If you are a student, younger member, or new professional, then this is the page for you! This page will highlight programming and rules for the 2024 Student Competitions as well as New Professionals content, and will be updated as programming develops.

New Professionals Symposium 

In 2024, EWRI is eager to present the fourth annual New Professionals Symposium, which includes five sessions (including mentoring) geared towards professionals who are new to their field. We will be offering technical sessions, professional development sessions, and a live mentoring session. Stay tuned for the sessions we will be offering this year!

Student Activities Reimbursement Fund (StAR)

The Student Activities Reimbursement Fund (StAR) was established by the ASCE Foundation Board of Directors to assist students with expenses associated with participating in ASCE activities. This is a competitive application program for students who are interested in attending official ASCE conferences, the annual convention, or other ASCE meetings to advance their career, education, and leadership in the profession, community, and ASCE.

All applications are due by Friday, September 29, 2023.

StAR Fund Full Details

WSP Student Design Competition

Solving water resources-related problems requires a team-based approach. The WSP Student Design Competition is intended to encourage undergraduate student teams to develop innovative and practical solutions to water- or environment- related design problems.  The competition is open to any undergraduate student team (both internationally and domestically) working on a water or environment-related problem. 

Students who are interested in competing should submit a 3-4 page summary of the project by midnight EDT on due Friday, March 29, 2024. Submissions should be sent to Jenn Jacyna at [email protected]. The project summary should include:

• Header including team member names, institution(s), date, (and faculty sponsor).
• Project description/background
• A clear problem statement 
• Description of evaluation approaches
• Preliminary design recommendations (or design alternatives, if design is not yet complete)
• Figures or tables as appropriate (in support of the other sections)

Applications will be evaluated based on the following:

1. Clarity of problem statement
2. Technical appropriateness of evaluation approaches
3. Justification of design
4. Quality of writing
5. Effectiveness of graphics

The top three teams that pre-qualify will receive travel funding of up to $1,000 and complementary registration to attend the EWRI World Environmental & Water Resources Congress in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 19-22, 2024. At least one team member should be available present the project in person at the special WSP session. The winning team will be selected by a panel of environmental and water resources professionals.

Graduate Student Technical Paper Competition

The graduate student paper competition is a technical writing competition geared towards and graded for graduate-level students. The intent of the competition is to support the development of participants’ research writing skills, so it is anticipated and expected that students submitting the work are the primary authors of the paper and were responsible for its content.

Information & Eligibility:

• The main author of submissions to this category must be a graduate student.
• For any work submitted that is the product of research supervised by a faculty adviser, the faculty adviser may be included as a second author.
• Papers will be reviewed and assessed for originality, status of project, technical content, significance to the field, and quality of the writing.
• Three graduate submissions will be selected based on the content of the technical papers.
• The top three winners will receive complimentary registrations, which will be issued as refunds post-Congress.

To Enter:

• Step 1: Submit your one page abstract to a technical track by Wednesday, September 20, 2023.
• Step 2: Submit your required final paper by Wednesday, December 13, 2023
• Step 3: When submitting your final paper, be sure to indicate whether or not you would like your paper reviewed for the competition. There will be a check box to complete this during the final paper submission process.  
• Accepted students are expected to present onsite at the Congress.
• Register for the Congress by Wednesday, January 24, 2024 OR indicate to EWRI who is registering on your behalf
• First, second, and third place winners will be presented at the Students & New Professional Event

Please note that to be included in the conference proceedings and the conference scheduling, the submission and registration deadlines must be strictly observed. 

Undergraduate Student Technical Paper Competition

The undergraduate student paper competition is a technical writing competition geared towards and graded for undergraduate-level students. The intent of the competition is to support the development of participants’ research writing skills, so it is anticipated and expected that students submitting the work are the primary authors of the paper and were responsible for its content.

Information & Eligibility:

• The main author of submissions to this category must be an undergraduate student.
• For any work submitted that is the product of research supervised by a faculty adviser, the faculty adviser may be included as a second author.
• Papers will be reviewed and assessed for originality, status of project, technical content, significance to the field, and quality of the writing.
• Three undergraduate submissions will be selected based on the content of the technical papers.
• The top three winners will receive complimentary registrations, which will be issued as refunds post-Congress.

To Enter:

• Step 1: Submit your one page abstract to a technical track by Wednesday, September 20, 2023.
• Step 2: Submit your required final paper by Wednesday, December 13, 2023
• Step 3: When submitting your final paper, be sure to indicate whether or not you would like your paper reviewed for the competition. There will be a check box to complete this during the final paper submission process.  
• Accepted students are expected to present onsite at the Congress.
• Register for the Congress by Wednesday, January 24, 2024 OR indicate to EWRI who is registering on your behalf
• First, second, and third place winners will be presented at the Students & New Professional Event

Please note that to be included in the conference proceedings and the conference scheduling, the submission and registration deadlines must be strictly observed. 

Conference Proceedings

Graduate and undergraduate students who intend to compete in the paper competitions are required to submit a final paper. Any student who submits a final paper will have their paper reviewed by the track chairs for consideration and publication in the Conference Proceedings. Participation in the paper competitions does not affect publication in the proceedings, nor does publication in the proceedings affect participation in the paper competitions.