By Alexander Gilbert
The American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) is one of the many clubs here at Western New England University. It is one of the few engineering-focused clubs and provides an educational yet exciting experience for students interested in engineering.
The club meets every Tuesday afternoon starting at 12:30 pm in Sleith 114 and runs until 2:00 pm. Additional Thursday meetings are also occasionally held. During meeting times, students can expect to participate in a large range of engineering tasks such as 3D modeling, welding, metal cutting, and bridge designing.
The President of the ASCE club is Evan Blake, and he has been working with the club for two years. The club is relatively new, as it was brought to Western New England University in 2018. There are currently twelve active members, and the club is eagerly looking for new people to join. For potential new members, Blake describes the club as “a great place for students interested in structural engineering, civil engineering, welding/ tool skills, and generally technically inclined students.”
The American Society of Engineering is a great place to learn and expand students’ knowledge of engineering. Blake explains the club’s purpose is “to give students a practical hands on experience in the design process, structural engineering, team-work, computer skills, and construction and tool skills.” He says that most of these skills are learned through the steel bridge competition.
The regional ASCE student steel bridge competition is the highlight event of the Civil Engineering Club, and the club has been competing annually for the last few years. On April 22, 2023, just a few months away, the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) will be taking students to the regional competition in Boston, MA.
Last year, Blake and the rest of the ASCE club traveled to the University of Connecticut to compete in the 2022 Student Steel Bridge competition. The competition challenges students to design a steel bridge with 3D modeling and fabricate the parts with steel, welding, and metal cutting. The students transport all the parts to the competition and race other schools to assemble their bridges together using bolts and nuts.
Blake recalled that “last year was a learning year so no one on our team had any experience and unfortunately our bridge broke.” However, Western New England University scored a third-place win in the aesthetics category. The club is ready to compete again; Blake says, “We learned a great deal and are confident in our designs this year.”
Currently, the club is putting the final touches on the 2023 steel bridge design before fabricating the parts. During the regular meetings, students are tasked with working on the 3D digital designs on a program called SOLIDWORKS. SOLIDWORKS is a 3D modeling software that all Western New England University engineering students learn during the Introduction to Engineering course.
Blake runs ASCE so that “students will receive additional training to their engineering classes in useful computer skills such as SOLIDWORKS, ftool, and bridge modeling software.” Engineering clubs, such as ASCE, provide great opportunities to learn engineering skills in a stress-free environment without graded assignments.
Another highlight of the American Society of Engineering club is that students are able to learn how to weld and use the machines in the construction labs. Blake says that “it is essential for engineers to have hands-on experience in labs and construction so engineers can better understand how the parts their designing are made.”
The club leaders teach the students how to weld the metal pieces together and cut the metal pieces in the Civil Engineering lab. This is a fun learning experience that students don’t get in their daily scheduled engineering courses.
Not only does the American Society of Engineering club compete in competitions and teach students engineering skills, but ASCE also participates in community and environmental services. Blake says that “We also contribute to the community via river cleanups and other future community service projects in the pipeline.”
In the Fall 2022 semester, ASCE took a handful of students out to a local part of the Connecticut River in Longmeadow to pick up trash. This was done in association with the Source to Sea Cleanup project.
The American Society of Civil Engineering meets every Tuesday at 12:30 pm in Sleith 114. If you are interested in engineering and construction, come check it out! Contact ASCE through the email [email protected] or follow their Instagram @wne_asce_
