BSC Student Team Finishes 2nd in ASCE Virginia Regional Student Conference’s Geotechnical Competition

            Bluefield State College students Austin Sisk, Dominick Buzzo, Cory Nipper, and Joshua Adkins placed second in the Geotechnical Competition portion of the recent American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Virginia Regional Student Conference at George Mason University. 

During the Geotechnical Competition, each team was asked a series of questions, in a laboratory setting, about actual soil samples and their properties, as well as geotechnical concerns regarding the materials.  “We weren’t sure what to expect,” recalled BSC junior and student team member Joshua Adkins, a Civil Engineering Technology major.  “When the competition began, we realized that we had covered everything in our previous geotechnical classes.  As a result, we were confident with our responses.”

Dr. Kerry Stauffer, BSC Professor and ASCE faculty advisor, added, “This year’s geotechnical competition provided our students an excellent opportunity to analyze actual samples along with their laboratory results, and to answer some ‘real world,’ practical questions about the use of these soils in various construction scenarios.”  In a very short time frame, the BSC students answered questions about compaction, settlement, and earth retention systems.

“These principles are used every day in construction projects throughout the world,” Dr. Stauffer continued.  “It was gratifying to know that our students can compete and even outperform students from other, much larger institutions.  I am proud of their effort and teamwork.  This type of critical thinking and problem solving will help them achieve great things professionally and contribute meaningfully to improving the nation’s infrastructure and the quality of life for all.”

The three-day conference attracted teams from 13 institutions of higher education, including WVU, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, VMI, University of Virginia, Marshall University, Old Dominion University, George Washington University, Fairmont State University, Howard University, Catholic University of America, and WVU-Institute of Technology.

(cutline)—Bluefield State College ASCE student team members (left-to-right) Austin Sisk, Dominick Buzzo, Cory Nipper, and Joshua Adkins, posted a second place finish in the the Geotechnical Competition portion of the recent American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Virginia Regional Student Conference at George Mason University.