Civil engineering students compete and connect at ASCE Pacific Southwest Conference
Tempe Town Lake near the Arizona State University campus was the site of the concrete canoe contest, a signature event of the American Society of Civil Engineers Pacific Southwest Competition. Pictured are two ASU students steering their team’s canoe, named “Bullet Bill.” Photographer: Marco-Alexis Chaira/ASU
For the first time in 15 years, one of the leading civil and environmental engineering student events came to Arizona State University April 12 to 14.
The annual American Society of Civil Engineers Pacific Southwest Conference competitions cohosted by ASU and Northern Arizona University brought about 1,500 students from 18 universities in California, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona to ASU’s main campus.
Along with competition judges, students’ family members and alumni of the universities, nearly 2,000 people gathered to cheer on teams in more than a dozen tests of engineering knowledge and skills over the course of the weekend.
“To me, the most valuable part of the competition is the relationships you can form with your peers,” says Fulton Schools student Natalie Miller, a leader of ASU’s concrete canoe team.
A veteran of three ASCE PSWC competitive events, Miller says, “I have made many friends and gained mentors through the ASCE and the competitions and I have gathered a wealth of information over the past year as a project manager.”
