Colorado State University Students Take First Place at Regional Civil Engineering Competition

A team of 45 Colorado State University civil engineering students placed first at the annual American Society of Civil Engineers Rocky Mountain Regional competition held last weekend in Laramie, Wyo.

The competition’s main events included presentations of technical and non-technical papers, a steel bridge design competition and a concrete canoe contest. In addition to winning the overall team competition, Colorado State students earned 12 other awards, including five first-place finishes. The team placed in the top three for all but one event.

Nine schools from Wyoming, Utah, South Dakota and Colorado competed in the regional contest. Other Colorado universities that participated were the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado-Boulder and United States Air Force Academy. The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and the University of Wyoming rounded out the top three finishers.

Colorado State’s first-place presentation of a non-technical paper on ethical considerations in engineering earned student Eric Broughton the opportunity to compete in the 150th American Society of Civil Engineers National Student Conference in Madison, Wis., in June.

The 20 members of the Colorado State steel bridge design team, led by captains Jason Christensen and Andy Hunt, qualified for nationals by finishing first in the aesthetics portion of the contest and second overall. Students began the project in September by designing a bridge that spans 12 feet and is designed to withstand 2,500 pounds. The bridge is constructed out of steel and was judged on aesthetics, weight and construction economy.

In the concrete canoe competition, the 21-member Colorado State team led by captains Emily Magnuson and Ryan Taylor took first place for presentation, first in the men’s canoe sprint race and second overall, also qualifying the students to compete at the national conference. The team began in August with paddling practice and continued throughout the school year with design and construction phases. The canoe was judged on a technical paper, a display board showing the project’s components, overall racing performance and durability.

This year was the first time in more than 15 annual competitions that Colorado State placed first in the overall conference. The student projects and awards from the competition will be on display from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. April 19 in the Main Ballroom of the Lory Student Center as part of Engineering Days, an annual event that celebrates the accomplishments of Colorado State engineering students.