The Clarkson Construction Engineering Management (CEM) Program Student Projects for Engineering Experience and Design (SPEED) teams, competed in 3 categories in the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 1 Competition at the Hilton Albany Downtown starting Thursday, 14 Nov, through Saturday, 16 Nov. Given less than 24 hours to prepare a full proposal/bid on a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued on the morning of competition for their category, student teams prepare project plans, schedule of construction, estimated costs and materials, subcontractor lists, and make a proposal presentation. At the concluding award ceremony, the teams took home four top-3 wins. Clarkson University was the only school, among the 15 assembled, to compete in three categories and place in every one of them.
Alexandria Celia (E&M ‘25) led the team in the pre-construction category, placing second among a field of 7, being edged by Pennsylvania College of Technology. The team consists of the following members: Erik Anderson (E&M ’26), Sebastian Carroll (E&M ’25), Samuel Larter (Supply Chain Mgmt. ’27), Michael Moriarty (CivE ’25), and Apirith Sothea (E&M ’25). Their project was focused on a historic renovation project on a complicated site in southern Connecticut. Chris McFadden of Whiting-Turner, the lead judge for the category, personally indicated that Clarkson’s team had a fraction of a point difference in the scoring towards first place.
Next, Zakary Eshelman (CivE ‘27) led the heavy-civil team to a third-place finish (out of 7 teams). Their project focused on a complicated multi-span 2-mile bridge project in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This team included: Paige Cutler (CivE ’25), Tanner Jennings (CivE ’27), Ajay Johnson (CivE ’25), Ryan Lynch (CivE ’27), and Jacob Morrill (E&M ’28). What is particularly notable about this team is that as a sophomore, with a team of 2 other sophomores, 2 seniors, and one freshman, Zak lead a team that was by far the least experienced team in the category.
Finally, in the open concrete category, Clarkson sent one team but landed with two teams that placed in the category. The core team led by Zalen Aqueron (E&M ‘25), had one of its members reassigned to another team at the outset, in a challenge unique to the nature of the category (being “open” to all sorts of variety). Originally this team consisted of Zalen along with Michael Delwiche (E&M ’26), Alexander “AJ” Kaczynski (MechE ’26), Jevon Malcom (CivE ’25), Liam Quick (E&M ’27) and Dinesh Ravindran. Her team took third place competing against the team from Norwich University and a team made-up, on-the-fly, combining two New York University (NYU) students and one student each from the previously formed Clarkson and Norwich teams. Speaking of that team, in a demonstration of how Clarkson University’s culture of teamwork is infectious, Dinesh Ravindran, an exchange student to Clarkson from the Technological University of Denmark (DTU), led them to a second place finish, beating his own (former) teammates. This resulted in Clarkson yielding a place award in its own right, as well as a joint award with NYU and Norwich.
The teams were supported by three coaches, Adjunct Instructor Mr. Randy VanBrocklin (E&M ‘90), Adjunct Instructor Mr. Nick Sheehan, and Industry Volunteer Ms. Grace Girard (E&M ‘24). “Clarkson’s award winning construction program continues to perform at the top of the Northeast Region of the United States,” said Associated Schools of Construction Region 1 Director, Erik Backus. “It’s significant that these student teams all performed in the top 3 of their given category, that is a level of excellence that is rare at regional competition.” “Wonderful news! Congratulations to everyone that competed!” exclaimed Acting President Heacock (E&M ’83) in an email on Saturday night. “Your efforts are amazing and I am excited to hear about your accomplishments! I look forward to learning more about the competition and how you overcome the challenges. Stuff happens during these Regionals and you adjusted accordingly. I know it is a skill and experience that will serve you well in the future.”
Clarkson’s CEM SPEED teams are looking to compete again at the national level in the annual Region 6/7 competition in Reno, NV. Thanks to the program’s past performance, the teams have already been pre-qualified for three categories for that competition. After taking some time to digest the results from this effort, the faculty and students will determine which of the categories Clarkson will compete in when they travel across the country in early February.
The CEM program excellence is only possible thanks to the support of many, including the CEM advisory board that provides ongoing financial and other support that enable Clarkson students to excel at all levels. This is merely one such example of the deep industry-academic partnerships that Clarkson fosters across the institution and beyond. The Clarkson CEM program within the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department offers best-in-class curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities that propel students into their future and careers ahead of many others. Graduates of the CEM program command high starting salaries, rapidly become licensed professional engineers, and rise quickly to be leaders in construction firms around the world. Over the last decade, the CEM program has boasted a 100% post-graduation hiring rate within 3 months of departing Clarkson, and currently features an average starting salary over $75,000 a year. The CEM SPEED teams exemplify the kind of success and excellence that Clarkson students, especially in CEE and CEM, demonstrate at the local, regional, national, and international levels, year in and year out. Learn more about us at www.clarkson.edu/cem and come join us to see how we build your future!