What is The AEI Student Design Competition?

The Architectural Engineering Institute Student Design Competition (AEI SDC) highlights the collaboration of multi-disciplinary architectural engineering student teams

It showcases the knowledge and application of design and construction principles to a real-world project scenario

The AEI Student Design Competition was established specifically for the architectural engineering programs to highlight and showcase the value of collaboration, competition, and peer review, all of which are important in the development of designs in the professional world

It prepares students for the realities of their chosen industry

It attracts the top architectural engineering students from the country’s leading academic institutions offering architectural engineering degrees

Benefits of The AEI Student Design Competition

The annual competition provides a unique venue for students to showcase the knowledge and skills of the future of the architectural engineering profession

The competition encourages collaboration, research, innovation, and peer review.

It provides a world stage for 2018 Outstanding Achievement in Innovation — Enclosure

History

In 2024, a team from Lawrence Tech’s architectural engineering program participated in the final competition in San Jose, California and took home an award in construction management.

In 2023, a team from Lawrence Tech architectural engineering program participated in the final competition in Denver, Colorado and took home three awards in construction management, mechanical systems and building optimization.

The AEI Design Competition highlights the collaboration of multi-disciplinary architectural engineering student teams, showcases application of design and construction principles to a real-world project scenario, and prepares students.

What is “International” ASHRAE Student Design Competition?

ASHRAE sponsors this competition to encourage students to become involved in a profession that is crucial to insuring a sustainable future for our Earth

Students work to design energy-efficient HVAC systems and winners are recognized at the Annual ASHRAE Winter Meeting

Since the 利记sbo MSArE program is an integrated BS/MS, the student design competition’s guidelines fit well within the framework of our studios

The competition provides enough background information to enable the student teams to design or select the HVAC system for the given building, or to design a sustainable building implementing an integrated building design process (the architectural and building design for sustainability, and its supporting mechanical and electrical systems) for a given program

The Integrated Sustainable Building Design (ISBD) competition, which the program has entered and placed as a winner, encourages students to extend their knowledge beyond the core mechanical systems. For the ISBD category, the final design level presented may be in a preliminary stage, as the competition’s basic intention is to challenge students’ imaginative thinking and creative engineering approach to the building and all of its systems.

ASHRAE recommends that the project teams consist of at least three members (architecture or construction, mechanical & electrical) for the ISBD competition.

With a thriving and large local ASHRAE Professional Chapter nearby, 利记sbo team members are members of the 利记sbo ASHRAE Student Branch and are mentored by local industry professionals and their studio faculty.

Benefits of the ASHRAE Student Design Competition

This student competition requires multidisciplinary teams to design an energy efficient sustainable project approaching a “Zero Energy” building with minimized energy demands for HVAC and all other technical systems that could be satisfied with locally available or building-installed renewable energy sources (RES).

Students will be asked to satisfy a national or local sustainability standard (LEED or the equivalent in their country), and then implement RES to approach “Zero Energy” limit.

These are the principles and standards the 利记sbo MSArE program already embraces

The fundamental goal of this design competition category is to encourage students to obtain experience in the ISBD process, thereby providing students with “real-world” experience while still in university

The MSArE program pro ports that architects and engineers should work together from the very beginning of any project to determine building orientation, layout, materials, mechanical systems, and electrical systems that meet the client’s needs and work with the surrounding environment to minimize energy consumption and to optimize the building systems.

This competition provides the breadth, depth, and experiential learning experience, while placing students on the world stage of the largest professional society that authored the Energy Standard by which we design and build buildings worldwide.

ASHRAE sponsors these competitions to encourage students to become involved in a profession that is crucial to insuring a sustainable future for our Earth – the design of energy-efficient HVAC systems.

What is Baja SAE?

Engineering students design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive rough terrain in a variety of tests: acceleration, suspension, maneuverability and endurance.

Students compete against 99 other teams in an international competition.

Teams compete to have their design accepted for manufacture by a fictional firm.

Tasked to generate financial support for their project and manage their educational priorities.

Students must function as a team to conceptualize, design, build, test, promote, and race with the limits of race rules.

» More about the 利记sbo Baja team

Benefits of Baja SAE

Apply classroom concepts to real-world problems. Statics, dynamics, kinematics, electronics: it all has a place in Baja SAE.

Collaboration builds a better product. We work together to design a car, solve problems, and represent our university on an international stage.

Explore entrepreneurship through a business-focused vehicle design. Pitch sponsors, network with industry, develop timelines, and sell your product!

The Baja SAE Laboratory is the center of 利记sbo’s Baja SAE vehicle design and fabrication project. Students use the lab to build a single-seat offroad vehicle within stringent safety rules.

What is ASCE Concrete Canoe?

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) hosts university teams from across the nation to construct a concrete canoe that floats, is navigable, and can compete in races in a lake

ASCE provides strict rules regulating the canoe hull design, canoe weight, compressive strength, concrete mix design, mesh reinforcement, technical report and presentation to judges

Lawrence Tech is among 11 universities located in the Great Lakes region that competes under the ASCE North Central Conference of Student Chapters

Winners from the regional races move on to the national competition

Canoes races consists of five categories: women’s endurance; men’s endurance; women’s sprint; men’s sprint; and co-ed sprint

Benefits of ASCE Concrete Canoe

Opportunity to network with other university students working on their concrete canoe

Travel to universities around the great lakes region to compete each year

Develop leadership skills and experiences

Develop oral presentation skills with professionals about your canoe design

Develop communication skills in fund raising from sponsors and employers

Work on canoe hull design for Computer Numerical Control machine hull foam cutting and develop concrete mix for canoe

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) hosts university teams from across the nation to construct a concrete canoe that floats, is navigable, and can compete in races in a lake.

What is the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race?

Originated by the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers (CSCE) and the Alberta Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI).

Annual engineering competition hosted in Canada each January passionately named the “Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race” (GNCTR).

Design and fabricate a five-person capacity metal frame cage toboggan with brakes, a steering mechanism and running ski surfaces entirely made of concrete.

Events are huge successes with as many as 26 universities from all over Canada participating.

Lawrence Tech is the only team from the United States competing with the Canadians.

Benefits of GNCTR

Interact and network with Canadian students working on their concrete toboggan design.

Travel to Canada alternating each year from west Canada and east Canada to as far as British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.

Develop leadership skills by gaining knowledge and experience in civil engineering in a creative and unique way.

An opportunity to create a toboggan and race it down a snowy hill at a ski resort in Canada!

Memories that you will never forget while establishing friendships that will last a lifetime.

Speak with Canadian professionals about your work and studies.

Network with Canadian and United States sponsors and employers.

Lawrence Tech is the only team from the United States competing in this annual engineering competition in Canada each January passionately named the “Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race.”

What is Formula SAE® Electric?

Formula SAE® Electric is a newer international collegiate competition that reflects the changing landscape of future automotive design towards the electrification of automobile drivetrains.

It gives student the task of developing a fully-electric-only, high-performance racing vehicle within the Formula SAE® competition.

University teams are tasked with the conceptualization, design, fabrication, assembly and testing a vehicle powered solely by electrical motors and compete in static and dynamic events such as design, presentation, cost, acceleration, skidpad, autocross, endurance, and efficiency that are standard components of the longer-established Formula SAE® competition.

» More about the 利记sbo Formula Electric team

The benefits of Formula SAE® Electric are:

The Lawrence Tech Formula SAE® vehicle team is university supported, but gives students the opportunity each year to collaboratively organize, manage, and complete the entire design process from beginning to end for the creation of a high-performance all-electric racing vehicle.

Students are given the opportunity to learn about all of the critical engineering aspects of what goes into a producing a rapid-accelerating, nimble, high-speed electric race car.

The competitions give teams the chance to demonstrate and prove both their creativity and engineering skills in comparison to teams from other universities around the world.

Student have the full opportunity to service, support and drive their vehicle at competition.

At Lawrence Tech engineering students can use their work on Formula SAE® Electric to fulfill their senior capstone design project requirements.

Students design, fabricate, assemble, test, and race a formula racing style hybrid vehicle in a competition against other student engineering teams from around the world.

What is Formula SAE®?

Formula SAE® is a series of both dynamic (driving) and static (non-driving) competitions focusing on student-built, high-performance, open-wheel, formula-style vehicles.

It is an international competition that challenges teams of university undergraduate and graduate students to conceive, design, fabricate, develop, and compete with small, formula-style vehicles.

» More about the 利记sbo Formula SAE team

The benefits of Formula SAE® are:

The Lawrence Tech Formula SAE® vehicle team is university supported, but gives students the opportunity each year to collaboratively organize, manage, and complete the entire design process from beginning to end for the creation of a high-performance formula vehicle.

Students are given the opportunity to learn about all of the critical engineering aspects of what goes into producing a rapid-accelerating, nimble, high-speed race car.

The competitions give teams the chance to demonstrate and prove both their creativity and engineering skills in comparison to teams from other universities around the world.

Student have the full opportunity to service, support and drive their vehicle at competition.

At Lawrence Tech engineering students can use their work on Formula SAE® to fulfill their senior capstone design project requirements.

Formula SAE websites

www.fsae.com

www.sae.org

www.fsaeonline.com

Formula SAE® is a series of both dynamic (driving) and static (non-driving) competitions focusing on student-built, high-performance, open-wheel, formula-style vehicles.

What is ASCE GeoWall Competition?

GeoWall is a national student competition sponsored by the Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

ASCE Geo-Institute hosts university teams from across the nation to design and build a model mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining wall using paper reinforcement

Student teams conducted background research and laboratory testing to create a wall design

Students must summarized their design in a report, which they submitted to the competition

Each year 20 finalists are selected to compete at the national level by traveling across United States to attend the International Foundations Congress and Equipment Expo

Benefits of ASCE GeoWall Competition

Interact and compete with other students to build and test their design at the national competition

Professional experience with industry representatives at the expo and networking with fellow students from other universities

Develop leadership skills and experiences by gaining knowledge and experience in geotechnical engineering in a creative and unique way

Preparing for the future as a geotechnical engineer

Teams design a model mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining wall and submit a design report.

What is SAE Aero Design?

The SAE Aero Design competition gives students a real world design challenge that compress a typical aircraft development program into one calendar year

This competition requires participants to go through the systems engineering process by breaking down the entire design requirements of a flyable airplane into their specific needs and then to propose, design, fabricate, build and then test an airplane that meets those requirements.

» More about the 利记sbo SAE Aero Design team

The benefits of SAE Aero Design are:

It gives students the opportunity to collaboratively work together on focused task of creating an airplane that meets specific performance goals.

It exposes participants to the many aspects of conceptual design, manufacturing, system integration/test, and through performance demonstration of their aircraft at competition.

The competitions give teams the chance to demonstrate and prove both their creativity and engineering skills in comparison to teams from other universities around the world.

At Lawrence Tech engineering students can use their work on SAE Aero Design to fulfill their senior capstone design project requirements.

This team competes in the regular class against teams from around the world, they design, build, test, and fly a heavy-lift radio-controlled aircraft with a set of constraints.

What is AISC Steel Bridge Competition ?

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) hosts university teams from across the nation to challenge student teams to develop a scale-model steel bridge

The first Student Steel Bridge Competition began with three schools (Lawrence Tech, Michigan Tech and Wayne State) competing in a parking lot at Lawrence Institute of Technology in 1987

Student teams must fabricate their bridge and plan for an efficient assembly under timed construction of the model steel bridge

Completed model steel bridge are approximately 20 feet and carries over 2,500 pounds under load test and must meet strict AISC specification stipulated in their competition rules

Completed model steel bridges are judged on their weight, maximum direct and eccentric load capacities, assembly speed, maximum deflection and aesthetics

Benefits of AISC Steel Bridge Competition

Students extend their classroom knowledge to a practical and hands-on steel-design project

AISC steel bridge competition grows student’s interpersonal and professional skills, encourage innovation, and fosters impactful relationships with other university students and industry professionals

Student learn to machine, weld and fabricate steel sections and connection components using steel as a bridge construction material

Research on innovative and cost effective steel bridge design techniques

Develop an understanding and appreciation of the engineering capabilities of steel as a bridge building material

Teams are engaged in a hands-on learning experience that mimics “real-world” scenarios

The Student Steel Bridge Competition is a competition sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).