CoSci students excel at national NAHB competition in Las Vegas

Housing development plans prepared by a group of [construction science] (http://cosc.arch.tamu.edu) students at Texas A&M for a 118-acre site in Utah were among of the top entries in a nationwide contest at a national builders’ convention last January.

“Students basically gave up their Christmas break to work on their proposal,” said Ben Bigelow, visiting assistant professor of construction science, who coached the team that competed in the [Residential Construction Management Competition] (http://www.nahb.org/generic.aspx?genericContentID=93770) at last January's National Association of Home Builders convention in Las Vegas.

The Texas A&M students’ proposal was ranked fifth best out of a field of 31 by a panel of industry executives.

Students prepared a construction schedule, budget, project management and organization plans, a site and land development plan and green building initiatives for the project to be built in Saratoga Springs, Utah.

In Las Vegas, the students’ presentation to industry executives focused on convincing investors their plan was a good investment with minimal risk, then answered questions by panel members.

“Congratulations to the winners and everyone who participated in the competition,” said John Courson, president and CEO of the Home Builders Institute, the workforce development arm of NAHB. “The competitors showed a great deal of talent along with a depth of understanding of building industry management, from land development to marketing to scheduling to estimating.”

The judges, said Steve Nellis, principal of Nellis & Associates in Irving, Texas, were impressed with this year’s group.

“I expect the participants will be at the top of the heap when it comes to job offers,” he said.