Highlights

  • The ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter won a total of 12 awards at the Southeast Student Symposium, held in March at Florida Atlantic University.

  • ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ defeated 13 teams in the regional Concrete Canoe Competition, among them Georgia Tech and the University of Florida, the Southeast’s long-standing champion.

  • ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s first-place finish qualifies the team to compete at the ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championships in June in West Virginia.

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ civil engineering students sailed to the top of the Concrete Canoe Competition at this year’s American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Southeast Student Symposium. ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s ASCE student chapter clinched first place, defeating a field of 13 teams that included Georgia Tech and the University of Florida, which has placed first for 13 of the past 14 years.

The victory qualifies ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ to compete at the ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championships in June in West Virginia where nearly 20 teams from North America will compete for the top crown.

β€œMany of the other schools were chanting β€˜U-C-F’ with us when we won because of how significant the moment was.” β€” Edward Collazo Borges, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ ASCE chapter president

β€œWinning first place in the Concrete Canoe Competition was exciting, but doing it in such a competitive region and against a program like UF β€” which has such a strong history in the event β€” made it even more meaningful,” says Edward Collazo Borges, the president of the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ ASCE chapter. β€œFrom the outside, it may not seem like a lot, but this was huge β€” not just for ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½, but for every school in our region. During the awards ceremony, many of the other schools were chanting β€˜U-C-F’ with us when we won because of how significant the moment was.”

Rows of students flank either side of concrete canoe in a narrow column
ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s Concrete Canoe team conducts a dunk test on its structure ahead of competition.

History of the Competition

ASCE is recognized as America’s oldest national engineering society and sponsors student chapters in all 50 states and internationally. ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s chapter was established in 1972 and is the largest engineering organization on campus.

ASCE’s Concrete Canoe Competition was first officially 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.

This elite competition β€” known as The America’s Cup of Civil Engineering β€” combines engineering excellence, hydrodynamic design and racing technique as students are tasked with building a canoe from concrete and racing it against their competitors. Students are judged on the final product, race performance, technical design paper and oral presentation.

A large group of college students, dressed in formal wear, hold up two certificates and No. 1 signs with their fingers
ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s ASCE chapter was established in 1972 and is the largest engineering organization on campus.

A Breakthrough Year

Jacob Quinones, the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ ASCE vice president and project manager for the Concrete Canoe Competition, says the team’s performance at this year’s Southeast competition was a result of steady progress from lessons learned during previous races.

β€œExtra time was poured into every aspect of the project to maximize quality and performance,” Quinones says. β€œThis would not have been possible without the entire team’s passion and dedication. It was apparent that everyone involved wanted to be there and contribute their absolute best.”

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ ASCE took home a total of 12 awards from the symposium, including two additional first-place wins in the Concrete Cornhole and Temporary Traffic Control competitions. The group says they last won the concrete canoe competition in 1995.

In addition to the competitions, the symposium offers professional and personal development opportunities and networking.

β€œI learned just how much it takes to manage a project through the different ways that it tests you and pushes you past your limits,” Quinones says. β€œI feel that I grew as a leader and gained so much respect for those in similar positions across the entire industry.”

For Borges, this victory represents a historic win for the university and sets an example for other ASCE student chapters.

β€œYou always have the opportunity to achieve something great,” Borges says. β€œI think this experience shows if you keep pushing, keep learning and keep striving to improve, you can surprise yourself with what is possible.”