Cal Sustainable Solutions Team Earns Highest-Ever Placement in Program History
The UC Berkeley Sustainable Solutions and Concrete Canoe student teams proudly represented Berkeley CEE at the 2025 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Sustainable Solutions Competition and Concrete Canoe Competition, held from June 27 to June 29 at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The event brought together top civil engineering students from around the globe to demonstrate their technical skills and innovative thinking in real-world engineering challenges.
Congratulations to the Cal Sustainable Solutions team, which placed 2nd overall out of 22 regional competitors selected from more than 100 teams worldwide—the highest placement in both UC Berkeley’s and the competition’s history!
These prestigious national competitions offer students hands-on experience in concrete mix design, sustainable urban planning, project management, and hydrodynamic performance, bridging theory and practice through immersive engineering challenges.
Sustainable Solutions: Reimagining Urban Redevelopment
This year’s Sustainable Solutions Competition tasked teams with developing a sustainability-focused redevelopment plan for a five-story commercial office building acquired through a public-private partnership in a fictional post-pandemic city. Reflecting shifting workplace norms, the scenario emphasized hybrid work models and underused urban infrastructure.
Students were evaluated using the Envision Framework, developed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, which guides their designs around environmental, economic, and social sustainability principles.
Concrete Canoe: “America’s Cup of Civil Engineering”
The Concrete Canoe Competition, often called the “America’s Cup of Civil Engineering,” challenges teams to design, build, and race canoes made entirely from concrete. The competition blends structural engineering expertise with hydrodynamic design, aesthetics, and athleticism.
The event has grown from student-led races in the 1960s into an elite national showcase, officially organized by ASCE since 1988 and sponsored by the ASCE Foundation.
The Cal Concrete Canoe team delivered a strong performance across all categories, earning 10th place nationally overall.
Event Highlights:
- Technical Paper: 7th
- Presentation: 11th
- Final Product: 10th
- Women’s Slalom: 6th
- Men’s Slalom: 7th
- Women’s Sprint: 9th
- Men’s Sprint: 10th
We are proud of both teams for their outstanding achievements, leadership, and embodiment of Berkeley CEE’s spirit of innovation and excellence.
Go Bears!!!