The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) hosted their Mid-America Student Symposium earlier this month. 

The symposium, hosted by Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, provides an opportunity for civil engineering students to meet in an environment with friendly competition and hands-on learning. 

Students in the Missouri State University ASCE chapter placed in various competitions at the event and won fourth overall. 

“This was the first year our ASCE chapter competed in more than one competition,” junior civil engineering student Khloe Laurie said. “The chapter typically only competes in the steel bridge competition, so this year we decided to try another route.” 

The chapter split into three teams and participated in separate competitions related to sustainability, surveying and construction.  

“I’m really proud of this group,” said Dr. Sanjay Tewari, associate teaching professor of the MSU cooperative engineering program. “Our chapter is small, and we have several non-traditional students, so this year’s achievements are even more significant. Erik Netzer has been an exemplary leader of our chapter. A big shout out him, all team captains and the rest of the officers for their outstanding results this year.” 

First place – Sustainable Solutions Competition 

The Sustainable Solutions competition challenged students to develop a stronger understanding of sustainability and learn to incorporate sustainable solutions into everyday problems for engineers.   

This year, participants were tasked with aiding a fictional city. 

“For this competition, the goal was to create a more sustainable block of ‘downtown ASCE,’ a fictional city,” Laurie said. “Other goals were to create a more walkable block, fix the stormwater issues and create a community center.” 

The MSU team in this competition won first place. The members were: 

• Laurie (captain). 
• Lexi Hunsucker. 
• Anna LaMartina. 
• John Essner. 
• Jefferson Thomas. 

As the first place winners, this group will compete in the ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championships at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville from June 10-12.  

Second place – Construction Institute Competition

The Construction Institute competition tasked teams with responding to multiple real work construction engineering challenges.  

The individual challenges were related to these civil engineering sectors:  

• Traffic control. 
• Site logistics. 
• Safety. 
• Public outreach. 
• Environment. 
• Risk management. 

Each student team acted as a construction engineering firm, directing and delivering the responses professionally. This experience exhibited how a real company would address an owner requesting additional information from a firm during the pre-construction phase of a job. 

The MSU team in this competition took second place. The members were: 

• Joe Rexroat (captain). 
• Logan Harper. 
• Austin Wagner. 

Third place – Surveying Competition 

The Surveying competition aimed to show students the importance of basic surveying principles in all civil engineering projects. 

Teams had to solve common problems encountered in the industry by using standard field and office procedures and equipment.  

The MSU team took third place. The members were: 

• Erik Netzer (captain).  
• Hunsucker. 
• Liam Judson. 

• Eric Culp. 
• Harrison Schober. 
• Wagner. 

Steel Bridge Competition 

The Steel Bridge Competition is a partnership with ASCE and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). 

Teams were tasked with creating a concept for a scale-model 20-foot long steel bridge that must carry 2,500 pounds. They had to plan for an efficient assembly under timed construction conditions and their final products were load-tested, weighed and judged on aesthetics. 

The MSU team members were: 

• Andrew Wall (captain).  
• Maria Antonini. 
• Sam Arzouni. 
• Andrew Griesemer. 
• Zehao Zhang.  
• Johnny Richards. 
• Derek Deaver. 
• Zach Freeman. 
• Netzer. 
• Judson.  
• Culp. 
• Schober. 
• Hunsucker.
• Thomas. 
• LaMartina. 
• Essner. 

“I’m very proud of the steel bridge team,” Tewari said. “They went through a series of challenges over two semesters, but never gave up. Next year, they are hoping to come back stronger and better than before.” 

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