Civil students win top awards at regional conference

May 28, 2015

ASoCE
STARKVILLE, Miss.– The Mississippi State University student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers earned top honors and a national invitation at a recent regional conference.

Student teams from the Bagley College of Engineering earned recognition in the concrete canoe and surveying competitions at the Deep South Conference. Held in Oxford, Mississippi, the annual event included engineering schools from across the South.

The concrete canoe team placed second overall after being judged on aesthetics, technical report, oral presentation and race outcomes. It also placed first place in the final product and co-ed spirit categories and will advance to next month’s national competition in Clemson, South Carolina.

Tasked with constructing a concrete boat that not only floats, but is capable of holding up to three people, the team began designing its entry last August. Its goals were to increase the strength of the concrete and improve the paddling techniques for the races over those used in previous years’ competitions.

Team co-captain, senior Heather Hart has participated on the canoe team for three years. She said the experience is a lot of work but very educational, and she enjoyed it very much.

“As one of the captains, I was responsible for making sure things were done in a timely manner since competition approached very quickly,” Hart said. “I’ve loved leading the team this year.”

The surveying team competed in three events: steel tape, level loop and coordinate determination. In addition to earning top honors overall, it also placed first in the steel tape and coordinate determination events, and second in level loop.

First-time competitor, Ricky Brown, a junior civil engineer major, said the Deep South Conference helped him see the importance of engineering on an individual level.

“During the survey competition,” Brown said, “I learned that the goal is not about how fast you can measure a distance, determine an elevation, or determine coordinates, but how accurate you are.”

Held each spring, the ASCE Deep South Conference competitions are designed to allow students to carry out concepts they have learned in class. The conference strives to foster technical and professional relationships between student engineers from across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

More than 40 students from the Mississippi State chapter participated in Deep South Conference activities this year. Concrete canoe and steel bridge participants include (by hometown):

BYRAM – Senior civil engineering major Katie Bryant is part of the concrete canoe team.

BALDWYN— A senior civil in engineering, James H. Nelson is part of the concrete canoe team.

CALEDONIA— Chris Harper, a senior civil engineering major, is part of the concrete canoe team.

CARTHAGE—Senior civil engineering major Austin Dye is member of the concrete canoe team.

CLINTON—A senior in civil engineering, John Green and Adam Pinso are part of the concrete canoe team.

COLUMBIA—Junior civil engineering major Sara Randal is part of the concrete canoe team.

CROSBY—A senior in civil engineering, Will Foreman is part of the surveying team.

ELLISVILLE—A senior in civil engineering, Kressida Rice, is part of the concrete canoe team.

FLORENCE—Senior civil engineering major Ricky Brown is a member of the surveying team.

INDIANOLA—Senior civil engineering major Kyle Athey is part of the surveying team.

MERIDIAN—Senior civil engineering major Robert Shine is part of the concrete canoe team.

PASS CHRISTIAN—Senior civil engineering major Emily Farrar is part of the concrete canoe team.

PRESTON—A graduate student in civil engineering, David Bond is part of the concrete canoe team.

SEMINARY—Jonathan King, a senior civil engineering major, is part of the concrete canoe team.

STARKVILLE—Senior civil engineering majors Joseph Arthur, Jing Liao and Kristen Sauceda are part of the concrete canoe team. Jessica Speed, a senior civil engineering major, is part of the surveying team.
TUPELO—Senior civil engineering major Heather Hart is part of the concrete canoe team.

VICKSBURG—A senior in civil engineering, Keaton Jones is a member of the concrete canoe team.

WESSON—Crystal Byrd, a senior civil engineering, is a member of the concrete canoe team.

YAZOO CITY—Daniel Pierce, a senior civil engineering major, is part of the surveying team.

For more information about the Bagley College’s civil and environmental engineering department and its student teams, visit www.cee.msstate.edu.

More information about the Bagley College of Engineering can be found at www.bagley.msstate.edu.

By: Emile Creel