Teams from Texas and North Dakota Win 2015 Student Design Competition

A panel of judges and WEFTEC 2015 attendees listen to student teams present their engineering solutions at the Student Design Competition. Photo courtesy of Oscar & Associates.

Student teams gathered at WEFTEC^® 2015 in Chicago to compete in the 14th annual Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) Student Design Competition. The WEF Students and Young Professionals Committee event promotes real-world design experience for students interested in pursuing an education and career in water and wastewater engineering and science. Individuals or teams of students evaluate alternative ideas, perform calculations, and recommend solutions in the form of an engineering report and presentation.

The team from South Methodist University (Dallas) won in the wastewater design category for their project, “City of Grapevine Wastewater Treatment Plant Master Plan.” The team from North Dakota State University (Fargo) won in the environmental design category for their project, “Water Reclamation for Irrigation of Softball Complex.” Each team received a certificate and a $2500 prize.

The 2015 competition was sponsored by Black & Veatch (Overland Park, Kan.), Bentley Systems (Exton, Pa.), CDM Smith (Englewood, Colo.), and Greeley and Hansen (Chicago).

Wastewater Design Category Winner	Environmental Design Category Winner
The Southern Methodist University (Dallas) team placed first in the student design competition’s wastewater design category. From left, past WEF Board of Trustee member Erin Mosley stands with team members Kaylee Dusek, Abigail Klaus, and Allison Leopold. Julie Ellis (not pictured) was the team sponsor. Photo courtesy of Oscar & Associates.	The North Dakota State University (Fargo) team placed first in the student design competition’s environmental design category. From left, past WEF Board of Trustee member Erin Mosley stands with team members Kellen Grubb, Luisa Torres, Anna Cunningham, Dain Synhorst, and faculty advisor, Wei Lin. Photo courtesy of Oscar & Associates.