Emerson Recognized by Teammates, ASCE Judges
Robert Emerson (BS ’25) was awarded the Roger W. Meier Student Chapter Member Award at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Tennessee Section Annual Meeting on February 13th.
Emerson, now a project manager at True North Earthworks in Memphis, captained the University of Tennessee’s Student Steel Bridge Competition (SSBC) team in the 2024-2025 academic year.
“I’m very grateful for the (award), but it really just reflects (the caliber of) our chapter, my teachers, and the people that were around me that I even had the opportunity,” Emerson said.
Co-sponsored by ASCE and the American Institute of Steel Construction, the SSBC challenges students to plan a 20-foot scale model bridge capable of carrying 2,500 pounds, then fabricate it in less than 30 minutes under judge observation.
“Being able to be around my colleagues more, and to compete in certain events, (helped me) get to a higher level of thinking that you necessarily get in class,” Emerson said. “(It gave me) experience in (handling) things that you don’t necessarily foresee coming up. Maybe the architect or the civil engineer (who drew up our plans) didn’t have a good idea of what was going on (at the site), and we have to come up with a solution, notify everyone of the problems, and figure out how to push past it.”
Thanks to Emerson’s leadership and the entire team’s dedication, the UT steel bridge team was able to compete at nationals in the summer of 2025. The other members of the team then nominated Emerson for the ASCE Knoxville Branch Student Member Award, which he won in the fall of 2025.
Winning the branch award made Emerson eligible for the Tennessee Section (state level) award. His team’s nomination letter earned Emerson first place against nominations from schools across the state, including Vanderbilt University, Tennessee Tech University, and Lipscomb University.
“These schools and many others have really active SSBC clubs, some of which go to national events each year,” said Jenny Retherford, a teaching professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and one of Emerson’s Steel Bridge team’s mentors. “Robert’s competition was very real.”
Emerson traveled to the ASCE state section meeting in Smyrna, Tennessee, last month. His award was presented by Emily Harrell, the Tennessee Section President, and Carol Haddock, ASCE’s national level president-elect.
Contact
Izzie Gall (egall4@utk.edu)