ASCE student chapter wins ‘26 competition at Rocky Mountains Symposium
May 5, 2026
After a year of planning and design, The University of New Mexico's American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter brought home several awards from the 2026 Rocky Mountain Symposium held in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Fifteen UNM students from the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering competed and several brought back awards.
Student members work with local contractors, industry leaders in the city, faculty mentors and various mentors throughout the year, which helped them develop the skills necessary to win at the competition and be successful in the civil engineering field.
2025-2026 Timber Strong build team with their two-story building in the background
Students participated in two technical presentations as well as the timber strong, steel bridge and construction institute competitions. Their awards included:
- 1st place technical paper presentation - Eric Soule
- Outstanding speaker award CI - Eric Soule
- 3rd place in the mystery competition - Eric Soule
- 3rd in Concrete Institute - Eric Soule, Truth Hatcher, Desirea Gucito
- 3rd in stiffness in steel bridge - Josiah Duke, Saul Medina, Axel Talamantes, Adrick de Leon, Jose Castillo Tovar, Alice Janssen
- 3rd in lightness in steel bridge - Josiah Duke, Saul Medina, Axel Talamantes, Adrick de Leon, Jose Castillo Tovar, Alice Janssen
- 1st place in the Mead competition - Desirea Gucito
Six UNM team members competed in the timber strong team, which learned how to design and construct a two-story building. The team plans to build steam on the lessons they learned this year as they prepare for next year’s competition.
2025-2026 Steel Bridge build team with a very strong UNM steel bridge carrying the team without any problem
ASCE student chapters are designed to support students’ growth and camaraderie at both professional and personal levels, promoting their involvement in their local chapter, within other student clubs and the University, across schools, nationwide.
Members of this year’s ASCE student chapter included: Eric Soule, president; Axel Talamantes, vice president; Alice Janssen, secretary; Lucas Marshall, treasurer; Josiah Duke, competition czar, and Madaline Nguyen-Pham, social media chair.
The UNM ASCE student chapter for 2026-2027 just completed their elections and have announced their upcoming leadership team: Madaline Nguyen-Pham, president; Anthony Burd, vice president; Barsha Khanal, secretary; Tommy Priddy, treasurer; Adrick de Leon, competition czar, and Desirae Gucito, social media chair.
2025-2026 ASCE Student Chapter of UNM at the Rocky Mountain Symposium Awards Banquet: great job UNM ASCE team!
If you are interested to participating in the ASCE student chapter or want to know more, send an email to student president Madaline Nguyen-Pham (mnguyenpham04@unm.edu) of UNM ASCE or faculty adviser Dr. Fernando Moreu (fmoreu@unm.edu). There are many ways to become involved with UNM ASCE student chapter.
