FUTURE CAREERS We have a NEW contest called FUTURE CAREERS, and we will have a middle school category and a high school category. It is a spinoff of the Future City Competition and will start after the completion of the Future City International Finals, which are presently underway. Obviously, teams can start as soon as they have the criteria, which is here. In fact, EDUCATORS can register here: https://forms.gle/LasmNpR4H9Q556Mt6 The winning city from the previous year becomes the setting for a video the students are being asked to make for this competition. So, for this year, the city is New Venice (2173), which is Venice in 150 years. Students need to make a video maximum 7 minutes long that satisfies this criteria: 1) How the nature of the work has changed over the previous 150 years must be explained, whether that means that is different as a result of technological advances, the changing nature of the world or the environment, or even that this career never used to exist and now has become either possible or needed. 2) The actual nature of the daily work must be explained, including the responsibilities and the inter-relationships with others in the community or beyond. Whether this is described in the form of a summary of a typical workday or in some other creative manner, there should be detail of the actual work done, the tools and technology involved and the role this work plays in the community or beyond. 3) The video must discuss the training/formal education/skills needed to perform this work. Stronger videos should capture this development as a continuing process, as education and skills development always continue. 4) The challenges of the work need to be depicted in the video. These can be of any nature, whether they are related to the surroundings, the pressures, the physicality of the work, the need for strong analytical skills, etc. 5) The favorite aspects of the work need to be described. Each category above is scored on a scale of 0 to 4. A zero indicates the criteria has no mention. A 4 does a stellar job, not only delving into the imagination but equally tying in concepts that while not maybe presently achievable with current technology, are convincing as potential future technologies. Equally, a “4” score would show a clear understanding of the nature of the work, whether that be by displaying understanding of the work as it exists today and indicating how the 150 years of time would alter that, or describing the work from scratch. Remember, this city is one of great culture but prone to severe flood issues today, let alone 150 years from now, and all the issues that arise from that setting need to be considered. Aside from the above categories related to the materials, there are 5 other points that will be given for the quality of the presentation. We leave the format wide open: it can be anything from a recorded zoom call to an animation to a PowerPoint presentation to a live action film. Even that can be left to the imagination. In this, the imagination is everything. No points will be given for special effects or costly production. A “5 point “ video will make complete sense, have a flow to it, be both informative and entertaining, and be well rehearsed. In the end, scores will be from 1-25. There will be no Q&A sessions. How we share videos and score a “winner” will depend on participation, but it will be virtual.
33rd ANNUAL BSCES MODEL BRIDGE COMPETITION. This year the materials were brown kraft paper, natural rubber self-adhesive tape, and uncoated corrugated cardboard sheets.
The models were tested both in person and hybrid. Some by visiting each school/program and recording the loading sessions, and the majority live at Watson Hall at Wentworth Institute of Technology.
For grades 5-12... What a great competition!
Our TOP 3 for EFFICIENCY:
1. Catholic Memorial (125#, 89.8 efficiency)
2. Boston Latin School (120#, 86.8 efficiency)
3. Watertown High (90#, 75.9 efficiency)
Our TOP 3 for AESTHETICS:
1. St. Paul Choir School
2. Boston Latin School
3. Catholic Memorial
The video from the 2024 competition on Feb 3rd is here:
https://video.ibm.com/recorded/133334467
2024 Rules:
https://engineeryourfuture.org/downloadables
Registration is presently closed for the year, but still reach out if you are interested in next year or want to do your own thing this year!
Also, we are ALWAYS looking for volunteers.
This years theme was "Sustainable and Safe Power". Teams were given the challenge to create a futuristic city with one main goal in mind: How to keep power Sustainable and Safe.
What a wonderful competition this year!
We were at Wentworth Institute of Technology on January 21, 2024.
Our top 3 teams were
1 Denki no City St Mary School
2 Derby Team 9 - Team Electrify (Borealis City) Derby Academy
3 Wilbraham & Monson/Olympus Electrified Wilbraham & Monson Academy
Photos! https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dFs-djXlvTXu82Wal-PIHcDUqIz0G7X2?usp=drive_link
Theme: Sustainable & Safe POWER!
FUTURE CITY - Students grades 6-8 create their dream city of the future, but then explain how it all works using convincing technology! Registration is now closed, but we can always use volunteers and judges -- find us at
FUTURE CAREERS We have a NEW contest called FUTURE CAREERS, and we will have a middle school category and a high school category. It is a spinoff of the Future City Competition and will start after the completion of the Future City International Finals, which are presently underway. Obviously, teams can start as soon as they have the criteria, which is here. In fact, EDUCATORS can register here: https://forms.gle/LasmNpR4H9Q556Mt6 The winning city from the previous year becomes the setting for a video the students are being asked to make for this competition. So, for this year, the city is New Venice (2173), which is Venice in 150 years. Students need to make a video maximum 7 minutes long that satisfies this criteria: 1) How the nature of the work has changed over the previous 150 years must be explained, whether that means that is different as a result of technological advances, the changing nature of the world or the environment, or even that this career never used to exist and now has become either possible or needed. 2) The actual nature of the daily work must be explained, including the responsibilities and the inter-relationships with others in the community or beyond. Whether this is described in the form of a summary of a typical workday or in some other creative manner, there should be detail of the actual work done, the tools and technology involved and the role this work plays in the community or beyond. 3) The video must discuss the training/formal education/skills needed to perform this work. Stronger videos should capture this development as a continuing process, as education and skills development always continue. 4) The challenges of the work need to be depicted in the video. These can be of any nature, whether they are related to the surroundings, the pressures, the physicality of the work, the need for strong analytical skills, etc. 5) The favorite aspects of the work need to be described. Each category above is scored on a scale of 0 to 4. A zero indicates the criteria has no mention. A 4 does a stellar job, not only delving into the imagination but equally tying in concepts that while not maybe presently achievable with current technology, are convincing as potential future technologies. Equally, a “4” score would show a clear understanding of the nature of the work, whether that be by displaying understanding of the work as it exists today and indicating how the 150 years of time would alter that, or describing the work from scratch. Remember, this city is one of great culture but prone to severe flood issues today, let alone 150 years from now, and all the issues that arise from that setting need to be considered. Aside from the above categories related to the materials, there are 5 other points that will be given for the quality of the presentation. We leave the format wide open: it can be anything from a recorded zoom call to an animation to a PowerPoint presentation to a live action film. Even that can be left to the imagination. In this, the imagination is everything. No points will be given for special effects or costly production. A “5 point “ video will make complete sense, have a flow to it, be both informative and entertaining, and be well rehearsed. In the end, scores will be from 1-25. There will be no Q&A sessions. How we share videos and score a “winner” will depend on participation, but it will be virtual.
This year's theme was "The Global Climate Challenge" and the teams all took it to heart and spent the time to brainstorm what we can do to make this world a better place!
The competition was Saturday January 24th, 2023, at One Federal Street in Boston. Here are our top teams:
3rd Place: Solaria (Cooperative)
2nd Place: Perkons (Derby)
1st Place: New Beginnings: Lima Peru
Many Special Awards were also given to deserving teams, as follows:
Most Innovative Concept – Jakarta – JFK Middle School
Most Inclusive Community – Masconomet
Best Public Recreation Spaces – Sun City (Cooperative)
Best Waste Management – Haiti (WMA)
Public Safety Award – Provincetown He Cheng
Most Innovative Use of a Recycled Material – Kampala (Derby)
Best Craftsmanship – New York (WMA)
Best Healthcare System – Provincetown He Cheng
Best Architecture – Last Hope (Derby)
Best Moving Part – Haiti
Best Land Surveying Practices – Last Hope (Derby)
Best Project Planning – Kampala (Derby)
Most Futuristic – Solaria
Best Water Management System – New Beginnings: Lima Peru (Derby)
Best Food Supply – Perkons (Derby)
Best Transportation System - New Beginnings: Lima Peru (Derby)
Best Energy Systems – Solaria (Cooperative)
Climate Change Challenge Award - Perkons (Derby)
Best Presentation – Solaria (Cooperative)
Best Model - New Beginnings: Lima Peru (Derby)
Best Education System - WMA Miami Titans
People’s Choice – Provincetown New Paris
Here is a link to photos from the competition:
(only shared with educators in the competition)
32nd ANNUAL BSCES MODEL BRIDGE COMPETITION This year, the materials were Kraft paper straws and Kraft paper tape. Here is a link to the pdf version of the RULES/SPECIFICATIONS. Over 80 teams registered and in the end 48 participated in the competition. The models were tested in hybrid: some the last week of January by visiting each school/program and recording the loading sessions, and the majority live at Watson Hall at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Congratulations to everybody that competed in the MODEL BRIDGE! You all did a beautiful job. THE LINK TO WATCH THE RECORDING OF THE COMPETITION IS HERE: VIDEO Here are the results:
Trophies, certificates and t-shirts have been sent or were passed out at the event. Prizes are in the form of Amazon gift cards this year: $100 for 1st place, $75 for 2nd and $50 for 3rd. I look forward to seeing you next year, and for those that are seniors, you can always come back and help run the contest! Thank you to all our sponsors, and to our judges!
Through the BSCES Public Awareness and Outreach Committee, the BSCES just had our FUTURE CITY COMPETITION, OUR MODEL BRIDGE CONTEST, and now we are starting up our next adventure, FUTURE CAREERS. To get involved and to learn more, visit WWW.ENGINEERYOURFUTURE.ORG or contact committee chair Reed Brockman reed.brockman@aecom.com
23rd ANNUAL NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL FUTURE CITY COMPETITION This year, middle school students were challenged with creating cities 150 years in the future that have clearly designed methods of assuring that they are ZERO WASTE COMMUNITIES. For all sorts of resources and a better understanding of this, visit www.engineeryourfuture.org.
This year, the competition was held online using numerous Microsoft Teams meeting rooms. We had over 50 teams participating, and in the end, 11 competed in the NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL FINALS. Congratulations to all teams that participated in the 2022 Future City Competition. All teams did a truly wonderful job, and all were worthy of going on to the International finals.
We now have our final special award winner selected: THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD! Thank you to all who voted. By popular vote, VENICE won THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD.
Venice is representing New England at the International Finals, which also are virtual this year. We are leaving the work by each team available for all to see. Here is everything:
PRESENTATIONS
Team Submission
The Sunshine State: South Beach Salvage! (JFK MIDDLE) https://youtu.be/NLZnXwd-cx0
Golden State: No Time to WASTE! (JFK MIDDLE) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4OpIk-opdc
Graen-Borg (CURIOUS SCIENCE) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIiv75wLROI
New Kanpur (WILBRAHAM-MONSON ACADEMY) https://youtu.be/W1uXUx11cTc
WMA Crystal City (WILBRAHAM-MONSON ACADEMY) https://youtu.be/p4DBWImXYkw
New Age Delhi (WILBRAHAM-MONSON ACADEMY) https://youtu.be/H5xKfBn_7N8
Jeremie City (DERBY ACADEMY) https://youtu.be/KH_ViRxZj3Q
Oeconomia Circulares The City of Peace (DERBY ACADEMY) https://youtu.be/M4-sYj1J_Bc
Spiricual City (DERBY ACADEMY) https://youtu.be/S5uzmt4-a08
Venice (GOOSE & HEN FARM HOMESCHOOL COLLABORATIVE) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSsV0O8dIkM
Dalisay (MASCONOMET MIDDLE) https://youtu.be/VSmILQicAnk
ALL Models: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2x2i2uqk9l3lpki/AABea2osNBYDOiNVfkO7cM2xa?dl=0
ALL Essays: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rl16xm6bfcc1nh8/AACqkPlb8nzEoDU2-aEmFB-Va?dl=0
Moving Parts: Team Moving Part Video
The Sunshine State: South Beach Salvage! https://youtu.be/ZfewEQx3_p4
Golden State: No Time to WASTE! https://youtu.be/wlD477mIqts Graen-Borg NONE RECEIVED
New Kanpur https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDr1i2YPJI8
WMA Crystal City https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi9Frder8G0
New Age Delhi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnm7npONbnA
Derby Team 2 / Jeremie City https://youtu.be/FvJbAUV93Io
Derby Team 3 / Oeconomia Circulares The City of Peace https://youtu.be/WEnEaj6ZdQY
Derby Team 9 / Spiricual City https://youtu.be/aNSp5W2RtbM
Venice https://youtu.be/Qcjf_wlKQzI
Dalisay https://youtu.be/8H4WXg0Di8Q
Here are lists of special awards recipients, regional finalists and prize winners during the announcements between finals presentations:
FINALISTS’ SCORES
1 Venice 196
2 Oeconomia Circulares The City of Peace 173
3 The Sunshine State: South Beach Salvage! 167
ANNUAL BSCES MODEL BRIDGE COMPETITION This year, the materials were 36” long bamboo dowels and 4# test jute twine. Here is a link to the pdf version of the RULES/SPECIFICATIONS: https://www.dropbox.com/s/45bmrcsd86dwt7p/2022%20BSCES%20Model%20Bridge%20Specifications.pdf?dl=0 Over 50 teams registered and in the end 18 participated in the competition. The models were tested the last week of January by visiting each school/program and recording the loading sessions. We had a bunch of teams that because of the present world conditions, there was not time and want to do something later in the year. One problem that a teacher stated was that the students had trouble lashing the bamboo together, so we made this video with my friend Dan. If anyone wants to build bamboo and twine structures, it’s must-watch TV! https://youtu.be/Sgkb4TRiGzY Congratulations to everybody that competed in the MODEL BRIDGE! You all did a beautiful job. THE LINK TO WATCH THE RECORDING OF THE COMPETITION IS HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY4qzeu8aYE&list=PLIc1ecU2vkEHAdQKZbW7QW2URCqpncILC&index=4&ab_channel=EngineerYourFuture Here are the results: Trophies, certificates and t-shirts will be sent soon. Also checks: in each category, each team member will get $100 for 1st place, $75 for 2nd and $50 for 3rd. I look forward to seeing you next year, and for those that are seniors, you can always come back and help run the contest! The test model this year was made by Ivan Kadurov, now an architecture student at Wentworth Institute of Technology (the host of our competition in a “normal” year). Thank you to all our sponsors, and to our judges longtime volunteers/coordinators Irene Barsky, MassDOT’s Alyson Bedard and Alexander Bardow, BSCES President Shallan Fitzgerald and the MBTA’s Terry McCarthy.
FUTURE CAREERS (“PILOT” PROGRAM) We have a new concept for a competition we are piloting called FUTURE CAREERS, and we will have a middle school category and a high school category. It is a spinoff of the Future City Competition and will start after the completion of the Future City International Finals, which are presently underway. Obviously, teams can start as soon as they have the criteria, which is here. In fact, EDUCATORS can register here: https://forms.gle/LasmNpR4H9Q556Mt6 The winning city from the previous year becomes the setting for a video the students are being asked to make for this competition. So, for this year, the city is Luna City, which is nestled into a crater on the moon 150 years from now (2172). Students need to make a video maximum 7 minutes long that satisfies this criteria: 1) How the nature of the work has changed over the previous 150 years must be explained, whether that means that is different as a result of technological advances, the changing nature of the world or the environment, or even that this career never used to exist and now has become either possible or needed. 2) The actual nature of the daily work must be explained, including the responsibilities and the inter-relationships with others in the community or beyond. Whether this is described in the form of a summary of a typical workday or in some other creative manner, there should be detail of the actual work done, the tools and technology involved and the role this work plays in the community or beyond. 3) The video must discuss the training/formal education/skills needed to perform this work. Stronger videos should capture this development as a continuing process, as education and skills development always continue. 4) The challenges of the work need to be depicted in the video. These can be of any nature, whether they are related to the surroundings, the pressures, the physicality of the work, the need for strong analytical skills, etc. 5) The favorite aspects of the work need to be described. Each category above is scored on a scale of 0 to 4. A zero indicates the criteria has no mention. A 4 does a stellar job, not only delving into the imagination but equally tying in concepts that while not maybe presently achievable with current technology, are convincing as potential future technologies. Equally, a “4” score would show a clear understanding of the nature of the work, whether that be by displaying understanding of the work as it exists today and indicating how the 150 years of time would alter that, or describing the work from scratch. Remember, this city is on the moon 150 years from now, and all the issues that arise from that setting need to be considered. Aside from the above categories related to the materials, there are 5 other points that will be given for the quality of the presentation. We leave the format wide open: it can be anything from a recorded zoom call to an animation to a PowerPoint presentation to a live action film. Even that can be left to the imagination. In this, the imagination is everything. No points will be given for special effects or costly production. A “5 point “ video will make complete sense, have a flow to it, be both informative and entertaining, and be well rehearsed. In the end, scores will be from 1-25. There will be no Q&A sessions. How we share videos and score a “winner” will depend on participation, but it will be virtual. I want to dedicate the competition to a dear friend of ours that recently passed away, Chris Evasius. We are truly going to miss him.
THANK YOU SPONSORS! 2021–2022 BSCES Program Sponsors Alfred Benesch & Company | BETA Group | BSC Group | CDM Smith Collins Engineers, Inc. | Dewberry | Green International Affiliates, Inc. GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. | Haley & Aldrich, Inc. | Horsley Witten Group, Inc. | Howard Stein Hudson Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, Inc. | HNTB | Kleinfelder | Nitsch Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University | Patrick Engineering, Inc. Sanborn, Head & Associates, Inc. | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. | Skanska USA Civil | Tighe & Bond TranSystems | TREVIICOS | Tufts University - Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering | VHB | Weston & Sampson | WSP USA, Inc. BSCES would like to thank the following 2021-2022 STEM Outreach Sponsors for their support: Ames & Gough CAPTRUST Euclid Chemical McNamara-Salvia Structural Engineers Webster Bank
Presently pulling together a resource page to better inform people how to react if we have a natural disaster in Massachusetts.
Also creating activity celebrating the MBTA, the nation's oldest subway system, which is an official ASCE historic landmark. It's a cut and cover tunnel activity involving a box and breakfast cereal.
The FUTURE CAREERS high school continuation for Future City is also deep in development.
A broad range of scholarships for high school, and college students pursuing engineering
This year's recipient, Melanie Sola from Madison Park High School will be honored on February 2nd, 2021 at our virtual Engineering Excellence Celebration! Registration will open soon, and the 2021 Application will be posted soon as well.
Applications are presently being accepted for this need based scholarship for women and students of minority backgrounds. DEADLINE IS DECEMBER2, 2020.
Limited to 100 individual bridge designers, registered through school or after-school programs. Our 30th Anniversary! REGISTRATION FULL
Volunteers sign up here:
This year's theme: Build a city on the moon! Registration closed, but need volunteers!
Volunteers (mentors & judges) sign up at
For years, the BSCES has visit visited schools and participated in engineering/science expos and fairs, but unique to BSCES is their Boston Bridge Tour, telling about technology and Boston history through its bridges. Visit https://www.bsces.org/outreach-advocacy/outreach
A mix of K-12 Outreach events and other events open to the public that you may want to attend, some by BSCES/ASCE, some by others