University of Massachusetts Amherst Chapter

The American Society Civil Engineers (ASCE) Student Chapter at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a highly involved and integrated organization – a cornerstone of the civil engineering experience.  In addition to hosting monthly chapter meetings where students engage with professional engineers from both industry and academia, the ASCE student chapter organizes three design-build projects: the Seismic Tower, the Concrete Canoe, and the Steel Bridge.  All three of these projects are year-long efforts that incorporate design and modeling skills with fabrication and construction techniques.  While each are ambitious undertakings that seek to overcome a technical set of problems under a given set of code requirements, each project is also accessible to younger students who may lack the technical background. These projects foster teamwork and communication across the disciplines and grade levels, leading some students into positions of leadership, while affording others the opportunity to develop their design skills. Most importantly, it makes the abstract thought and theory of the classroom become a tangible reality as students design the projects and bring them to fruition as fully fabricated structures that are tested against other university’s projects at national and regional competitions.

UMass Amherst Student Chapter Webpage