LETU's civil engineering team, consisting of 15 students recently attended the 2024 ASCE Student Symposium Region 6. Students faced off against 19 universities in the Steel Bridge Competition. The LETU civil team clinched a total of five prestigious awards. This marked the civil team’s second participation in the Steel Bridge Competition. The students constructed a bridge that impressively withstood a 2500 lb weight with just 0.5 inches of deflection, earning them 2nd place in the stiffness category. Furthermore, their dainty craftsmanship resulted in a stunning bridge painted in blue and yellow, garnering 2nd place in the aesthetics category. Additionally, the team secured 3rd place in Structural Efficiency based on overall structural cost. The entire fabrication, including processes like cutting, grinding, welding was done in our materials joining lab on campus.

The team also competed against six universities in the Timber-strong competition. Civil defended their championship title for the third consecutive time, securing two awards: 1st place in the BIM model category and 1st place in overall performance. Congratulations to these students for their accomplishments.

The University of Texas at Tyler placed first in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Texas-Mexico Region 6 Concrete Canoe Competition for a second consecutive year. UT Tyler now advances to the national contest next month in Utah. This is the university’s first back-to-back regional championship after claiming a historic top 10 finish nationally last year.

With this year’s canoe entry, “The Tyler Rose,” the UT Tyler ASCE student chapter earned first in the oral presentation, final product and racing categories and second in design paper. At the annual competition, participants build canoes with concrete and are judged in four areas: written project report, technical presentation, canoe final product and racing.

“I believe this is the best year in the history of our department participating in the ASCE symposium, and I couldn’t be prouder of our students,” said Dr. Mena Souliman, UT Tyler associate professor and civil engineering department interim chair.

UT Tyler student teams from the Tyler campus and the Houston Engineering Center also placed
third in the ASCE Timber Strong and Steel Bridge competitions with their respective project entries, “Rosie’s House” and “UT Tyler – HEC.”

UT Tyler concrete canoe team members are Esther Fajardo of Longview, Hannah McGinnis of Tyler,
and Gerardo Perez of Terrell, team captains; and Angel Suarez of Mineola, Caleb Mobbs of Diana,
Chandler Hosch of Giddings, Christopher McMillan of Gilmer, Clay Stewart of Bullard, Keagan Rios of Caddo Mills, Luis Ortiz of Kaufman, Mason Mattern of Elkhart, Samuel Gentry of Tyler, Dominic
Patronella of Katy, Manuel Salazar of Sherman, Ernesto Colorado of Henderson, Jason Carranza of
Houston, Kristofer Niere of Whitehouse, Pierce Cole of Fort Worth, Jacquelyn Barton of Tenaha, Javier Garcia and Steven Luna, both of Mount Pleasant; Sahara Coultas and Josiah Schumacher, both of Carthage; and Ana Gay Mesa of Spain.

“We are very proud and extremely honored to have the opportunity to compete for a national title
for the second year in a row,” Fajardo added. “Hard work and commitment have allowed us to be
successful.”

As the largest ASCE student symposium worldwide, Region 6 consists of Texas, Oklahoma, New
Mexico and Mexico and includes schools such as UT Austin, Texas A&M University, University of
Oklahoma, New Mexico State University, Tech de Monterrey and Universidad Autónoma del Estado
de Morelos.