MSOE hits Vegas jackpot: Teams sweep national construction management contest
| Published: 03/16/2005 |
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Two undergraduate student teams from Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) hit the jackpot in Las Vegas today, as both took first place in a national construction management competition, beating out college teams from across the country. It is the first time in the history of the contest that one university took first place in both categories of the contest, Design-Build and Commercial Construction. The competition, sponsored by AGC (Associated General Contractors) and ASC (Associated Schools of Construction), was held Monday through Wednesday in Las Vegas, coinciding with the world's largest international gathering for the construction industry, ConExpo-ConAgg/IFPE and the AGC annual convention.
All of the participating students are enrolled in the B.S. in Construction Management or B.S. in Architectural Engineering programs and the double-win speaks to the fact that MSOE's is one of the nation's best programs in the country. The other colleges who won their regionals and competed in Vegas were Auburn University, Iowa State University, Texas A&M, Clarkson University, California Polytechnic University, Colorado State University, Roger Williams University, California State University, Clemson University, Arizona State University and Oklahoma State University.
For the Design-Build Competition, sponsored by the national firm Hansel-Phelps Construction, a team of six MSOE students prepared an architectural design, estimate, schedule, and construction plan and gave a presentation to a panel of professionals-all within a 38-hour period. The proposed project was a new $12.6 million student union in California. MSOE's students utilized all their training in construction, engineering, architectural design, presentation techniques, and sustainable design to enable them to fulfill the proposal requirements in the allotted time. Two "all-nighters" were required, which also tested their endurance. The judges commented that MSOE's entire written, verbal presentation and design presentation was exceptional as top professionals in the construction industry.
The MSOE Design-Build team members are: Michele Dunn, Thor Misko, Ryan Lent, Sean O'Gorman, Darby Rowland and Matthew Tadisch. Alternates were Veronica Konieczka, Saif Islam and Adam Stadelmann. Their coach is Associate Professor Robert Lemke, AIA.
The Commercial Construction team addressed an extremely challenging construction of a high school inside a juvenile detention facility. The team's proposal included a construction plan, estimate, construction schedule, safety plan and presentation-all within a 26-hour period. Turner Construction, a major national commercial contractor, conducted that competition.
MSOE Commercial Construction team members are: Molly Gray, Kevin Kaczynski, Dustin Stephany, Eric Geisler, Patrick Peterson and Laurel Ward. Alternate was Nicholas Lipinski. The team's coach is Assistant Professor Michael Emmer.
Each team member received a trophy and watch, and the MSOE B.S. in Construction Management program received $4,500.