Durham School students sweep prestigious 2023 student competitions

The Durham School’s students have secured top honors across multiple esteemed student design competitions in 2023, highlighting their prowess in diverse fields. Here’s a rundown of recent achievements:

AEI International Student Design Competition (ISDC): Under the guidance of Dr. Clarence Waters, our students claimed first place in Electrical Systems Design, second place in Building Integration, and earned the coveted Top Award for Outstanding Achievement in Innovation in Sustainability: Embodied Carbon and Recyclability.

ASHRAE Student Design Competition: Architectural Engineering students Jackson Fritch, John Latta, and Clayton Riley secured first place in the HVAC Design Calculations category, with guidance from Dr. David Yuill and industry partners Pete Uhing (Clark & Enersen) and Brian Kolm (HDR).

Howard Brandston Student Lighting Competition: Two teams of Architectural Engineering students, advised by Dr. Michelle Eble-Hankins and industry partner Rodrigo Manriquez (SmithGroup), triumphed in the Illuminating Engineering Society’s Howard Brandston Student Lighting Competition. The first-place team comprised Lukose George, Peyton Leute, Connor Mensch, and Jace Pauli, while the runner-up team included Dylan Dropinski, Joshua Sabata, Tristan Wilkins, and Bentley Tonniges.

Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 4 Student Competition: Under the guidance of faculty members Matthew Barrows, Pat Cuddigan, and Brandon Kreiling, our Construction students excelled at the ASC Region 4 competition. Teams clinched numerous awards, showcasing their expertise and dedication across various categories.

From the City Campus, students Leyton Belohrad, Noah Preston, Elijah Schmal, John Smith-Wiese, Cole Shandera, and Jose Vazquez secured first place in the Commercial category under General Contracting, led by Professor Matthew Barrows.

Sophomores Fatima Pilar-Solis (first), Ellie Syslo (second), Meghan Murphy (third), Oscar Bernabe, Luke Andres, and Michael Mattiassi were also on teams that placed first, second, and third in the Sophomore skill summit.

From the Scott Campus, students Tyson Avard, Michael Adams, Joe Roecker, Aidan Colyer, Drake Vincentini, and Haylee Heim secured second place in the Commercial category under CMaR, guided by Patrick Cuddigan. 

‘Jump Into STEM’ Program Competition: AE students Anu Adeyemo, Danika Ratnapradipa, Julia Ehlers, and Madeline Campbell were part of the winning team for "The Fleet: Tiny Houses Repurposed in the Wake of Disaster" under the Sustainable and Resilient Challenge, advised by Dr. Mahmoud (Moe) Alahmad and Professor Brandon Kreiling. These accomplishments were celebrated at the 'Jump Into STEM' in-person competition in Denver, on Jan. 26-27, hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office, where eight finalists competed among 75 submissions. Winning students earned paid summer internships at prestigious national laboratories.

The Durham School takes great pride in these achievements, demonstrating the dedication of both its students and faculty.