College of Engineering and Computer Science

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to not only organize and plan an event, but to share in the practical experience of taking concepts and information taught in their engineering classes and putting it to use,” said Raman Unnikrishnan, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “This provides valuable lessons that can only be achieved when actually taking concepts and knowledge and using them in applications similar to what they will be doing in their careers. I’m proud that the college, along with the American Society for Civil Engineers, is able to give students such opportunities.”

Nearly 700 university students from 17 universities in California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii applied the knowledge they’ve learned in the classroom to compete in a series of engineering contests at Cal State Fullerton. From March 31-April 2, 2005, the American Society for Civil Engineers Pacific Southwest Regional Conference was hosted by Cal State Fullerton’s student chapter of ASCE. Events included:

Concrete canoes – Student teams designed, built and raced a four-person canoe constructed out of concrete. Five types of races were held: women’s slalom, men’s slalom, women’s sprint, men’s sprint and coed sprint. Winners from the regional competition will compete in June at the 2005 National Concrete Canoe Competition at Clemson University in South Carolina.

Steel bridges – Teams designed, fabricated and constructed steel bridges that were judged on stiffness, lightness, speed of construction, aesthetics, efficiency and economy.

Seismic design – Students designed and built scale models of high-rise buildings able to withstand the forces of a large-scale earthquake. Each structure was tested in a seismic simulator or ‘shake table’ in Cal State Fullerton’s Civil Engineering Lab.

Students also competed in Concrete Frisbee, Concrete Bowling, Surveying, Impromptu Design competition, Quiz Bowl, Technical Paper, and a "mystery event" planned by professional engineers. Finally, the teams also played soccer and competed in a tug-of-war.

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