Yes We Can-oe: USU Engineering Students Take Top Honors at 2026 ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition

Utah State University’s Student Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers received top honors at the Concrete Canoe Competition for the 2026 Intermountain Southwest Student Symposium at the University of Utah on April 16-18.

Rivaling against 13 other chapters, Utah State placed first in three ASCE and American Institute of Steel Construction competitions and placed first and second on the podium for the local categories of competition.

“The excellence we achieved through hard work and determination makes me proud to be an Aggie and shows how dominate the engineering students are here at Utah State," said Jenna Simpson, co-captain of the concrete canoe team.

Results:

• Concrete Canoe: 1st Place.
• Steel Bridge: 1st Place.
• Surveying: 1st Place.
• Construction Institute: 2nd Place.
• Transportation: 2nd Place.
• Bowling: 1st Place.
• Non-Technical Paper: 2nd Place.

Simpson said it was amazing to see what USU students were able to accomplish.

“The air at awards night was almost electric as we heard USU's name over and over again as each competition was announced,” Simpson said.

Austin Ball, professor of practice and faculty advisor for the Utah State ASCE chapter, stated that the students were committed to their competition, peers, institution and the industry they’re preparing to lead.

“If your organization is looking for results-oriented, committed individuals, reach out to learn about opportunities for you to engage with them,” Ball said. “USU’s exceptional students are ready to make an impact."

Competitions

Concrete Canoe

The concrete canoe competition is a society-wide challenge where students test their concrete mix designs and project management skills by building a canoe out of concrete. This is a yearlong effort where students prepare the geometric design and structural analysis, cast the canoe and it all culminates with racing their canoes and conducting an oral presentation. This competition can require an intense commitment of 150 to 300 hours of work on the project.

Steel Bridge

Another society-wide challenge is the AISC Student Steel Bridge Competition. The rules change each year, challenging the students to develop a practical and hands-on steel-design project that is lightweight, fast to construct and innovative. Each student team must develop a concept for a scale-model steel bridge to span approximately 20 feet and hold 2,500 pounds. The bridges are load-tested and judged on design and construction.

Surveying

The surveying competition consists of eight possible tasks students will have to compete in, although only four are selected and aren’t revealed until the competition. This means students must prepare for any and all tasks. To be successful in this category, students must interpret and present the information of a boundary topographic survey in a way it would be presented by a professional surveyor.

Construction Institute

For the construction competition, students are given a prompt that includes a site where they must create, rehabilitate or fix a structure, patterned after a real-world situation. This year the team was tasked with replacing an existing building, requiring them to determine how to demolish it, replace it and consider all the possible issues and budget — all in four hours.

Transportation

Students are challenged with a task pertaining to a regional issue. In 2026, students had to determine how to solve traffic challenges in Orem, Utah. The team determined that the railroad significantly impacted traffic movements and pedestrians and suggested moving it to a lower corridor.

Concrete Bowling

Students construct a concrete bowling bowl and participate in a short presentation about the concrete mix and how they built their ball. Finally, they bowl five frames to determine the best bowler. The theme for the Utah State bowling ball this year was a scoop of Aggie Blue Mint ice cream.

Non-Technical Paper

Each year, one student from each university is tasked with writing a non-technical paper based on the selected topic, conducting in-depth research and presenting their piece for the competition. Mattheus Wardle competed for USU this year and won second place. The topic this year was “Engineering the Public Welfare: How Civil Engineers Engage and Advance Communities Through Ethical Infrastructure Design in accordance with the ASCE Code of Ethics.”

The Pursuit of Excellence Continues

Of the 38 USU students that participated in this competition, 10 will be competing in the concrete canoe competition and six will be competing in the surveying competition at the 2026 ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championships at Fairmont State University in West Virginia, June 25-27.

Six students will also be competing at the Student Steel Bridge Competition National Finals University of Texas at El Paso on May 22-23.

“They're doing amazing and we’re still going to make improvements,” Ball said. “Students won’t be satisfied until they take first in everything.”

To support the USU ASCE Student Chapter and their continuous innovations, please consider becoming a sponsor and reach out to Steve Larson. Donations help to cover the costs of attending competitions.