BECKLEY W.Va. (WVDN) – Hundreds of civil engineers and civil engineering students are heading to the West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech) this week for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Student Symposium.
This will be the first time in 20 years that WVU Tech hosts this student-led event. The symposium draws some of the most talented students from across the region to test their engineering ability and have doing it.
“It’s a huge deal for us to host this,” said Kase Poling, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Construction Management at WVU Tech. “There are roughly ten to twelve schools that rotate hosting this conference each year.”
Students from colleges and universities in West Virginia and Virginia will apply their knowledge to challenges like building a concrete canoe and racing it across Stephen’s Lake. Poling said the conference also includes a Steel-Crete croquet competition, in which students design and build croquet equipment from Steel-Crete and use it in an actual game of croquet.
He said teams will also be traveling to other locations across Beckley and Raleigh County including the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center where students use recycled materials to create a mini golf course.
“The symposium is one of the biggest things our ASCE students look forward to,” Poling said. “It’s packed with fun, hands-on competitions that allow them to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom in an exciting, real-world way.”
Local students will also be invited to attend this year’s conference. WVU Tech will host the Bridge Building and Software Competition for students in grades 6–12, presented in collaboration with the West Virginia Department of Transportation. This event will take place Friday and Saturday during the symposium.
The Student Symposium will run from Thursday, March 27, through Saturday, March 29.
For more information, contact Kase Poling, Ph.D., at kase.poling@mail.wvu.edu or 304-929-1222.
