The four teams are from: Milwaukee School of Engineering; Southern Polytechnic State University; University of Washington; and Northeastern University.

The competition’s next phase will take place March 19 at MCAA 2013, the association’s annual convention, which runs from March 17-21 at the JW Marriott Hill Country in San Antonio.

A panel of judges convened on January 9 to read, discuss, and score the written proposals submitted by 25 MCAA student chapters from across the United States and Canada. Six of those teams will receive certificates of merit for their work on their competition proposal. They are from: Wentworth Institute of Technology, Colorado State University, California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, McMaster University, Illinois State University, and Central Washington University.

Judges John Powell of Marelich Mechanical Co. Inc. (Hayward, Calif.), Matthew Miller of Irven Bob Miller Inc. (Long Branch, N.J.), J. L. Williams of Ryan & Associates Inc. (Davenport, Iowa), and Kathleen McCauley of McCauley Mechanical Construction Inc. (Bridgeview, Ill.) evaluated and scored each written proposal’s overall quality, project management and organization, feasibility of construction and program schedules, and accuracy/feasibility of conceptual costs.

The oral presentations will be evaluated by a different panel of judges according to the following criteria: overall quality of the oral presentation; feasibility of project management, organization and schedule; accuracy and completeness of project costs; and answers to the judges’ questions.

Each finalist team will have 20 minutes to convince the judges that they are best qualified to perform the proposed work on the project — 15 minutes for a formal oral presentation and 5 minutes responding to the judges’ questions. Each team’s standing will be determined based on a combination of their oral and written scores.

This year’s competition project involved a 50,000-square-foot building that houses the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Space Exploration Center. The facility is located near Cape Canaveral, Fla., and bidders were required to recommend design elements that meet or exceed Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED®) Platinum criteria. The project also required that the bids include a post-construction service component.

Finalists will compete for a $5,000 first-place prize. The second-place team will receive $2,500, and each of the other teams will receive $1,000. All finalists will also take home a trophy commemorating their achievement.

For more information, visit www.mcaa.org.

Publication date: 1/28/2013