Three teams of students from MSOE’s Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management Department competed at the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 3 Conference and Student Competitions in October. Fourteen companies sponsored the four-day event, in which about 300 students from across the county vied for titles in a variety of competitions.

For the third year in a row, MSOE took first in the nation for the health care competition. MSOE teams also took first place in the regional design-build competition and third place in the regional commercial competition.

For each competition the teams receive a request for proposal (RFP) for a real project at 7 a.m. and have 16 hours to turn in their proposal at 11 p.m. The following morning they present their solution to a panel of judges, which usually includes individuals who were involved in the actual project.

National Champion: Health Care Team
The Health Care Team won the National Open Championship. This competition was sponsored by Turner Construction and tested each team’s ability to identify challenges and opportunities and then develop and implement effective solutions for the construction of a hospital and their ability to present their proposal professionally and efficiently to a client. Congratulations to Max Morache, Constantine Moshi, Jenna Powers, Brandon Strzelecki, Trevor Symbal, Michelle VanBuskirk (team captain) and their coach, Dr. Jeong Woo.

Regional First Place: Design/Build Team
The Design/Build Team won the first place regional title with their RFP for a multi-purpose university building. McCarthy sponsored the competition. The judging panels highly complimented the team’s innovative design and inspiring presentation. Congratulations to Owen Burnikel, Patrick Collins, Deanna Engelmeyer, Kevin Gross (team captain), Evan Rogers, Garrett Willems and their coach DeAnna Leitzke.

Regional Third Place: Commercial Team
The Design/Build Team won the third place regional title with their RFP for a refrigerated warehouse project which was sponsored by Walsh. The team had to estimate detailed cost and construction management plans of this challenging project in Chicago. Congratulations to Lucas Hass, Brian Mueller, Austin Paumen, Benjamin Rust, Travis Smith (team captain), Hannah Wassmann and their coach Dr. Jeong Woo.

Since entering the competition in 1999, MSOE has had 27 top three places in national student competitions and 14 national championship teams. No other university in the country has experienced the consistent level of success demonstrated by MSOE.