Surveying students win top prize at 23rd Annual NSPS Student Competition
UA's team accepting the Mike and Ann Besch Award for first place at the 23rd Annual National Society of Professional Surveyors Student Competition.
Six students from the Surveying and Mapping Program at The University of Akron (UA) clinched the top spot in the baccalaureate degree division at the 23rd Annual National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) Student Competition. Led by team captain Seth Boyd, along with Alex Garcia, Zac Clevenger, Ashton Schonauer, Ryan Milani, and Jayden Allrutz, the team represented UA in Washington, D.C. on April 22-23.
Twenty-four teams from across the United States attended the competition which featured multiple challenges, including a 6-hour survey benchmark monument hunt and a full day of exercises utilizing historic surveying equipment. The goal was to use similar equipment from when Benjamin Banneker helped lay out the original ten-mile square around the District of Columbia in 1791. During the scavenger hunt, the team walked over 15 miles and found the winning number of 54 total monuments.
The field exercises included triangulation, leveling and traversing. The students operated an optical theodolite while simultaneously performing mathematical computations of an unknown position. This involved sighting the solid aluminum pyramidion on top of the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Pier Marker, and then sighting the very rare and mysterious Washington mini monument. The team then operated a four-screw, fixed leg dumpy level and concluded the events by pulling a vintage 33-foot Gunter’s Chain and measuring angles with a magnetic compass.
UA's “Boomers” prior to competing in the field exercises.
At the end of all the events UA’s team, nicknamed the “Boomers,” won the overall top prize. The students gained extra credit points by wearing period attire and they chose the Baby Boomer Generation with matching pocket protectors, ties and sunglasses. Team member Zac Clevenger also made a field notebook that was custom-printed and hand-stitched. These extra details helped secure first place.
Before the competition, the team had dinner at Gadsby’s Tavern in Alexandria, Virginia. This restaurant was established in 1770 and historically hosted George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison and James Monroe. The next day the students visited Mount Vernon and learned about George Washington becoming a Professional Surveyor at the age of 17.
UA's student team performing a chaining exercise on the National Mall.
UA’s Surveying and Mapping Program has a storied tradition of excellence, reflected in their consistent victories. The program's success was further celebrated with the renaming of the top prize trophy in 2018 as the Michael and Ann Besch Award, honoring the husband-wife faculty team that founded the bachelor’s program at UA. Additionally, the program received a $2,000 cash prize.
The team was directed by faculty advisor and program director Joseph D. Fenicle, PS along with support from special lecturer Ann Besch, PS. Generous contributions from the Professional Land Surveyors of Ohio at both local and state levels, along with private donors, made these memories possible.
RELATED CONTENT:
- Learn more about our civil engineering programs.
- Discover our Surveying and Mapping Bachelor’s Degree which prepares students for technical and professional careers in surveying.
Story by CEPS Marketing.
Media contact: Cristine Boyd, 330-972-6476 or cboyd@uakron.edu.