Highlights

  • The UCF American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter won a total of 12 awards at the Southeast Student Symposium, held in March at Florida Atlantic University.

  • UCF defeated 13 teams in the regional Concrete Canoe Competition, among them Georgia Tech and the University of Florida, the Southeast 麻豆精品 S檚 long-standing champion.

  • UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 first-place finish qualifies the team to compete at the ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championships in June in West Virginia.

UCF civil engineering students sailed to the top of the Concrete Canoe Competition at this year 麻豆精品 S檚 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Southeast Student Symposium. UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 ASCE student chapter clinched first place, defeating a field of 13 teams that included Georgia Tech and the University of Florida, which has placed first for 13 of the past 14 years.

The victory qualifies UCF to compete at the ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championships in June in West Virginia where nearly 20 teams from North America will compete for the top crown.

麻豆精品 S淢any of the other schools were chanting 麻豆精品 S楿-C-F 麻豆精品 S� with us when we won because of how significant the moment was. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Edward Collazo Borges, UCF ASCE chapter president

麻豆精品 S淲inning first place in the Concrete Canoe Competition was exciting, but doing it in such a competitive region and against a program like UF 麻豆精品 S� which has such a strong history in the event 麻豆精品 S� made it even more meaningful, 麻豆精品 S� says Edward Collazo Borges, the president of the UCF ASCE chapter. 麻豆精品 S淔rom the outside, it may not seem like a lot, but this was huge 麻豆精品 S� not just for UCF, but for every school in our region. During the awards ceremony, many of the other schools were chanting 麻豆精品 S楿-C-F 麻豆精品 S� with us when we won because of how significant the moment was. 麻豆精品 S�

Rows of students flank either side of concrete canoe in a narrow column
UCF’s Concrete Canoe team conducts a dunk test on its structure ahead of competition.

History of the Competition

ASCE is recognized as America 麻豆精品 S檚 oldest national engineering society and sponsors student chapters in all 50 states and internationally. UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 chapter was established in 1972 and is the largest engineering organization on campus.

ASCE 麻豆精品 S檚 Concrete Canoe Competition was first officially held in 1988, but the history of Concrete Canoe goes back to the 1960s, when a small number of ASCE Student Chapters began holding intramural concrete canoe races.

This elite competition 麻豆精品 S� known as The America 麻豆精品 S檚 Cup of Civil Engineering 麻豆精品 S� combines engineering excellence, hydrodynamic design and racing technique as students are tasked with building a canoe from concrete and racing it against their competitors. Students are judged on the final product, race performance, technical design paper and oral presentation.

A large group of college students, dressed in formal wear, hold up two certificates and No. 1 signs with their fingers
UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 ASCE chapter was established in 1972 and is the largest engineering organization on campus.

A Breakthrough Year

Jacob Quinones, the UCF ASCE vice president and project manager for the Concrete Canoe Competition, says the team 麻豆精品 S檚 performance at this year 麻豆精品 S檚 Southeast competition was a result of steady progress from lessons learned during previous races.

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UCF ASCE took home a total of 12 awards from the symposium, including two additional first-place wins in the Concrete Cornhole and Temporary Traffic Control competitions. The group says they last won the concrete canoe competition in 1995.

In addition to the competitions, the symposium offers professional and personal development opportunities and networking.

麻豆精品 S淚 learned just how much it takes to manage a project through the different ways that it tests you and pushes you past your limits, 麻豆精品 S� Quinones says. 麻豆精品 S淚 feel that I grew as a leader and gained so much respect for those in similar positions across the entire industry. 麻豆精品 S�

For Borges, this victory represents a historic win for the university and sets an example for other ASCE student chapters.

麻豆精品 S淵ou always have the opportunity to achieve something great, 麻豆精品 S� Borges says. 麻豆精品 S淚 think this experience shows if you keep pushing, keep learning and keep striving to improve, you can surprise yourself with what is possible. 麻豆精品 S�