A team of Construction Management and Civil Engineering Technology students from UNC Charlotte’s Lee College of Engineering placed third in the 2017 ACI/ASCC Concrete Construction Competition. Team members were invited to the ACI Spring 2018 Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, to present their solution to ACI’s Construction Liaison Committee.
The Concrete Construction Competition is an international event sponsored by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC).
ETCM students Bill Weaver, Jonathan Rich, Mark Stevenson, Gunnar Wright and Joseph O'Campo comprised the team. Tara Cavalline, assistant professor of engineering technology and construction management, was the faculty advisor for the team; the graduate student advisor was Blake Biggers.
The competition is open to all undergraduate students at universities, colleges and technical schools in the United States and abroad. Student teams develop a solution to a project problem statement issued by ACI that requires them to address a specific challenge that a project manager or field engineer might face on a concrete construction project.
Responses are judged on clarity, technical quality and economy. The problem required the team to develop a construction safety plan for a large warehouse project that featured both concrete and masonry construction activities.
UNC Charlotte teams have been highly successful in this competition, winning twice (2013 and 2015) and placing third twice (2016 and 2017). Two UNC Charlotte teams placed in the top 10 in the 2014 competition.