Conference
The Pacific Southwest Conference (PSWC) is one of our biggest ASCE events of the year. Every spring, it brings together 18 universities in the Southwest region to participate in three days of competitions, social activities, and a giant awards banquet.
The competitions are the highlights, because our Concrete Canoe, Concrete Sports, Environmental Design, GeoWall, Steel Bridge, and Surveying teams work hard every year for the competitions at this conference. These three days can be fierce, but the conference schedule also has a bunch of fun activities which includes Jeopardy, basketball, ultimate frisbee, tug of war, scavenger hunt, talent show, and, our favorite, KanJam! In addition, there is a career fair and, finally, the awards banquet, where there is usually much cheering and celebration.
PSWC is hosted by a different school every year. PSWC 2020 was supposed to be held at California State University, Fullerton from April 1st-4th. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person conference was canceled. Instead, only the projects' design reports were judged, along with the technical paper (written by Joceline Suhaimi this year). We placed 2nd overall, with several 2nd place winners and one 1st place winner, GeoWall! Although PSWC 2020 was not nearly as exciting and eventful as it has been in the past, we are nonetheless extremely proud of our projects and members for maintaining our chapter's prestigious legacy at PSWC!
The competitions are the highlights, because our Concrete Canoe, Concrete Sports, Environmental Design, GeoWall, Steel Bridge, and Surveying teams work hard every year for the competitions at this conference. These three days can be fierce, but the conference schedule also has a bunch of fun activities which includes Jeopardy, basketball, ultimate frisbee, tug of war, scavenger hunt, talent show, and, our favorite, KanJam! In addition, there is a career fair and, finally, the awards banquet, where there is usually much cheering and celebration.
PSWC is hosted by a different school every year. PSWC 2020 was supposed to be held at California State University, Fullerton from April 1st-4th. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person conference was canceled. Instead, only the projects' design reports were judged, along with the technical paper (written by Joceline Suhaimi this year). We placed 2nd overall, with several 2nd place winners and one 1st place winner, GeoWall! Although PSWC 2020 was not nearly as exciting and eventful as it has been in the past, we are nonetheless extremely proud of our projects and members for maintaining our chapter's prestigious legacy at PSWC!
PSWC 2021 will be hosted at UCLA! Our conference team has been working tirelessly to ensure that PSWC 2021 exceeds your exprections in true Bruin fashion. Check out the official PSWC 2021 website for details!
From the PSWC 2021 planning committee:
From the PSWC 2021 planning committee:
Tradition meets innovation—the PSWC 2021 planning committee (headed by Tori Mok and made up of External Events Director Ki Ja Ourdoune, Financial Director Kristida Chhour, Non-Technical Events Director Lucas Tang, Publicity Director Sarah Ciudad, Technical Events Director Katherine Tsai, and Technical Events Scheduling Director Alexis Bui) has transitioned to a virtual format creatively reimagining events in order to maintain the conference’s rich tradition of building a community and cultivating student chapter pride. We have elevated event prompts, technical and non-technical, to continue challenging students to demonstrate their classroom knowledge, display their athletic skills, and collaborate in light-hearted games. To further achieve the goals of PSWC, we have added EngineeringX, a technical design report on the structural analysis of obstacle courses, and Younger Member Forum (YMF) Jeopardy, a non-technical event focused on engaging participation from young professionals across the region.
All events will be live-streamed to allow participants to cheer on and appreciate the work of their colleagues in hopes to strengthen the sense of pride and camaraderie in the student chapters. Lastly, the PSWC 2021 planning committee prioritizes the wellbeing of our participants, and we have refocused our fundraising efforts to provide various scholarship opportunities. PSWC 2021 is taking a new form to preserve the conference’s traditions while catering to the needs and interests of its participants!
All events will be live-streamed to allow participants to cheer on and appreciate the work of their colleagues in hopes to strengthen the sense of pride and camaraderie in the student chapters. Lastly, the PSWC 2021 planning committee prioritizes the wellbeing of our participants, and we have refocused our fundraising efforts to provide various scholarship opportunities. PSWC 2021 is taking a new form to preserve the conference’s traditions while catering to the needs and interests of its participants!
To attend PSWC as a UCLA student, you must first be a student member of our ASCE student chapter. You must also register for the free national membership through the national ASCE organization, which not only grants you eligibility for full participation in the conference, but also access to many ASCE scholarships and publications.
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Let us know if you have any comments or suggestions. We are also open to sponsorship. We try to minimize individual traveling expenses to make PSWC affordable for everyone, so any financial help is appreciated. Please contact our Conference Coordinator for more information.