ASC Student Design Competition

ASC Student Design Competition
Name	ASC Student Design Competition
Established	1986
Host	American Society of Composites
Frequency	Annual
Location	Various

ASC Student Design Competition The ASC Student Design Competition is an annual engineering design contest organized by the American Society for Composites that challenges undergraduate and graduate teams to develop innovative composite-structure solutions. The competition engages participants from universities, research institutes, and industry partners through sponsored problem statements, prototype fabrication, and technical reporting. Winners often gain recognition from professional societies, national laboratories, and corporate employers in aerospace, automotive, and sporting-goods sectors.

Overview

The contest is administered by the American Society for Composites with support from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, NASA, Department of Energy, and companies including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics. University teams from institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Michigan, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Pennsylvania State University compete annually. Sponsors have included research centers such as the Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and industry consortia like the Advanced Composites Consortium. The competition bridges academic programs in institutions such as Imperial College London, University of Cambridge, Delft University of Technology, and University of California, Berkeley with employers such as Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Tesla, Inc., and Ford Motor Company.

History and Development

Established in 1986 by leaders in the American Society for Composites and faculty from universities including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Virginia Tech, the contest evolved alongside advances at facilities like the National Composite Center and partnerships with laboratories such as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Early problems mirrored challenges from McDonnell Douglas and Raytheon projects; later rounds reflected priorities of agencies like the Office of Naval Research and initiatives tied to DARPA programs. Over time, the scope expanded from material selection and layup to include design for manufacturing with equipment from firms like Autodesk partners, and collaborations with testing organizations including American Society for Testing and Materials stakeholders.

Competition Format and Rules

Each year a problem statement is released and teams submit proposals, detailed design reports, and sometimes physical prototypes evaluated under criteria established by panels drawn from American Society for Composites leadership, academics from University of Texas at Austin, Carnegie Mellon University, and engineers from corporations including Pratt & Whitney and SAIC. Rules govern materials, dimensions, and test protocols influenced by standards from ASTM International and testing laboratories such as Intertek and TÜV SÜD. Deliverables typically include a written report, manufacturing drawings, and a presentation at the ASC annual technical conference attended by delegations from Society of Automotive Engineers International and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Eligibility and Participation

Teams are generally formed at accredited universities and technical institutes such as California Institute of Technology, Cornell University, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, and University of Texas at Dallas. Eligibility rules specify student status with sponsoring faculty advisors from departments like those at Princeton University or Johns Hopkins University; some entries include international competitors from University of Toronto, National University of Singapore, Tsinghua University, and University of Melbourne. Participation is often supported by corporate sponsorships from firms like Hexcel Corporation, Toray Industries, and Teijin as well as regional composites suppliers and fabrication shops.

Judging Criteria and Awards

Judges evaluate innovation, structural performance, weight efficiency, manufacturability, cost analysis, and technical communication, with scoring rubrics reflecting practices from AIAA technical committees and procurement perspectives of NASA Glenn Research Center and U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. Awards include first, second, and third place, plus special recognitions such as Best Technical Report, Best Prototype, and Industry Choice presented at the ASC conference and at events attended by representatives from SAE International, Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering, and corporate partners like GE Aviation. Past panels have included editors from journals such as Composite Structures (journal), Journal of Composite Materials, and leaders from CompositesWorld.

Notable Projects and Alumni

Alumni and project teams have gone on to careers at Boeing, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Northrop Grumman, General Motors, and research positions at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Notable projects have included lightweight sandwich panels for NASA Langley Research Center concepts, deployable structures inspired by European Space Agency studies, and vehicle components for competitions run by Society of Automotive Engineers. Past competitors include students who later directed programs at Argonne National Laboratory, led composite programs at Airbus Defence and Space, or won awards from Society of Plastics Engineers.

Impact and Industry Connections

The competition serves as a pipeline linking universities such as RPI, Georgia Tech, UCLA, and Ohio State University with employers and funders including BAE Systems, MagniX, Arconic, and investment by regional economic development agencies. Outcomes influence curricula at departments like Aerospace Engineering at MIT and Mechanical Engineering at Stanford, inform standards committees at ASTM International, and contribute findings to symposia including the International Conference on Composite Materials and SAMPE gatherings. Corporate recruitment at ASC conferences, collaborations with national labs, and technology transfer pathways to startups have made the contest a visible node in the composites innovation ecosystem.

Category:Engineering competitions Category:Student design competitions Category:Composite materials