CEE students visit real-world projects in Detroit

Members of the University of Michigan student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Environmental Engineering Student Association (EESA) traveled to Detroit on February 15, 2019 for a chance to network and see real-world projects up close. Students could choose to tour either the Walbridge construction company or the Detroit Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP).

Walbridge delivers general contracting, design-build, construction management, and engineering, procurement and construction. Their work includes projects in automotive, manufacturing, healthcare, commercial, government and education sectors.

The Detroit WWTP serves the city of Detroit and 76 other surrounding communities. The WWTP treats approximately 650 million gallons per day of wastewater on average.

CEE undergraduate senior and ASCE Co-Social chair, Ella Yazbeck, discusses her exciting experience with the Walbridge tour.

“My favorite part of the Walbridge visit was getting to see the innovative technologies in their WIN lab and discuss their predictions for where these new ideas could take the field in the future, ” said Yazbeck. “The most interesting part of the trip was seeing the way the extension of the One Campus Martius building tied into the existing structure. It was planned very well structurally to have the addition down the road, which has streamlined the building progress.”

CEE undergraduate senior and ASCE president, Liem Ellen Setiawan, also had a great experience with the Detroit WWTP tour.

“My favorite part of the trip was definitely interacting with our tour guide Mr. Anthony Wachocki of the Great Lakes Water Authority,” said Setiawan. “He was so funny and very open to discussing up-and-coming technologies in wastewater treatment.”

Both Yazbeck and Setiawan commented that the trip helped them with their senior design projects.

“This trip was very timely for me, since I am designing a multi-use building in Senior Design right now,” said Yazbeck. “It helped me understand what I was learning in class and see how applicable it was to a real project. We even had some similar features in our building, like cantilevered slabs, that made much more sense when I could physically see them.”