A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student won first place for the best professional paper and oral presentation at the American Society of Civil Engineers Deep South Student Conference. 

Heather Hightower, a construction management graduate student from Benton and the president of the UA Little Rock chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, also received a $200 cash prize for her 2,000-word paper and presentation on the topic: “Is it ethical for university engineering faculty to teach technical subject matter to engineering students without obtaining professional licensure?”

Louisiana Tech and Mississippi State universities took second and third place in the professional paper and oral presentation competition.

Students from the university’s chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, coached by Faculty Adviser Nick Jovanovic, battled against 14 college teams from Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana in the society’s competition on March 31 and April 1 in Memphis.

More than 20 UA Little Rock students competed in six events: concrete canoe, steel bridge, surveying, environmental, ethics paper, and a mystery event.

“The student chapter sent 22 students to the conference, which is a new attendance record for the chapter,” Jovanovic said. “The student chapter also made history by taking a concrete canoe for the first time. This was also the first year that the student chapter was able to participate in all six events at the Deep South Conference. Thus, given that UA Little Rock is the newest ASCE student chapter in the conference, this is a fantastic result.”

In the concrete canoe competition, students tested their engineering skills by creating a canoe out of concrete materials that floats in water. In Memphis, the students took their canoes to the water to take part in a racing competition.

Concrete canoe team members include Team Captain Blake Johnston, Assistant Captain Sam Kincannon, Manville Allen, Amanda Hall, Harrison Hayworth, Hunter Hobby, Palmer Lane, Magen Schlesier, Logan Snapp, and Jorge Vasquez.

Steel Bridge Team members include Team Captain Casey Baker, Assistant Captain Jonathan Henderson, Nicole Compton, David Greenwood, Dee Osieczko, and Jonny Picking.

Surveying Team members included Team Captain William Beggs, Natasha Carlson, and Jose Garcia. Kassandra Castrillo competed in the environmental competition while Vianca Martin was the UA Little Rock competition coordinator during the 2016-17 academic year.

Sponsors that provided financial and material support for the UA Little Rock American Society of Civil Engineers include: ABC Block, AFCO Steel, American Institute of Steel Constructors, Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, Arkansas Chapter of American Concrete Institute, Arkansas Section of American Society of Civil Engineers, BASF, Bentley Software, C&F Steel Erectors, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology, UA Little Rock Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering, and Ryerson Steel.

In the upper right photo, University of Arkansas at Little Rock students display a concrete canoe built for the American Society of Civil Engineers Deep South Student Conference. Team members (L-R) include Logan Snapp, Manville Allen, Harrison Hayworth, and Hunter Hobby. Photo by Joe Kline Jr./UA Little Rock Communications.