Purdue News

March 30, 2001 Engineering team has designs on competition 'three-peat' WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A Purdue University team is preparing to defend its national title for the third time – in environmental design. Civil engineering senior design class students will trek to the annual International Environmental Design Contest April 9-12 on the New Mexico State University, Las Cruces campus. For the 11th year, the Waste-management Education & Research Consortium (WERC), invited university and high school students to compete in solving real-world environmental problems. Purdue will field four different teams, with a total of 23 students, to address four of seven proposed tasks. Last year, Purdue won the overall top place, finishing first in two tasks and second in a third task. Purdue received $12,000 in cash prizes and captured the Waste Management Federal Services Traveling Trophy. The year before, Purdue netted $11,500 for winning overall honors and two first-place finishes. For Purdue, past success means present pressure. "We've got a bull's-eye on our back," said Loring F. Nies, Purdue associate professor of engineering. "I hope we'll live up to everyone's expectations. I know this: We'll be very competitive." Instructing and advising the senior design class with Nies are Ronald F. Wukasch, professor of civil engineering; Inez Hua, assistant professor of civil engineering; and Graham Archer, assistant professor of civil engineering. "This is a great experience for our students," Nies said of the competition. "It's a real-life application of knowledge that allows Purdue environmental engineers to shine nationally." Each year, Purdue sends teams with students who haven't participated in these competitions previously. "All the students in the class attend the competition; they work very hard and give 100 percent effort," Nies said. For the third year, Purdue civil engineering alumni are supporting the class financially, donating approximately $10,000 for competition participation and travel expenses. This year, the teams' tasks include developing and demonstrating a method for the safe retrieval of waste from underground tanks; designing and demonstrating a roof system to cover a 1,000 square-foot living space using small diameter round-timber structural elements; developing and demonstrating a cost-effective method to minimize or eliminate acid mine drainage; and developing a mobile treatment system for hazardous waste materials. Competition winners are determined by a panel of judge-experts based on each team's written reports, oral presentations, posters and a working bench-scale model. Judges analyze all aspects of the teams' solutions, including regulatory, economic, safety, health and community issues. Purdue students will practice their presentations Thursday (4/5) before leaving for the competition. Last year, more than 40 teams composed of 350 university and high school students participated in the competition. CONTACT: Loring F. Nies; (765) 494-8327, nies@purdue.edu. To the Purdue News and Photos Page