Civil engineering student wins third place in national essay competition

Kate Kelley, a Wayne State University civil engineering undergraduate student, was recently named the third-place winner of the 2015 National Daniel W. Mead Contest. Her essay, "Engineers Assuming Responsibility for Job-Site Safety: Possible and Honorable," was chosen by the Committee on Student Members of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to be honored with this award.

The Daniel W. Mead Contest was established and endowed in 1939 by Mead, Hon.M.ASCE, a former society president. As part of their annual competition, ASCE posts a prompt to their student members, challenging them to utilize their knowledge of the industry to construct a thoughtful response. The contest provides an opportunity for alert young civil engineers to further their professional development and gain national attention.

The 2015 prompt was, "Should the Engineer of Record (who has sealed a set of plans) be held responsible, to any degree, for injury or death to builders or bystanders that occurs during the construction of his/her design?" Kelley will receive a $600 cash prize as reward for her third-place finish.

"It really took a lot of initiative and hard work for Kate to win this award. She did an excellent job representing Wayne State on a national level, and we couldn't be more proud," says Joseph Hummer, professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Learn more about the ASCE Daniel W. Mead Contest

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Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering 380 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 28,000 students. For more information about engineering at Wayne State University, visit engineering.wayne.edu.