Student Clubs

Our Student Clubs

We have some of the most active student clubs on campus as they frequently take on team projects for national competitions and participate in regional and national conferences.

American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) 

AISC is our student chapter of the American Institute of Steel Construction, a non-partisan, not for profit technical institute and trade established in 1921 to serve the structural steel design . The purpose of the student organization is to increase knowledge of concrete design, construction and materials while developing partnerships with industry professionals. AISC is where students can gain hands-on learning of steel construction. Their main project is the Steel Bridge Competition. 

Duluth Transportation Student Organization (DTSO)

DTSO is a student chapter of both the Institute of TransportationEngineers (ITE) and ITS Minnesota (ITSMN). ­ITE is an international association of transportation professionals who work to improve mobility and safety and help build smart and livable communities. ITSMN is comprised of individuals and organizations who are interested in the development of Minnesota’s Intelligent Transportation Systems industry.

DTSO creates a bridge between the educational and professional settings, providing students with an opportunity to learn more about the transportation profession and to network with professionals and companies involved in transportation. DTSO is open to any student interested in engineering, planning, technology, or research related to transportation. DTSO's events are posted on BulldogConnect and our club officers can be contacted at [email protected].

Steel Bridge Competition

Steel Bridge is a competition where students design, fabricate, construct, and test a steel bridge. The winning bridge is selected based on economic analysis, load capacity, constructability, and aesthetics from the pool of bridge teams. In 2019, they went to South Dakota State to compete in a offset footing cantilevered competition. 

Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

The SWE mission is to encourage women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity. Open to both men and women in engineering, the UMD SWE chapter attends regional and national conferences, hosts speakers from engineering companies, organizes outreach events with the Duluth community, and has several social gatherings throughout the year. Members who participate in volunteer opportunities, are eligible for scholarships and awards, and have the chance to network with other students and professionals in engineering. For more information, check out our Facebook page, or contact the club officers at [email protected].

ASCE Team Competitions

American Society of Civil Engineers

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) UMD Student Chapter is a professional group of students who meet with working professionals within the civil engineering field to further develop our applicable knowledge and to network with local businesses. We strive to have our members walk away from our meetings feeling that they know more about their chosen major, make new friends, and gain practical knowledge on concrete, water, dirt, construction, and anything else involving civil engineering. Anybody interested in the field of civil engineering is more than welcome to join our bi-weekly meetings! For more information, check out our Twitter page, or contact the club officers at [email protected].

A clothing order is being put together for the spring semester!

Concrete Canoe Competition

Concrete Canoe builds a canoe out of concrete, that floats! They start from scratch, creating their own concrete mix design and mold. the team is scored on a number of variables including a design paper, engineers notebook, concrete mix design, display, and racing the canoe. The 2019 Midwest Regional Conference Competition was held at the University of Iowa, and the team took 4th overall with first place finishes in rowing and display. The team was selected as a wild card to compete at the 2019 National Concrete Canoe Competition at Florida Institute of Technology in June of 2019. This was the first time UMD competed at the National Competition, and placed 21st of 24 teams from around the globe.  

Geowall Competition

GeoWall is a student competition in which students design and build a model retaining wall out of construction paper. The wall must hold back a box full of sand plus an additional load that varies year to year. The goal is to use as little construction paper as possible without having the wall fail. The team is scored on a number of variables including a design paper, weight of paper used, deflection of retaining wall, etc. Our team competes at a regional competition once a year. In 2018, our team took second place at the regional competition and went on to compete at nationals in Orlando, FL and got 9th place overall.