A team of MSOE students is one of nine regional finalists in the national 2018 Design-Build Student Competition, sponsored by the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA). Thirty-six teams from leading design, construction and engineering universities across the U.S. entered the competition, which challenged them to exhibit design-build best practices. They had to propose a delivery solution to design and construct a two- to three-floor student residence hall on an American college campus.  

Congratulations to team members Habiba Aly, Matt Blain, Megan Hanelt, Mike Osep, Alex Olson, Cassidy Jackson and Megan Weidner. They are all students in the Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management Department. Dr. Jeong Woo, professor and construction management program director, is the team’s advisor.  

Regional juries comprised of industry veterans selected the nine regional winners for the first phase of the competition based on their Request for Qualifications (RFQ) submissions, which advance them to the second phase of the competition. In the second phase, a Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released to each finalist team. From this pool of finalists, the top teams are invited to present their proposals before an expert panel during the annual Design-Build Conference and Expo in New Orleans in November. The final winners will be announced and presented awards at the conference.  

DBIA is the only organization that defines, teaches and promotes best practices in design-build. DBIA’s 2018 National Design-Build Student Competition regional winners represent MSOE, Montana Tech, Iowa State University, University of Arizona, University of Berkeley, Roger Williams University, Seminole State University, Oklahoma State University and University of Washington.