ASCE travels to regional conference

The Cecil T. Lobo Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers traveled to Purdue University for the 2007 Great Lakes Regional Conference on Friday, April 27, and Saturday, April 28. Friday’s events included a concrete canoe competition as well as a concrete frisbee competition. On Saturday, there was a steel bridge competition, a balsa wood tower competition, and a technical paper and speech competition.

Rose’s concrete frisbee team consisted of senior civil engineering majors Christopher Armstrong and Derek Davidson. The goal of the contest was to design a concrete frisbee that would not break on impact. Each frisbee was thrown three times. The frisbees were judged on the distance they were thrown, the accuracy of the throw, and how much of the frisbee was left after the final throw. Armstrong stated, “The concrete frisbee was a fun way to interact with other schools and get involved with ASCE.”

Rose competed with two balsa wood tower teams consisting of sophomore civil engineering majors Sebastian Mendes and Sarah Hoch as well as junior civil engineering majors Matt Trowbridge and Michael Krantz.

The goal of this competition was to build a balsa wood tower that would resonate at a predetermined frequency and hold a 500 gram weight. “It was a fun learning experience. I feel that it was well worth my time,” Hoch claimed.

Rose civil engineers also competed in the technical paper and speech competition. The goal of the competition was to write a technical paper covering eminent domain and the engineer’s ethical responsibility. The contestant than had to give a five minute speech attempting to convince the audience of his or her opinion in the paper.

Rose unfortunately did not compete in the concrete canoe or steel bridge competition. ASCE hopes to put together a concrete canoe team for next year.