Morgan DiCarlo
Anyone who has been part of the Future City competition over the years knows there’s a certain magic to the program.
Something special happens when kids from around the world work together to push the boundaries of what the future of engineering could look like. Of course, then there are the amazing model cities and the hyper-creative presentations.
And sometimes even some literal magic.
“One student explained to me how the methane gas tanks in her model work using an actual magic wand for the demonstration,” said Morgan DiCarlo, a senior water engineer at Arcadis who served as one of the ASCE judges at the DiscoverE Future City Competition finals this week in Washington, D.C.
“She needs to stay that cool! We need her energy and passion in the civil engineering profession.”
There’s certainly no lack of energy and passion with the Future City competition, a DiscoverE program celebrating its 34th year of engaging students in real-world problem-solving through STEM-based projects.
This year marked a new record for participation, as the program included more than 92,000 middle and high school students across the world. The teams compete in regionals earlier in the school year, and the best of the best advance to the finals in February in the nation’s capital.
ASCE and Future City have been closely linked throughout the years. Many Society members serve as team mentors or as regional competition judges every year. And Future City plays a prominent role in the giant-screen film Cities of the Future, produced by ASCE and MacGillivray Freeman Films.
“Judging was really fun,” said Leslie Tillman, younger member director for the ASCE Maryland Section, project engineer for KCI in Towson, and another of the ASCE judges at the Future City finals this week.
“I’ve judged at the Mid-Atlantic regionals twice now and knew it would be really impressive at the international level at this event in D.C. It is truly an honor to be in the presence of these middle school students. They have worked hard to research, design, build, write, and present about their future cities.
“They bring a lot of passion and excitement about their projects but also about STEAM in general and the future of our planet, which is so inspiring.”
This year’s competition theme was “Farm to Table.” The student teams had to design cities that addressed food waste and kept citizens healthy and safe, demonstrating creativity, engineering prowess, and teamwork.
ASCE again presented a special award at the finals for “Best Visualization of a Smart, Sustainable City” – the future city that accommodated the most innovative systems (e.g., transportation, water and wastewater) for a community. Team Mycelia from the PEARL Homeschool Group in Las Vegas won the prize.
“Some of the groups that scored highly with us had standout water systems, transport systems, and waste management concepts,” said DiCarlo, who herself was a student winner in the ASCE Innovation Contest as an undergraduate in 2017.
“The students went deep with their science research. I learned all about plasma gasification processes to turn food waste into energy. One 360-degree model that flipped completely upside down really stood out, too.
“I was really uplifted by the experience. Many of the teams were as detailed and knowledgeable as grad students, and had creative ideas for sustainability, resilience, and more. I was blown away. The future is bright!”
