McNeese Precast Concrete Team Competes in Ohio

A team of five McNeese State University civil engineering students placed third at the National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA) Foundation Student Competition in Columbus, Ohio.

The team members included Kallie Broussard of Lake Arthur, Todd Cormier of Iowa, Brant Courville of Lake Charles and Matthew Hennigan and Conner Moyer, both of Westlake. The students were advised and supported by Dr. Dimitrios Dermisis, associate professor of civil engineering.

Students had to design a cheese process water cooling system that included water storage systems, pumping stations, production, shipping and installation schedules and detailed drawings of the water flow in the storage systems.

The student competition was part of The Precast Show, which is the largest precast-specific trade show in North America with nearly 5,000 participants. This is the first time that McNeese has participated in this competition and the team received good feedback from the judges and the executive director of the NPCA Foundation. The award comes with $400, divided equally among the student team members, and $3,000 for the McNeese engineering program.

Another student, Pavel Kraus of Czechia, and team member Courville made a presentation at the tradeshow related to McNeese’s Precast and Prestress Concrete Institute (PCI). McNeese is the only university in Louisiana home to a PCI Studio funded by the PCI Foundation.