Clarkson CEM SPEED Team Records Multiple Top-3 Finishes in ASC Regional Competition

The Clarkson Construction Engineering Management (CEM) Program Student Projects for Engineering Experience and Design (SPEED) teams brought home four, top-3 wins across three categories in the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 1 Competition at the Hilton Albany Downtown from Thursday, Nov. 14 through Saturday, Nov. 16.

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. Clarkson University was the only school, among the 15 assembled, to compete in three categories and place in every one of them.

Engineering and Management major Alexandria Celia '25 led the team in the pre-construction category, placing second among a field of seven. Team members included Engineering and Management major Erik Andersen '26, Engineering and Management major Sebastien Carroll '25, Supply Chain Management major Samuel Larter '27, Civil Engineering major Michael Moriarty '25, and Engineering and Management major Apirith Sothea '25.

Civil Engineering major Zakary Eshelman '27 led the heavy-civil team to a third-place finish in a field of seven teams. Their project focused on a complicated multi-span two-mile bridge project in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

This team included Civil Engineering major Paige Cutler '25, Civil Engineering major Tanner Jennings '27, Civil Engineering major Ajay Johnson '25, Civil Engineering major Ryan Lynch '27, and Engineering and Management major Jacob Morrill '28.

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 Engineering and Management major Zalen Aqueron '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 Aqueron along with Engineering and Management major Michael Delwiche '26, Mechanical Engineering major Alexander Kaczynski '26, Civil Engineering major Jevon Malcolm '25, Engineering and Management major Liam Quick '27 and Dinesh Ravindran. This 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.

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 Randy VanBrocklin '90, Adjunct Instructor Nick Sheehan, and Industry Volunteer Grace Girard '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."

For more information about Clarkson's CEM Program, click here.

To view these students click here: https://clarkson.meritpages.com/achievements/Clarkson-CEM-SPEED-Team-Records-Multiple-Top-3-Finishes-in-ASC-Regional-Competition/159727