NUASCE Recognized as an Outstanding Student Chapter
The Northeastern University chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), was nationally recognized on multiple fronts, including being named the 2024 ASCE Distinguished Chapter for Region 1, and a recipient of a 2024 Certificate of Commendation. It also had strong showings in both the Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge competitions.
The Northeastern University chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) was the 2024 ASCE Distinguished Chapter for Region 1, recognizing it as the most outstanding student chapter, while also presenting it with a 2024 Certificate of Commendation, an honor earned by only the top 5% of chapters in the country. The chapter was also named a finalist for the Ridgway Award.
Additionally, the student chapter had strong showings in the Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge competitions, placing third overall in the canoe challenge and taking second and third place for different elements of the steel bridge challenge.
NUASCE, advised by Daniel Dulaski, teaching professor of civil and environmental engineering, is at the heart of undergraduate student life within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The group participates in a wide variety of academic and community endeavors throughout the year, including the Senior BBQ, a lecture series with industry leaders, department town halls, fundraisers, volunteer work, and academic competitions.
Two of those competitions are Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge, yearly events that give student teams the opportunity to apply their civil engineering skillset to physical problems.
The Concrete Canoe Competition involves designing and racing a canoe made of a team’s proprietary concrete mix. Steel Bridge involves building a scale-model steel bridge, assembling it, and putting its structural system through a variety of tests.
This year, the Concrete Canoe team shifted to using CEC computer-controlled cutting for their boat’s mold. In past years, they have hand-cut the mold using 2 dimensional templates.
“The CEC machine was more precise and worked a lot faster,” says Jason Smith, a Concrete Canoe co-project manager.
Smith, a graduating senior majoring in civil engineering, has been involved with Concrete Canoe team since his first year at Northeastern, when the team operated remotely due to Covid-19 restrictions. “It was really exciting to see the canoe work and float in water, after two years of not being able to compete in-person,” Smith says.
David Mitri, a rising senior and captain of the Steel Bridge team, says this year the team focused on fabricating a fewer number of larger pieces to help balance precision and workload, and he notes the efforts to reach more sponsors paid off.
“Typically we reach out to companies where team members have done a co-ops,” Mitri says. “A lot of times the people most willing to help are the people who have been involved in the club in the past.”
The NUASCE teams were energized, collaborative and enthusiastic at competitions this April, according to Mitri and Smith. The Steel Bridge team placed 2nd in aesthetics, 2nd in stiffness, and 3rd in structural efficiency. The Concrete Canoe team placed 3rd overall- their second year in a role doing so.