited competition has been constant. Each year, teams, their associates, judges, and other participants build upon this tradition. This year, teams answered a call for Technical Proposals and Enhanced Focus Area Reports and are competing to be the winning bid on a prototype standardized canoe design for future concrete canoe competitions. Learn more about the competition.

AISC/ASCE Student Steel Bridge Competition

ASCE and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) are partnering to offer the Student Steel Bridge Competition (SSBC) at ASCE Student Symposia.

The Student Steel Bridge Competition challenges students to extend their classroom knowledge to a practical and hands-on steel-design project that grows their interpersonal and professional skills, encourages innovation, and fosters impactful relationships between students and industry professionals.

Each student team develops a concept for a scale-model steel bridge to span approximately 20 feet and to carry 2,500 pounds according to the competition rules. The team must determine how to fabricate their bridge and then plan for an efficient assembly under timed construction conditions at the competition. Bridges are also load-tested, weighed, and judged on aesthetics.

ASCE UESI Surveying Competition

The ASCE UESI Surveying Competition’s educational and professional goals include a recognition of the importance of basic surveying principles to all civil engineering projects. Students will be required to use standard field and office equipment and procedures to solve common problems encountered in industry. A clear understanding of and ability to apply basic surveying principles will assist the graduate civil engineer in communicating and working with the surveying professionals on the job site and during the design process. Learn more about the competition.

The ASCE UESI Surveying Competition rules describe five tasks: a topographic mapping project with a presentation and four field tasks.

ASCE Sustainable Solutions Competition

The ASCE Sustainable Solutions Competition challenges students to develop a stronger understanding of sustainability and learn to incorporate sustainable solutions into everyday problems that engineers incur. Students are encouraged to be creative in their solutions and use all resources available. Learn more about the competition.

2025 Topic

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of ASCE (the City) and many private companies implemented flexible workplace policies, allowing employees to work in hybrid and remote settings. This shift has resulted in office building occupancy averaging less than 25% of pre-pandemic levels, affecting the ability and willingness of commercial offices to sustain their previous levels of investment and returns. In response, The City has formed a public-private partnership (PPP) to acquire a parcel with a 5-story commercial office building for mixed-use redevelopment. The City has adopted the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Envision framework to achieve its sustainability goals and will use it as a key assessment tool for this project.

Timber-Strong Design Build Competition – Pilot

ASCE has partnered with the American Wood Council (AWC), APA – Engineered Wood Association (APA), and Simpson Strong-Tie (SST) to pilot the Timber-Strong Design Build℠ (TSDB℠) Competition. The competition seeks student teams to design and build an artistically creative 2-story wood light-framed building that is sustainable, aesthetically pleasing and structurally durable.

This competition will continue to be offered as a pilot competition in 2025.

Learn more about the competition partners:

• American Wood Council (AWC)
• APA – The Engineered Wood Association (APA)
• Simpson Strong-Tie

Construction Institute Competition – Pilot

The Construction Institute Student Symposium Competition tasks participating students with several real-world construction engineering challenges to which teams will be asked to devise a solution and communicate it via presentation to a panel of judges. Sample projects may relate to any sector of civil engineering, while different parts of the problem statement may compel students to consider different parts of the project delivery process, such as: Site Logistics, QA/QC, Safety, Public Outreach, the Environment, Risk Management, and other project management and engineering considerations. Each student team shall act as a construction engineering firm, and these responses shall be directed and delivered professionally, similarly to how a real company would address an owner requesting additional information from a firm during the pre-construction phase of a job.

Paper & Presentation Competition

Per ASCE’s Code of Ethics, engineers govern their professional careers on the following fundamental principles:

– create safe, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure;
– treat all persons with respect, dignity, and fairness in a manner that fosters equitable participation without regard to personal identity;
– consider the current and anticipated needs of society; and
– utilize their knowledge and skills to enhance the quality of life for humanity.

Civil engineers are responsible for planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting and advancing the health, safety, and welfare of the public. The topic for this competition is the same topic associated with the 2025 Daniel W. Mead Prize Competition.  However, both competitions are separate from one another (i.e., registration in the Paper & Presentation Competition for this Symposium does not register you for the Daniel W. Mead Prize Competition).

Prestressed Mini-Beam Competition

The Prestressed Mini-Beam Competition focuses on constructing precast, prestressed concrete beams, a method characterized by primary reinforcement using seven wire-wrapped steel cables pre-tensioned before concrete casting, thereby achieving prestressing. In this competition, participants substitute traditional steel cables with tensioned bass guitar strings. Each team is tasked with designing and fabricating beam cross-sections adhering to specific dimensions and volumes, followed by casting the concrete beams. The team captain must state their Notice of Intent to participate in this competition at the symposium registration desk on March 6, 2025 and provide the following: (1) name and email address of the team captain; and (2) names of the team members. This activity will be offered as a regional competition. Learn more about the competition rules.

Learn more about the competition partners: PCI Gulf South

Stormwater Competition

The Stormwater Competition consists of student teams designing an urban stormwater drainage system utilizing the Hydrology Engineer video game. Teams (1-6 participants per student chapter) will be scored by the program automatically as they try to produce the lowest cost solution that drains the site and successfully meets regulatory requirements. Just before the competition commences detailed instructions will be provided to participants. Participants are encouraged (but not required) to download the demo software version and familiarize themselves with the program prior to the symposium. One participant from each team should have a laptop that is capable of downloading and running the software. The team captain must state their Notice of Intent to participate in this competition at the symposium registration desk on March 6, 2025 and provide the following: (1) name and email address of the team captain; and (2) names of the team members. This activity will be offered as a regional competition.

Learn more about the competition partners: Carlson Software

Transportation FE Speed Exam Competition

The Transportation FE Speed Exam Competition will consist of one student team (3-4 members) from each university competing with other teams to answer the most transportation engineering-related questions correctly within a limited amount of time. Question topics align directly with the Transportation Engineering Section Topics listed in the Civil Engineering Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam Specifications. This competition is geared for students who are interested in pursuing a career in transportation engineering or for students interested in preparing for the Civil Engineering FE Exam. However, the level of difficulty of questions on the exam may or may not be equivalent to questions on the actual FE exam. The team captain must state their Notice of Intent to participate in this competition at the symposium registration desk on March 6, 2025 and provide the following: (1) name and email address of the team captain; and (2) names of the team members. This activity will be offered as a regional competition. Learn more about the competition rules.

Civil Engineering Video Competition

The Civil Engineering Video Competition involves each student team (up to 4 members) creating a short video which explains civil engineering concepts clear enough such that a younger audience (K-12) can understand them. Videos are developed by each team prior to the symposium. Judges watch and score the videos while receiving feedback from the student teams in real-time during the symposium. This competition offers students an opportunity to focus on further developing their communication skills while they produce media which can be used to inspire the future generation of civil engineering students and professionals. This activity will be offered as a regional competition. Send Notice of Intent to register for this competition to [email protected] by March 3, 2025 and provide the following: (1) state which team intends to participate in the competition; (2) name and email address of the team captain; (3) names of the team members; and (4) the video. Learn more about the competition rules.

Buried Structure Competition

The objective of the Buried Structure Competition is to help students understand the load transfer mechanisms around buried structures as it relates to the practice of pipe installations via trenchless technology. Student team members will construct a wooden box prior to the symposium. During the symposium, student teams install soil and a pipe in the box.  The pipe is then removed which creates a cavity in the soil. Weight is applied on top of the soil and the team which is able to apply the most weight to the soil without the cavity collapsing wins. Send Notice of Intent to register for this competition to [email protected] by February 17, 2025 and provide the following: (1) state which student chapter intends to participate in the competition; (2) name and email address of the team captain; and (3) names of the team members. This activity will be offered as a regional competition. Learn more about the competition rules.

Concrete Cornhole Competition

The Concrete Cornhole Competition consists of student chapter teams designing and constructing a cornhole board made of concrete prior to the symposium and then competing in a cornhole tournament with other competing student chapter teams.  Scoring will be based on the design of the cornhole board as well as placing in the cornhole tournament. This activity will be offered as a spirit competition. The team captain should send Mix Design Spreadsheet to [email protected] by February 14, 2025. Learn more about the competition rules.

Tug of War Competition

The Tug of War Competition allows for up to 8 students on each team to play per round in a single elimination tournament. The first team to win two out of three pulls advances to the next round. The team captain must state their Notice of Intent to participate in this competition at the symposium registration desk on March 6, 2025 and provide the name and email address of the team captain. This activity will be offered as a spirit competition. Learn more about the competition rules.

March Madness Free Throw Competition

Student teams compete in a double-elimination free throw competition.  During each round, two members from each team try to make more free throws than the competing team given a set amount of free throw attempts. This activity will be offered as a spirit competition. The team captain must state their Notice of Intent to participate in this competition at the symposium registration desk on March 6, 2025 and provide (1) the name and email address of the team captain; and (2) the names of the team members. Learn more about the competition rules.

T-Shirt Competition

The T-Shirt Competition will involve one student team from each university competing to create the best T-Shirt artwork. Teams will be scored based on timely submission of documentation, assessments by the judges, level of enthusiam by the audience, and the overall quality of a poster presentation by the team to the judges. The theme for this competition will be announced mid-January. Send Notice of Intent to register for this competition to [email protected] by March 3, 2025 and provide the following: (1) name of the institution; (2) name and emails of the team members and faculty advisor; (3) brief description of the T-Shirt design; and (4) a pdf or jpeg image of the T-Shirt design. This activity will be offered as a spirit competition. Learn more about the competition rules.

Starkvegas Ping Pong Competition

The Starkvegas Ping Pong Competition will be a friendly doubles round-robin between university teams. The team that has the most wins by the end of the competition wins. All symposium registered student attendees are allowed to play; however, each team must designate one team captain. If you are looking for a fun and relaxing activity during the symposium, then this is one of them! This activity will be offered as a spirit competition. Don’t forget to play against your own team to pick up an extra win. The team captain should identify themself as the team captain for this competition at the symposium registration desk on March 6th and provide their email address. This activity will be offered as a spirit competition.

Starkvegas Foosball Competition

The Starkvegas Foosball Competition will be a friendly doubles round-robin between university teams. The team that has the most wins by the end of the competition wins. All symposium registered student attendees are allowed to play; however, each team must designate one team captain. If you are looking for a fun and relaxing activity during the symposium, then this is one of them! This activity will be offered as a spirit competition. Don’t forget to play against your own team to pick up an extra win. The team captain should identify themself as the team captain for this competition at the symposium registration desk on March 6th and provide their email address. This activity will be offered as a spirit competition.

Mystery Fluid Mechanics Competition

Did you ever take a course in fluid mechanics and wonder what concept the instructor is actually trying to explain in class? If so, then you are not alone. The Mystery Fluid Mechanics Competition requires student teams (up to 3) from each university to figure out and apply one or more of these concepts to complete a basic task. The team that completes the task first wins. Work with your teammates and/or sneak a peek at what other teams are doing to give your team a chance to place in this competition. The team captain should identify themself as the team captain for this competition at the symposium registration desk on March 6th and provide their email address. This activity will be offered as a spirit competition.

Pop-Up Leadership Workshop Competition

What steps should be taken from meeting the requirements to take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam to all the way to become licensed as a professional engineer? Are you interested in learning more about how to enhance your teamwork skills in the civil engineering profession? During your professional career in civil engineering, what dilemmas might you face and what actions should you consider in resolving the situation? Answers to these questions and more will be provided by ASCE staff who are committed in supporting your success in the civil engineering profession. As an added bonus, we’ll turn this workshop into a competition to see how many students from each university attend! This activity will be offered as a spirit competition.

Water Resources and Environmental Engineering PE Team Exam Competition

Are you interested in becoming a registered professional engineer who practices in the disciplines of water resources and/or environmental engineering? If so, then come along and start preparing to pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam with help and encouragement from your classmates!  While the competition is open to only one team per university, all other symposium registered students, faculty, and professionals are encouraged to participate in this activity. The team captain must state their Notice of Intent to participate in this competition at the symposium registration desk on March 6, 2025 and provide (1) the name and email address of the team captain; and (2) the names of the team members. Non-competing students, faculty, and/or professionals who wish to take this practice exam should send their Notice of Intent to register for this activity to [email protected] by February 17, 2025 and provide (1) their name and email address; and (2) if they wish to take the time-limited or the full 8-hour version (pending logistical feasibility) of this exam. This activity will be offered as a regional competition. Learn more about the competition rules.

Other Regional Competitions

Additional Regional Competitions may be planned. Candidate sponsors should contact either Dr. Isaac Howard ([email protected]) or Thomas Lynn ([email protected]) regarding interests for incorporating these competitions as part of the Gulf Coast Student Symposium. Example competitions could include Geo Wall, Balsa Wood Bridge, and Mystery Competition.

Other Spirit Competitions

Additional Spirit Competitions may be planned. Candidate sponsors should contact either Dr. Isaac Howard ([email protected]) or Thomas Lynn ([email protected]) regarding interests for incorporating these competitions as part of the Gulf Coast Student Symposium. Example competitions could include T-Shirt, Concrete Frisbee, and Academic Quiz Bowl.