UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State civil engineering student teams and one individual placed first or second in five categories at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Region 2 Mid-Atlantic West Symposium in April at George Mason University. Two of those teams were invited to compete at the National ASCE competitions in June at Brigham Young University, where one team went on to place third.  

Founded in 1852, the ASCE is the oldest national engineering society in the United States, established with the mission to “disseminate information among engineers who were building the roads, canals, bridges and railroads of a young nation,” according to the society. The ASCE student competitions take place at regional spring symposia intended to offer professional development opportunities, with the winners of select competitions being invited to the ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championships. 

The Penn State ASCE Student Chapter is 124 years old and one of five inaugural student chapters. 

At the regional competition, the surveying team and the sustainable sites team both took first place and received invitations to nationals, where the surveying team placed third overall and second in the field surveying component of the competition. Jodi Patterson, who graduated with a degree in civil engineering in May, also received first place at regionals for an ethics paper, which was the second time that she received the distinction. This year, she also received fifth place at the national competition for her paper, which was titled “Integrity in Integration:  Navigating AI in Engineering.”   

The concrete canoe team placed second at regionals, and the steel bridge team placed second overall, but won various subcategories. Second place in regionals earned the steel bridge team an invitation to the AISC National Student Steel Bridge Competition, held in June at Louisiana Tech University in June. 

Additionally, the ASCE Committee on Student Members awarded the Penn State University Park ASCE Student Chapter the 2024 ASCE Distinguished Chapter Award for Region 2 as the “most outstanding student organization in [this] Region,” according to the award notification letter.  This is the third time in a row that the Penn State ASCE Student Chapter earned this honor. 

“The ASCE student competitions offer our students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience,” said Thomas Skibinski, associate teaching professor of civil and environmental engineering and one of the advisers for the Penn State teams. “This year, as in years past, we are proud that the work and ingenuity of our students was recognized through their impressive placement in several categories.” 

The ASCE student symposia are intended to “enhance…students’ undergraduate civil engineering experience” and include competitions, professional and personal development opportunities and networking,” according to the ASCE website.  

Next year’s Region 2 competitions will be hosted by Penn State on March 28-29, 2025, at University Park. The two divisions within Region 2, Mid-Atlantic East and Mid-Atlantic West, will have a combined symposium next year. 

In addition to Skibinski, the Penn State teams that competed in the ASCE competitions are advised by Brian Naberezny, assistant teaching professor of civil and environmental engineering; Lauren McPhillips, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering; and Pinlei Chen, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering.