NACE International and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) today will host five science and engineering teams competing in the first annual University Student Design and Applied Solutions Competition (USDASC). Each team of university students has spent two semesters developing their own unique system aimed at addressing corrosion, which the DoD has identified as one of its most challenging problems.

Teams participating in the two-day event are from: University of Akron, Alfred University, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, and Texas A&M University. Each team will present its system design, then test it on a customized metallic structure specially made with corrosion located in various hard-to-access areas, which the teams are tasked to find.  The competition is being held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Hall B2 (Third Floor), and will be open to the public on Tuesday, April 19 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

The competition stems from a partnership between the DoD and NACE International, which seeks to solve ongoing corrosion problems faced by the DoD such as material degradation which can hinder the readiness and effectiveness of essential defense systems, weaponry, and facilities. Going forward, NACE International will expand the competition to other sectors, with competition challenges to include civilian and industrial structures.

“We hope that students who participate in this competition see how their solutions to this challenge translate directly to solving real-world problems,” said Dan Dunmire, Director of the DoD’s Corrosion Policy Oversight (CPO) Office. “The DoD is one of many sectors that will benefit from new and unique perspectives brought by university teams.”

“In the years to come, we expect this competition to be transformative for all industries affected by corrosion,” said Bob Chalker, CEO of NACE International.  “No one has approached solutions to corrosion control in this way before and we are already seeing inspiring new ideas from the students in this year’s competition.”